On board heat

[happycamperbrat]

I may be totally in left field here, but I had a thought that I have no idea if it would actually work in a converted bus. I was thinking about maybe running 1/2" or 1/4" copper tubing under the floors and in the walls evenly spaced every foot or so the full length of the bus. These would be plumbed into the radiator and have a steady flow of antifreeze and distilled water. There would be a valve coming out of the radiator so in the summer time it would bypass the copper tubing in the bus. A person could have a wood burning stove vented thru the roof with a removable stove pipe on the roof, and the copper tubing would run in or near the wood burning stove when parked... There could be bypasses and multiple valves to control where the hot water mix would go..... maybe this would be overkill for when parked, especially if a wood stove were used... maybe the weight of all the extra fluid would be a deterrent, maybe all the copper would be cost prohibitive.... maybe?

[Tikvah]

I've thought about some kind of radiant system like you describe.  In the residential world we use PEX tube.  Rather inexpensive and easy to manage.
But, I'd also like to know if someone has tried it. 
My first thought was that fact that it would raise my floor another inch.  I don't want to keep giving up inches.  But, radiant panel walls... that might work.

[happycamperbrat]

I dont know anything about the MCIs but with my plywood floor in the RTS I could run lines on the roof of the bays, which is right below the wood floor.....

[buswarrior]

Yes, I do recall some busnuts who have used radiant loops under the floor.

Are any of them still posting here?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[TomC]

One big problem with radiant heat-it is hard to control the temperature.  I'd think twice about subjecting the plywood floor to that kind of heat and drying out of the wood. Good Luck, TomC

[Tikvah]

One big problem with radiant heat-it is hard to control the temperature.  I'd think twice about subjecting the plywood floor to that kind of heat and drying out of the wood. Good Luck, TomC

Tom, it is true that it could be hard to control. Radiat heat of that type is slow to start then will stay warm for awhile.  If you just want a warm-up on a cool morning it might drive you crazy.  If you need consistant heat in a cooler climate then I think the hot water radiant could be ideal.  I'm not worried about the plywood.  Remember that hot air movement could dry wood over time, but radiant heat isn't blowing air.  It simply raises the temperature.  We do it all the time in new and old homes with fantastic results.  Even with hard wood floors.

I'm thinking I might put radiant in my walls, then put some small air driven heater cores under some cabinets and such.  Hopefully get the best of both worlds.

[trucktramp]

I think that Gumpydog put radiant heat in his bus.  Check out his site.  He will have detailed explainations of what was done.

[tpboj]

Link to Gumpydog

http://www.gumpydog.com/Bus/MC9_WIP/HVAC/House_HVAC/House_Heating/Hydronic_Heating_System/hydronic_heating_system.htm