The down and dirty of coach heat

[chessie4905]

Used the furnace at night also. Some do object to blower noise, but since we have hot air heat at home, not a problem

[skihor]

Ok so you guys that like your propane furnaces, do you use them at night when you're sleeping?


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We have a 22K and a 40K Surburban. Yes they run at night. 12 years full timing now. the 40 was replaced when it was 25 years old.(went through 1 board and 3 motors). The 22K is 3 years old now with no issues. This month we burned through 125 gallons of propane. next month likely more. Been that way for all 12 years.
Don & Sheila

[Oonrahnjay]

We have a 22K and a 40K Surburban. Yes they run at night. 12 years full timing now. the 40 was replaced when it was 25 years old.(went through 1 board and 3 motors). The 22K is 3 years old now with no issues. This month we burned through 125 gallons of propane. next month likely more. Been that way for all 12 years.
Don & Sheila

      Is this living in/near the Denver area, Don?

[skihor]

      Is this living in/near the Denver area, Don?

Yes we live in west Arvada next to Golden.
Don & Sheila

[TomC]

The only way to get CO in the bus with a propane furnace is with a cracked combustion chamber. That's where a CO alarm comes in. I heat my house with a natural gas forced air furnace that's around 40 years old. I also have a CO alarm in my house. With the complexities, high maintenance, plumbing, pumps, valves to go wrong with a hydronic heat, I don't know how anyone would want it-unless you're that bored. Good Luck, TomC

[gumpy]

With the complexities, high maintenance, plumbing, pumps, valves to go wrong with a hydronic heat, I don't know how anyone would want it-unless you're that bored.

You keep saying that, but it's just not true.  They are not high maintenance, and there's not much to go wrong.

My hydronic system has been working pretty much flawlessly for over 10 years.  This last trip was the first time I've had any issues,
when the system started sooting badly. Probably my fault due to neglect lately. Other than that, I've had one o-ring go bad, and my engine
preheat pump is not pumping.

[chessie4905]

What wuold estimate is the initial cost of a hydronic system?

[digesterman]

I agree with gumpy, no problems here and love the even heat throughput the coach

[luvrbus]

What wuold estimate is the initial cost of a hydronic system?

John, you can build your own system with all new components for 5 to 6 thousand buying a new Aqua/Hot system will run around 10 to 12k if you don't go over board on the system.At 10 years Craig has good service from his. 

They are like everything else on a bus you need to stay on top of the maintenance,those guys like John and others they make a good living working on those units I do know that    

[Lee Bradley]

I think mine was less than 4K but I used a smaller Webasto (17,000 btu) and was able to source Webasto pumps on ebay for $100 vs $400.

[robertglines1]

Hot tub heater with built in flow switch hooked to thermostat .  kick it on starts pump and heat source -lp-elect- reach temp and shuts off. small expansion tank in system to store a small amount of liquid and take start up shock off pipes and small reservoir.  they used a similar system in home in 70's.  Bob

[buswarrior]

For the DIY hydronic builder:

Don't make the mistake of forgetting that the parts will have to come out of there sometime inconvenient... and preventive maintenance means ACCESS to the machines... easier it is, more likely you'll actually do some, or pay less per hour for a tech...

Like your windshield wipers, they rarely fail on a warm, sunny day...

Spend the money on isolation valves, and unions.

Karma being what it is, the busnut who plans and designs for failure, doesn't?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[sledhead]

I built my system because my coach came with a 45000 proheat , so that is not in the cost .

4 control manifold                                                                                                           $ 450
1 heat exchanger                                                                                                            $ 450
pex heat pipe in floor with 3/4 "foam board insulation between loops to hold up 1 / 2 " ply floor   $ 535
1     2 gal. 120 v water heater                                                                                           $ 135
1  pump 12 volt from proheat                                                                                            $ 235
misc. fittings and supplies                                                                                                 $ 250

                                                                                                                  total cost      $ 2055

ps   my system is over kill as after you have the zones set ( 10 years ago ) I have never adjusted them so a simple pex manifold would have worked , you can buy a simple heat exchanger that is not rated at 500 lbs psi  and you do not need the proheat pump a simple hot water pump with 3 speeds would have worked fine .
with a savings of $ 300 - $500 

I only did it this way as I did not want any problems and because we live way way up north in the perma frost .

but the quiet running even heat is amazing on the road and on the poll
just my way

dave                     

[Scott & Heather]

I get where Tom is coming from...you can buy and easily install a 30,000 BTU atwood furnace for $400 give or take. Hook it up to propane and you're done. A proper hydronic system will take time and $$$ to install. The propane furnace works...so it's simple and cheap. But, I also know that a properly set up hydronic system requires very little attention once set up. And everyone I know that has that setup loves it...

[Scott & Heather]

Woke up this morning to this haha:



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