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Date:         Fri, 2 Mar 2007 12:22:59 -0800
Reply-To:     Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Alternative Vanagon heaters - Zodi's, Tankless Water Heaters
Comments: To: Tom Buese <tombuese@comcast.net>
In-Reply-To:  <E1BA5A3A-5805-4FB5-AE7D-17B0F306E75A@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

I just spent the morning laying out and connecting a Watts Sun Touch heat mat.

This is very low amperage radiant in-floor heating. I'm putting it under tile, but it is spec'd for engineered flooring too. I see that the 4'0" x 2'6" 120 volt mat draws only 1.5 amps.

Would that be low enough to work off an inverter?

Jake

On 3/2/07, Tom Buese <tombuese@comcast.net> wrote: > > On Mar 2, 2007, at 11:17 AM, John Rodgers wrote: > > > The tankless hotwater heater thread prompted my thoughts on > > alternative > > heat for the inside of the van when camping etc. > > > > Would not a circulating fan mounted behind a finned heat coil > > INSIDE the > > van - supplied with hot water from a source OUTSIDE the van - when > > camping eliminate a lot of problems related to other than under the > > seat > > gas or diesel fired heaters? No fumes, no CO, no CO2, no water > > vapor to > > condense inside, etc. Just dry heat coming off the coil. > > Hmmm, or radiant heat thru heat fin tubes or continuous tubes in the > floor of the vanagon? grin > > > > The tankless water heater thread reminded me of having seen something > > like what I described mounted in a school bus in Alaska up near > > Fairbanks that had been converted into a camper. It worked mighty > > slick. > > The owner of the bus had plumbed it with copper tubing, installed heat > > coils and thermostatically controlled fans, DC circulating pumps, and > > shutoff valves and quick disconnects at the point where the plumbing > > entered and left the bus. System was filled with water and antifreeze. > > Outside was a drum fitted with a coil of copper tubing down inside and > > the drum was filled with water with some antifreeze in it. The drum > > was > > up on a steel frame with a half-drum wood stove underneath. Wood of > > course was the fuel for this contraption. It worked well. Was not > > extremely portable, but it could be broken down and moved if needed. > > > > Would not the principles applied in the school bus camper be a viable > > and safe-for-sleeping-in-cold-weather alternative to the underseat > > heaters, catalytic heaters, etc, that are often used in the Vanagons? > > I have a building under construction now that is using ground source > heat pumps connected to 2 large wells (240' each deep)in the ground > that extract the water from 1 well, run it thru the heat pumps to > heat or cool heat coils/exchangers which provide heated or cooled > air, then the water is injected back into the ground w/ the 2nd well. > Very energy efficient. Not cheap on the front end, but pays for > itself over 5-8 years+-. My explanation might be a little > simplistic, as I am only the architect, & I rely on my mechanical > engineers to actually make these things work, but you are going to > see more & more of these alternative systems. > > Now if you can just bring this whole system along w/ you, voila, your > have nice AC? > > Tom B. > > > > Opinions, ideas, and suggestions, anyone??? > > > > Thanks, > > > > John Rodgers > > 88 GL Driver >

-- Jake 1984 Vanagon GL 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie" www.crescentbeachguitar.com


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