Hydronic baseboard heating users question

scanzel · December 10, 2009, 05:36:50 AM

On my conversion I am keeping just about all the side windows on the coach and of coarse this will add a lot of cold in the winters. I have thought of hydronic toe kick heaters but like the idea of baseboard. Quieter over fans running on and off. My heat source will be Proheat X45. My windows will be covered with some sort of shades or drapes etc. My question is how many of you are using this method and do you have it broken into zones and what type of baseboard did you use. Thank You.

loosenut · December 10, 2009, 08:22:33 AM

I have "hydronic baseboard heating" heated by Webasto. It has one zone with the thermostat midcoach in the Salon. The heating element extends from under the beds (forward wall of the engine compartment) down both walls to the stairs/drivers seat.

The lower wall in the shower and toilet area have been sloped out to cover the heating element. Every other obstacle sits above, the drawers, beds, closets etc.

Mike

rv_safetyman · December 10, 2009, 08:32:03 AM

I need some clarification here. Are you talking about pure radiant heating or fan/coil heat exhangers?

I have the Aqua Hot system with the fan/coil units and it is great. You can hear the fans, but it is not at all obnoxious.

I have read that pure radiant heating in a bus is a tough system to design. You need some relatively long runs and that is not real easy to do in a bus.

At least one person has done a radiant floor system. Folks told him it would not work, but he is very happy with the installation.

Jim

Nick Badame Refrig/ACC · December 10, 2009, 09:32:05 AM

Hi Steve,

1 zone is plenty unless you want to only heat the bedroom while you sleep.. Then 2 zones will be the way to go.

Don't forget to utilize every inch of wall space as you can with the baseboard rads.. Especially up front by the drivers area.

A loop in the tank compartment will also be a good thing!

The only draw back with BB rads are they tend to rattle alot while driving down the road..

Good Luck
Nick-

Frank @ TX · December 10, 2009, 10:04:22 AM

Hi Scanzel ,
We have an Aqua Hot with 4 zones.
One zone is in the water bay controled by its own thermostat.
The other 3 zones are controlled by Comfort Center thermostat, that also controls the 3 AC units.
The upstairs heaters are two toe kicks in series to heat the fornt room and kitchen.
One TK for the bathroom.
And one TK for the bed room.
We have 7 single pane slider windows with "DayNight" covers.
Hope this helps you design your system.
Frank

David Anderson · December 10, 2009, 11:00:19 AM

Two zone webasto for me. 3 fan forced and 3 baseboard radiants in the lounge/galley. one fan forced in bedroom and one in bathroom. I also have one fan forced in the water bay. I was in minus 8 degree weather once and kept the bay at about 48 degrees.

I bought the fan forced heaters from Wrico. I bought the radiants from Heatrim. Grainger has them in various sizes. On of my Heatrim radiants (behind sofa) has no shroud. It is uncovered and radiates heat up the wall behind the sofa, really nice as you feel the warmth rising up the window to the ceiling.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/3E536?cm_mmc=Google%20Base-_-HVACR-_-Heating%20Equipment-_-3E536

oldmansax · December 10, 2009, 06:07:12 PM

If you can afford it you might consider the cast iron baseboard heat. They are a little taller & thinner than regular baseboard. They will never rattle because they are all one piece of cast iron. They will outlast the bus & heat very nicely.

TOM

Iver · December 11, 2009, 01:32:23 AM

We have around 30 feet of radiant baseboard in our coach. Also one small fan forced heat exchanger in the kitchen area. All on one loop and heated
with our Hurricane system. Nice quiet and comfortable heat. Works well.
Iver.

PCC · December 11, 2009, 06:01:10 AM

Thank you to those who are sharing their experiences about baseboard heating.

I was planning to install baseboard heaters and never thought that there was anything more to think about, but I feel comfortable with my plans now.

Thank you

Brian Diehl · December 11, 2009, 08:24:08 AM

Quote from: oldmansax on December 10, 2009, 06:07:12 PM
If you can afford it you might consider the cast iron baseboard heat. They are a little taller & thinner than regular baseboard. They will never rattle because they are all one piece of cast iron. They will outlast the bus & heat very nicely.

TOM

I have these in my house and they work great!

PCC · December 14, 2009, 07:50:15 AM

Quote from: rv_safetyman on December 10, 2009, 08:32:03 AM
At least one person has done a radiant floor system. Folks told him it would not work, but he is very happy with the installation.

Does anyone have any more information about some successful radiant heated floors in a coach?

Considering one of my anticipated uses for the bus, my floor is being redone in a way that makes it easy to add the piping between the original floor and the new over-flooring being installed an inch above. That would make working and living in the bus far nicer on the feet, as well as adding a dimension of overall warmth to the interior.

Thoughts?

By the way, it would be accessable at any time for maintenance, as the 'over-floor' is removable.