Yep. You were right. Adding windows to the prison bus comes at a hefty cost. Even though they are dual pane, we are only managing to keep the coach at around 65 or so with two space heaters now that we have windows. Not even T-Day yet and we have snow and 19 degree temps (F). We used to keep it nearly 76 degrees in here with two space heaters sans windows. So now, we are considering two toe kick heaters in kitchen, one in bedroom and one in living room as well as one in the drivers area which we curtain off. This would be just to keep the shoes from freezing and melt the snow on the steps. We'd go from 3000 watts of heat (currently) to 5000 watts. Hoping that's enough. Does anyone know if the Elkhart salvage yard has cheap toe kicks? $150 for a sideways electric heater is too rich for me.
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A 1500 watt electric heater puts out about 5000 BTU/hr. It doesn't matter if it is $20.00 cube from Walmart or a $500.00 "Amish Fireplace".
About all you find in toe kicks for the rv's are the 750 w Cadets I bought one from Dick Wright it was a waste of 175 bucks IMO but they look good installed ::)
You probably don't like propane but the RV forced air furnaces do a good job at a reasonable cost once the inside is warm the cube heaters should keep it warm without the furnace running much the best remedy is move to AZ
What Clifford said. If you want to keep it warm when its even moderately cold outside you're going to have to burn some diesel fuel or some propane. Electric won't cut it.
Small milkhouse heater in the water bay, oil filled raidiater lookin heater in the kitchen ,Lasko heater in front and bathroom,toekick in entry, been good at 15-20 below,just hopin the power dont go out,couse my generater dont start that cold.the 1500 watt deals right its what you get at any price.
Wintering in Arizona, is where bus people should be.....
I would at least foam board or bubble foil the windshields...and bubble foil the windows at night...
You can do a cheap heating system off your hot water heater using a March pump,a old car heater core,muffin fan and a wall thermostat the road gypsies (full timers) do it all the time it works pretty darn good the ones I have saw
Hey Clifford, what's a March pump?
JC
We have two 1500 watt Cadet toe kick heaters and they heat like crazy. I would be real concerned about running them full time though. We are a little paranoid about them running if we aren't there or after we are in bed.
Don and Cary
Aware that 1500 watts is 1500 watts. Never believed the silliness of Amish heaters. Anyway, we are wired 120 so lowes toe kicks would suffice. Cliff, we are considering propane just like you said, to get things warm and help on the colder nights. We use plastic storm window film shrink on the front glass instead of bubble foil. Still like the view. I've thought about the whole hot water heater heater thingies. We have 30 gallon heater so that's an idea too. I just kicked on our electric toaster oven and between that and the two space heaters it's 79 now. :) we also have a cube heater set to low in the water bay. Heated and insulated water hose too. Not our first rodeo for winter full timing but the windows changed things for sure. Wish we could be in AZ but my job requires travel. Wife is staining remaining kitchen cupboards and we are listening to Christmas music while I prep for three big Christmas events (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F11%2F25%2Fzyravu4u.jpg&hash=98e2c896dfc6e35941a90fd40f937f850f2d23b3)
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To hell with heat for a minute did she do the canning on the top shelf that looks good and tasty ::)
Scott one thing we did while living in the Eagle was to buy hard back insulation from lowes and fill the space between the ground and the bottom of the Bus as well as the wheel wells I also bought a bag of house insulation and put it under the steps and under the floor in the drivers area. I put a small heater in the water closet on low.and one in the bay with inverter.(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi427.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp351%2Fwrightwy%2FDSC05053.jpg&hash=b6c16f5ac558d681ce3c6955f1449c23ae8cd229) (http://s427.photobucket.com/user/wrightwy/media/DSC05053.jpg.html)
We liived like this for the whole winter in Billings with Temps well below zero (like -20 ) we were nice and warm but suffered from cabin fever more than anything Good luck been there done that ;D
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I see you had a satelite dish, but I don't see the ladder on the side of the bus to brush the snow off the dish!
--Geoff
1500 watts = 3450btu. You can get cheap space heaters for less then $30. Just make sure they have a tip over switch-which I believe they have to have by law now. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: lostagain on November 24, 2013, 07:55:35 AM
Hey Clifford, what's a March pump?
March is a brand of super reliable, quiet, magnetic coupled impeller pumps. All moving parts are special plastic with Buna seals for no corrosion.
Oh, and I was eyeballing those great jars of canned fruit on the shelf as well! Yum!
Never had a problem with the snow on the dish lol the wind blew it clean each time ;D
Scott - love the winter camoflauge on your bus. Is that a pic of heather staining the cabinets? Cherry? When we had to heat our house we found that the oil filled heaters put off the most heat out of the 8 different heaters we tried from Walmart.
Cliff - we were blessed with a jar of those heather canned peaches. I wish we had more than one cause I'd trade you for bus parts as we cruise through AZ this winter. Those MI peaches are the best thing I ever put in my mouth. The Bennett's were going nutz canning when we were there. Like 10 hours straight morning till night. Tons of peaches flying everywhere. I'm thinking a MI bus rally next summer...
Andy - Love the way you insulated your Eagle for the winter. My wife and I just can't make sense of you northerners having wheels in the snow though ;)
-Sean
www.herdofturtles.org (http://www.herdofturtles.org)
1984 Eagle Model 10S
So by using a water heater as the source and pumps, fans and radiators and assuming you have a 120v 15 amp circuit, you'd have 1500 watts and a limit of 3450 btu's, correct? Looks like that's going to be the limit for each 15 amp circuit you have available. Not a lotta heat, but looks like some have managed to do in some pretty cold climates.
Same old winter stuff Scott; heat rises. If your there all winter and have anything you can lay on roof and keep down for extra insulation(black tarp) that's a plus. Window open to sun. rug on floor. keep wind out from under bus--it will suck heat out every little crack.. cuddle up my friends..
Crazy, The MC7 creation I built, used carpet with the rubber backing stapled to wall for quick/'cheap wall covering, both sides and across the rear closet, so keeping it warm was very easy with an electric baseboard heater about 6' long on 240 VAC, also had the LPGas 30,000 btu hot air furnace. when driving in the -5f temps, stayed comfy, so I guess I just dont get it ? ???
Cooling was also easy with 2 roof a/c units, just lucky I guess.
Dave M
Ok this sounds insane to me, but I read a guy talking about heating his bus with a wood burning stove? Any ideas about doing this?
I use a Rinnai propane furnace to heat my mc7. I mounted it right behind the co-pilot seat, facing towards the back of the bus. I also have an electric heater in the bedroom. Its on a thermostat. I only heat the bedroom just before bed and before I get up in the am.
It's been a typical fall here in MT with temps between 45 during the day and averaging in the 0's to 10's at night. And an occasional -5 to -10 below just for good measure.
I've been averaging about 2 gallons per day of propane. Price around $2. per gallon.
When it gets down to the -10 to - 20 range the furnace runs pretty much continuous. It's livable but I wouldn't recommend it for folks that like it toasty.
If I shut the door to the bathroom and bedroom it is much easier to heat the front living quarters. But it gets damn cold in the back.
If I had an easy source for wood I would be happy with that as well (I think).
John M.
Chuckle. Yes, we canned peaches pears applesauce and grape juice this summer. Going to look at getting a wall mounted propane furnace. Going to buy 1 more space heater too. Those two additions together should do the trick. Also, as someone mentioned, near the ceiling, it's toasty, but near the floor it's cooler...not cold because of the luggage bay heaters but cooler. So a ceiling fan to circulate and mix the air will help. Had 6 people in the bus today when some friends came over. All that body heat helped haha. we better have kids soon although something tells me a space heater is still cheaper haha. We've considered placing foam boards as a skirt around the bus. Might do that this year. Never needed to before.
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Quote from: harleyman_1000 on November 24, 2013, 06:07:14 PM
Ok this sounds insane to me, but I read a guy talking about heating his bus with a wood burning stove? Any ideas about doing this?
Skoolie's do it all the time. :)
That's really cool. Have seen a lot of different skoolies with wood stoves. I've considered a tiny stainless pellet stove but they are expensive as all get out!!
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I wouldn't want the mess of a wood stove in a bus. People who advocate wood heat need to spend a few winters using it to appreciate just how messy it really is. However, there are some really neat diesel stoves used in the boating world that could easily be incorporated into a bus conversion. They are compact and (compared to wood anyway) clean. I'd take a hard look at one of them long before I put in a wood stove.
Do those tiny little windows really make that much difference? My windows make a big difference, but I have six 3 foot by 4 foot windows.
The price of fire wood and permits to cut your own with the hassle of splitting and the storage propane or diesel would be cheap plus the areas where wood stoves are banned at certain times of the year would be a killer to me and I love my fireplace I just don't care for all the associated hassles burning wood now
It is sad one has listen to news to burn your fireplace indeed who ever heard of a catalytic converter on a fireplace or a wood stove ???
Just saw these on ebay What do you think?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Heater-Furnace-Gasoline-or-Diesel-28-Volt-dc-Military-Grade-15000-btus-/200954983775 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Heater-Furnace-Gasoline-or-Diesel-28-Volt-dc-Military-Grade-15000-btus-/200954983775)
::) ::) ::) ::) woodstoves....here we go..... don't just block off the driver's area, cut and install pieces of foam over the front windows and windshields.
Scott, what drove us out was the condensation. Like you, we could find ways to heat the bus. More heaters, insulated bay, bay heaters, etc. We could produce heat. But the condensation was out of our control. We put 1-1/2" foam in the rear windows to insulate the bedroom and found it made it worse. We created, not only condensation, but ice on our windows.
We have four rooftop fantastic vents each were dripping. The one over our bed was raining on our bed during the night. Enough was enough.
I wondered if one or two dehumidifiers would have worked. I never tried it. We just had to get out before we froze everything.
Dave
P.S. sorry we missed you guys on every turn... we'll keep trying. Amy still wants to have fun with some music.
Quote from: Tikvah on November 25, 2013, 10:01:46 AM
Scott, what drove us out was the condensation. Like you, we could find ways to heat the bus. More heaters, insulated bay, bay heaters, etc. We could produce heat. But the condensation was out of our control. We put 1-1/2" foam in the rear windows to insulate the bedroom and found it made it worse. We created, not only condensation, but ice on our windows.
We have four rooftop fantastic vents each were dripping. The one over our bed was raining on our bed during the night. Enough was enough.
I wondered if one or two dehumidifiers would have worked. I never tried it. We just had to get out before we froze everything.
In our experience catalytic and/or non-vented heat sources produce copious amounts of condensation, thereby worthless IMHO.
I put a 40K Surburban up front with 4 outlets. In the rear I put a 20K Surburban with 2 outlets. I ran one duct from each into the "water" bay. I've kept water flowing @-16F, as well as heating the bus. Up front our coach is nearly all glass. 80"X24" single pane on each side and driverside and door single pane and the windshield. Walls are stock insulation. Kitchen counter and back easy to heat, up front much harder. In mid winter the ceiling temp is 70* plus, while the floor is 35*. I put an 8" fan on one side attached to an overhead cabinet. I point it up and @ an angle towards the front. HUGH difference in floor temps. really evens it out. Floor coverings really help as well. W don't have carpet, all tile floors. We put area rugs, and carpet runners which help a lot.
Don & Sheila
Quote from: Tikvah on November 25, 2013, 10:01:46 AM
Scott, what drove us out was the condensation. Like you, we could find ways to heat the bus. More heaters, insulated bay, bay heaters, etc. We could produce heat. But the condensation was out of our control. We put 1-1/2" foam in the rear windows to insulate the bedroom and found it made it worse. We created, not only condensation, but ice on our windows.
We have four rooftop fantastic vents each were dripping. The one over our bed was raining on our bed during the night. Enough was enough.
I wondered if one or two dehumidifiers would have worked. I never tried it. We just had to get out before we froze everything.
Dave
P.S. sorry we missed you guys on every turn... we'll keep trying. Amy still wants to have fun with some music.
It may sound counter intuitive, but we had to turn our roof vent on very low to exhaust some air and draw fresh air into the coach to stop condensation. It works, but it will make the heater run longer.
Trust me on this, we bought a good quality dehumidifier and it will solve your condensation issue. Completely eliminated ours. But, the cost of that is dry air and dry sinuses so that takes balance. Well, we picked up just one more cube heater today. so we left three on in the bus set to high while we were gone and came back tonight and it's 20 outside and it was 90 in the coach. That one Pelonis ceramic heater did the trick. Also shrink filmed the roof vent.
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I think we are investing in a propane furnace at some point. We are staying toasty but the heaters run non stop and the floors are still just a bit on the cooler side. Not even winter yet. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F12%2F11%2Fu8e2azej.jpg&hash=1c2cfa861759ff46091f4d8d8591c3a2da847fc3)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F12%2F11%2F4uquvaju.jpg&hash=41b699edcee03d09a657f1a29f3240e51d48ca82)
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Just did an overnight audit:
Low Temp 28
2 - 1500 watt electric heaters, 1 ceramic cube type, 1 oil-radiator type
1 - twin size electric blanket
Inside Temp 62-75
Overnight electric usage $6.00 to $8.00
Life is good, and getting better!
Quote from: Scott Bennett on December 10, 2013, 07:46:13 AM... the floors are still just a bit on the cooler side. ...
Scott, have you looked at places to add more insulation under the floors? On my bus, there's very little area that's actually open to outside air so it only took a small square-footage of insulation to make a big difference. But you have a different layout than my bus (I have no bays) and you're dealing with colder air than I have to.
Quote from: TexasBorderDude on December 10, 2013, 08:21:01 AM
Just did an overnight audit:
Low Temp 28
2 - 1500 watt electric heaters, 1 ceramic cube type, 1 oil-radiator type
1 - twin size electric blanket
Inside Temp 62-75
Overnight electric usage $6.00 to $8.00
Life is good, and getting better!
Doyle good thing you dont have the queen size blanket,....lol
Quote from: saddleup on December 10, 2013, 09:08:47 AM
Doyle good thing you dont have the queen size blanket,....lol
May need another dog, or 2! ;D ;D
QuoteLow Temp 28
2 - 1500 watt electric heaters, 1 ceramic cube type, 1 oil-radiator type
1 - twin size electric blanket
Inside Temp 62-75
Overnight electric usage $6.00 to $8.00
What kind of insulation do you have? Are you all windows? 40'?
Sounds like a lot of heat running for 28 degrees!
Dave
Quote from: Tikvah on December 10, 2013, 09:19:42 AM
What kind of insulation do you have? Are you all windows? 40'?
Sounds like a lot of heat running for 28 degrees!
Dave
I hadn't thought of that -- I have a little "tower" 1500 watt heater; it has a "fan/low/high" setting with a separate thermostat heat setting (although I've never seen any difference by moving the heat setting). By sound, feel, and the reading on my "Kill-a-Watt" meter, there is a difference in current pull and heat output between "low" and "high". The other night it was about 25 deg (F) and I had the heater set to 'low' and the thermostat dial about in the middle. At about 4AM, I woke up too warm and got up and turned the heater off. I had an electric blanket and a poly-throw blanket but I never turned the electric blanket on. It chilled down a bit by the time to get up, but I was comfortable most all night (by myself, The Management was away at work).
Btw, this was in my bedroom upstairs. I didn't have any heat downstairs and the floor was a little chilly.
Quote from: robertglines1 on November 24, 2013, 05:12:08 PM
Same old winter stuff Scott; heat rises. If your there all winter and have anything you can lay on roof and keep down for extra insulation(black tarp) that's a plus. Window open to sun. rug on floor. keep wind out from under bus--it will suck heat out every little crack.. cuddle up my friends..
Not quite true. Hot air rises. Heat goes where it's pointed. That's the problem with any scorched air system, the first place the hot air wants to go is up taking all the heat with it.
I don't know how practical it would be to install on a bus but a hydronic floor heat system would be much more efficient. Instead of heating all the air in the room you just heat the floor which in turn radiates to the objects in the room you included. My buddy has a 50'x80' shop heated this way. -25 outside and the air temp inside is in the low-mid 50's but you are quite comfortable in shirtsleeves because the floor is heating you directly if you will. I think the circulated water in the floor is around 100 F.
Kevin
Quote from: Tikvah on December 10, 2013, 09:19:42 AM
What kind of insulation do you have? Are you all windows? 40'?
Sounds like a lot of heat running for 28 degrees!
Dave
7ea 52"x36" single pane. Gonna get the clear heat-shrink plastic window coverings.
We have 4 of the stock bus windows, but we have spray foam insulation. I can heat in low 20s with only two 1500 watt heaters. My problem has been condensation in the Michigan humidity. Heat wan't that hard to generate.
Wind does plays a big part it will suck the heat out in a hurry in a bus I had a RV with NuHeat in the floors it wasn't all that great,then it wasn't a hydronic it was electric
Any unvented gas heater will produce moisture- catalytic or not. If your climate already has humidity, condensate can be an issue to deal with. In deserts, it might not matter. However, aside from using furnaces, there are vented gas space heaters too. We have a Platinum Cat that is a vented heater similar to the Olympic. It only puts out about 5000 BTU's but seems to do fine in the bedroom. Of course, we have not tested it in the genuine cold that many others have to deal with.
We have in floor radiant heat (water ) with 1 1/2 " foam insulation under floor . When on the road with engine heat 180* the whole coach is as warm as we want . When parked or on the pole I have a 2 gal. elect water heater that will heat the coach until about 25 * f colder then that I use the proheat .I installed a valve on the input to the engine two shut off the eng. heat. So that only to heat the floor . The proheat will keep the coach as warm as we want and dose not cycle on very much . The coldest temp we have been in was 5 * Fahrenheit ( to cold to be camping in ) . dave
Quote from: sledhead on December 10, 2013, 03:51:24 PM
We have in floor radiant heat (water ) with 1 1/2 " foam insulation under floor . When on the road with engine heat 180* the whole coach is as warm as we want . When parked or on the pole I have a 2 gal. elect water heater that will heat the coach until about 25 * f colder then that I use the proheat .I installed a valve on the input to the engine two shut off the eng. heat. So that only to heat the floor . The proheat will keep the coach as warm as we want and dose not cycle on very much . The coldest temp we have been in was 5 * Fahrenheit ( to cold to be camping in ) . dave
How "thick" is the floor, what is it made of and how is the grid configured? I've always been a fan of hydronic heat.
Kevin
Heated floors really would make a huge difference. The air temp is fine but the floors are cold. I installed a ceiling fan to distribute the heat from the ceiling back down and it helps tremendously but 20 mph winds and 3 degrees F is really hard to keep coach warmer than 74. That's all heaters running on highest setting. If you have a condensation issue, go out and buy a dehumidifier. I'm telling you, it solves the problem....trust me on this.
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Have the Aqua Hot and dual payne windows that are sealed to body very well, so no wind issues. Dual payne glass is a biggie improvement along with the entrance door being well sealed.
Dave M
Scott,I picked up on the moister comment, and agree that if the moisture is taken out the air,walls,furniture,windows etc the easier it will be to heat the bus, and should help the same way cooling the bus. what kind of dehumidifer ya got and where is it placed to cover the entire bus?.... thx. George
Problem solved just move to AZ where there is no humidity in the air to remove or insulate the entire bus with silica gel ;D
41 degrees at 5am beautiful clear skies you can see every star in the sky, no wind and we will be in the 70's today life is good
radiant floor heat in our coach .
tin foil bubble rap on 1/2" floor
1/2 " pex tube with 6 " centres with metal pex reflective plates
3/4 " tin foil foam board between each loop
5/8 " ply on top , laminate , carpet flooring
under floor 3/4 " tin foil foam board , tin foil bubble rap
the key is lots of heat from the heat exchanger via engine , proheat , elect. water heater
I have in floor heat in my shop at work and it's strange how the temperature at 3 ' above the floor is warmer then the temperature at the ceiling 18' high ? dave
Which is cheaper to heat with electricity or the hydronic diesel fired systems ?
Quote from: luvrbus on December 11, 2013, 04:25:21 AM
Problem solved just move to AZ where there is no humidity in the air to remove....
Great Idea Cliff!
We are on our way!
www.herdofturtles.org (http://www.herdofturtles.org)
1984 Eagle Model 10S
Arizonas the place,we don,t worry about the price of running heaters or air con. electicity is in the price of our lot rent,so its use it or lose it,....lol
ALTHOUGH the landlord is charging me 25 more per month,because i am all elect.its still the best deal we have all year.
Arizona is tempting for next winter... time and money will dictate
Cliff if your on the pole elect. is cheaper but when we are on the road and stop to sleep and don't have a pole its the gene or the proheat . Usually we have enough residual heat from a full day of driving that I shut it all down ( no heat at all ) In the bedroom with good insulation it's always warm and up front the worst temp. I have had was 52 * f in side when it was 14 * f out side . Fire up the proheat for 10 min. then start the old DD and were off for another day's drive .
dave
That's what I thought Doyle the TBD has a hydronic heating system in his Eagle bus and with his background with a pencil the 6 or 8 bucks was cheaper than he could run his hydronic system for a day I am not saying he is cheap but he is conservative ;D
Clifford, I've found that the most economical for me is hooked up to the power pole. Of course, it's best when I'm parked at your place or Sonnie's ;D
I will have to check the brand of dehumidifier I have. It was around $230 at lowes but more than worth it. Leave your doors all open to your bedroom during the day. It will pull gallons of water out of the air.
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Quote from: Scott Bennett on December 11, 2013, 06:42:39 PM
I will have to check the brand of dehumidifier I have. It was around $230 at lowes but more than worth it. Leave your doors all open to your bedroom during the day. It will pull gallons of water out of the air.
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Ya do know that a "dry" heat is colder than a "wet" heat don't ya?
Ask Clifford he's the dry heat king out there in sunny AZ! ;)
;D BK ;D
That's true though. Less humidity makes it feel colder. I grew up in Tucson and lived in Phoenix too. Those desert nights could be brutal. Just snapped this current temp here where our bus is parked. Interior is steady at 74 degrees. I think we are pretty happy. We received about 6 inches of new snow yesterday and now there is a weather warning for a potential storm coming Friday and Saturday. I have to manage to perform at three different Christmas concerts in the next 8 days so the Land Cruiser will be getting a workout....and the Camry, well we haven't unburied her from the last storm two weeks ago. May not drive her all winter if this keeps up. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F12%2F12%2Femujuga6.jpg&hash=f97ad2f29ff66dd8662ace235123130f89fd173e)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F12%2F12%2Fe2a5a9uh.jpg&hash=375a7e1100b6aca5e0ef40c6053a3610c173d16c)
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If you have a humidity gauge you could experiment to find what level/range would give you the best heat with the least moisture. You probably don't need to run the de-humidifier 24/7.
Humidity is considered latent heat, so removing humidity is technically would seem to be removing some heat energy. The dehumidifier though, as I understand it, is like running a window AC with both sides on the inside of the room. There is no heat extracted other than the water you collect and dispose of. At the same time, the work that the dehumidifier is doing is all transformed into heat energy and added to the room. Hence, if your dehumidifier runs on 500 watts, it is adding 1750 or so BTU's to the bus, which may be roughly a trade off for the latent energy it is removing.
Maybe someone with real HVAC experience can correct any mistakes I've assumed.
I love the latent heat humidity generates when it turns to ice on the inside of the windshields priceless ::)
haha cliff! :) I think a good number is somewhere in the mid 40% range. anything above 55% can encourage mold right? Anything below 40% and you are waking up with dry mouth. Of course, you arizona peeps always have dry mouth. accompanied by valley fever.
Here is an interesting article on dehumidifiers. It does not use the term but is dealing with the concept of latent heat. It would seem though, that I was mistaken in how it works with a dehumidifier. According to this, one gets increased heat output.
http://www.iwilltry.org/b/heat-your-home-with-a-dehumidifier/ (http://www.iwilltry.org/b/heat-your-home-with-a-dehumidifier/)
Our dehumidifier puts out quite a bit of heat
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On You Tube there's a video of a guy who built a homemade outdoor portable wood boiler for his RV. It might
be a lot of work in the long run, however they do put out the heat.
Steve 5B.....
Burning wood is a great idea...us Michiganders do it as a lifestyle. But plenty of places in the country wouldn't be too happy with our wood smokestack billowing out more smog. I can tell you one thing is for sure, we insulated our coach very well...and we are holding steady temps of the high 70's inside the coach even when the temp dropped to -1 yesterday morning. But, I will do two things differently next conversion in terms of heat:
1. Insulate even more. If I have the ceiling space, it's going to have reflectix and insulation in there.
2. Install propane furnace with full ductwork
a. install underfloor heating
b. install better windows than my Hehr dual panes.
Do they make a triple pane window for the RV industry?
And the beat goes on. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F03%2Fejene3as.jpg&hash=8ac78f0271c8e69c0176035b0dc92ce0d4a5c8f5)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F03%2Fba2ybute.jpg&hash=8daba252d05cf461ea8a6d02e0d68e485dd523a6)
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Wow and here I am complaining about a low of 42 degrees in AZ
But Clifford, 42 degrees IS cold in Az. ;D
We will warm up to 70's today with bright sun shine and no wind ::)
NO WIND? Must not be eating that southwest Tex-Mex food then.
Have fun, wish we were there instead of here. Going to zero in the next few days.
-3 Degrees here today
We are once again buried. 14 inches of snow....temp tonight is supposed to be -12. Winds are causing -45 wind chills. Huge chunk of ice and snow that built up on our bus roof broke of and tore our Christmas lights down with it. Snapped the wires at 7am this morning waking us up with a loud bang and a flash haha. What a day. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F06%2F8uhuteja.jpg&hash=c886e961c5b1511ea3c9c5b59f337d83353e93f5)
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When I was driving cross country truck, I worked from Mar 15 - Dec 15 taking off the winter months. It's just to hard working in the snow. And in 21 years of driving, never hung any snow chains-although I had them with me. Living where it is snowy and really cold during the winter then hot and humid in the summer-don't quite understand that. Good Luck, TomC
Indianapolis, at 11:48 ----12. it's going down tonight to ---21 like Scott mentioned -42-46 below wind chill.
Why do we live here! LOL!!!!!
Steve 5B.....
It's cold here this morning 54 degrees at 10 am ::)
Quote from: luvrbus on January 06, 2014, 08:47:33 AMIt's cold here this morning 54 degrees at 10 am ::)
68 degrees at 11AM here (south coast of NC) -- going down into the teen's tonight. Pneumonia weather ...
The last time I checked, it was 0 with a wind chill of -21. We got about a foot of snow last night with more to come. Oh yeah, add in blowing and drifting to that. The news says that I94 from Michigan City, IN to the Illinois state line is closed. Gotta love lake effect snow.
Quote from: TomC on January 06, 2014, 08:18:17 AM
Living where it is snowy and really cold during the winter then hot and humid in the summer-don't quite understand that. Good Luck, TomC
Sshhhh Tom, don't say things like that, or we'll have a deluge of Yoopers amongst us. I was chuckling when a returning Canadian's flight was canceled out of LAX, so he had to go to the beach here instead while waiting for another flight home. Yup, winters here are tough. Today we've got a windchill in the mid 70s. Brrr. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
John
Frosty dock at Newcastle Marine Park, across the channel from Nanaimo, BC. "Cold" weather has chased all the tourists away so we have the dock entirely to ourselves today. As long as the Webasto keeps running life is good.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rjevans.org%2FMiscPhotos%2FFrostyDock.jpg&hash=63c75b9c3daf49bf6ea6bf28f7f9492d1eec55d1)
Only got to about -5f last night. About +12 at the moment. Helena is on the fringe of the cold weather. Glasgow, MT was supposed to get to -37 last night. -5 is not so bad, but -37, good grief.
At one time the record cold in the lower 48 was recorded just outside of Helena at -72 or so. You could say Montana has extreme weather. Minus 72 to well into the +100's. Make sure you bring a coat.
John M.
Temp right now: -10 windchill: -43
Snow keeps coming:
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F07%2Fve3ugyvy.jpg&hash=1d4137bb4c060f23670722a50b80e2b86c81a224)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F07%2Fe5uzemup.jpg&hash=14bd775fbcbeb26b3dcf8d3a42272c72886c3042)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F07%2Fby7e4azy.jpg&hash=543a25d94a2d8a94569929a5beef9a111e0a1ad5)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F07%2Fy5ajy9u5.jpg&hash=e5821a1493a6601bcdcde44ef9eaf230cdbef402)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F01%2F07%2Feta9e3ar.jpg&hash=021d8c313d69408e400b04a252c0e9454db816a4)
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What is that thing with a handle that looks like a weird shovel for ::)
Clifford, don't you know!? I thought for sure you knew what a Great Dane pooper scooper looked like!
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Aaaaand...our water lines just froze in the luggage bays... * grumbling while i pull on my carhartts *
15 F when I got up this morning outside of Muldoon Tx. Ain't suppose be be this cold here. I feel your pain. I can't get my head around all that snow and minus temps you boys and girls are putting up with. . When it thawed out I'd be on the first bus south! Mine! Stay safe.
Quote from: muldoonman on January 07, 2014, 06:31:16 AM15 F when I got up this morning outside of Muldoon Tx. Ain't suppose be be this cold here. ...
Yeah, almost exactly the same on the southern NC coast here. I had a friend in Burlington VT (what's that 30-40 miles from the Quebec border) complaining about 9 degrees; that's only 6 degrees colder than here!
And "Weather Underground" says that there's a break in the Greenland upper-level High that usually sits out there during the winter and this cold air will blow off soon.
But you all are making me cold with these snow pictures!
It's been in the 60's and even 70's in this area. I'm willing to send you guys some of the heat if you'll pay the packing and shipping.
I have really enjoyed this thread. Thanks, everybody!
;D
Scott:
I wonder if you might try taking some old carpet sections and laying them on the outside of your windshields, rubber backing against the glass, at least for night time when your view may not be that great anyway. I bet you might be surprised at the improvement in inside temps. And it won't have an energy cost for you, either.
Though we are located in central old Mexico, we are at 6,300 feet above sea level (1,000 feet less than Mexico City), so it is getting pretty chili here. Our homes have no central heating or A/C, of course. The last few days it has been so cold a man would snuggle up to his ex mother-in law.
;D
Check out our weather conditions live here:
http://weather.yahoo.com/mexico/queretaro-de-arteaga/san-juan-del-r%C3%ADo-143928/ (http://weather.yahoo.com/mexico/queretaro-de-arteaga/san-juan-del-r%C3%ADo-143928/)
Quote from: Mex-Busnut on January 07, 2014, 08:19:11 PM
I have really enjoyed this thread. Thanks, everybody!
;D
Scott:
I wonder if you might try taking some old carpet sections and laying them on the outside of your windshields, rubber backing against the glass, at least for night time when your view may not be that great anyway. I bet you might be surprised at the improvement in inside temps. And it won't have an energy cost for you, either.
Though we are located in central old Mexico, we are at 6,300 feet above sea level (1,000 feet less than Mexico City), so it is getting pretty chili here. Our homes have no central heating or A/C, of course. The last few days it has been so cold a man would snuggle up to his ex mother-in law.
;D
Check out our weather conditions live here:
http://weather.yahoo.com/mexico/queretaro-de-arteaga/san-juan-del-r%C3%ADo-143928/ (http://weather.yahoo.com/mexico/queretaro-de-arteaga/san-juan-del-r%C3%ADo-143928/)
blankets hung on the inside of the windshield help for sure...but the coach interior has been fine...74 degrees is comfy...it's the luggage bays that are the issue. I just froze a water line because the brass pex elbow was laying on the floor of the luggage bay in direct contact with the cold aluminum...this caused the elbow to slush up. I flamed it a little with my torch and then directed the heat right on it...also, stuck some rubber underneath it so it wouldn't contact the metal anymore. Problem solved.
I use a Kat's 2500 watt heater in my heated bay along with a low voltage draw 3.5 amp 24v Webasto water pump. It is isolated to the bus interior, but if I want I can open the engine circulating valves and heat the engine up for an easy start up. If interested in a low cost hydronic system I have two more 2500 watt, 120v heaters for sale in the Spare Tire section of this board.
--Geoff