Home made diy heating will it work

I dont like the thought of being reliant on gas and last year I had carbon monoxide poisoning so trying to go green , I have a large solar panel to install. I guess I like the idea of running on electricity

 

How did you get CO poisoned?
What occurred to make that happen?

 

200 watt draw on your battery is a lot and over 16 amps.

The minimal amount of heat you would get from that size element wouldn't be worth it, your element would cycle on every minute or 2 as it rejected its heat, also the heat loss in your van would far exceed the heat gain you require.

Did you get CO poisoning from the propex?

 

I had a diesel propex used it when driving had no problems


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Wasn't that exciting it was a improperly vented fridge left running over night, luckily I only had a tiny amount of gas left so it can out. But i parked up in layby woke up in the morning felt dizzy, went out side for a wee and fainted half way through and thought something was up .

 

If you still have heat exchangers, running some cheap ducting from them or wrapped round your exhaust-to the original vents would be a darn site easier, surely?

 

So basically this is a very pointless build and only worth while using if I wrap the hose around the exhaust pipe.

Looks like I'm going to just be using the propex

 

No exchangers everything was stripped during an old resto

 

in answer to your question, i doubt it will work to provide any noticeable heat.

if you don't want to use your propex, sell it and invest in the heating pipes and what not for the engine to provide you with heat while driving.

if you want heat while parked up as well, then keep the propex and get it checked annually by an LPG qualified GasSafe engineer, and invest in a good CO alarm, don't scrimp on safety checks.

 

Heating water to then blow cold air across it is very inefficient, more so at 12v. Your better off devising an air source, using a dry element instead. I've been thinking through a hybrid of a 12v plug-in kettle element. Or even a cigarette lighter ekement and a cheap dashtop fan. I can't see any reason why that wouldn't work to at least heat the cab area whilst driving, using a standard lighter socket?

 

Well I randomly decided to have a little play online poker last night 1st and last time in years but won 100. So I decided to treat myself and bought myself the parts needed. I get it won't really work but still think it could be a fun little project

 

How about a slimline storage heater behind one of the seat bulkheads- charge with heat overnight and discharge heat whilst driving during the next day?

 

If it works, we need to know!

 

What about some sort of warm air heating system , could somehow collect hot air off the exhaust and feed them to some sort of on dash control system, it’s a crazy idea but it might just work !!

 

No it wont work!

How did you get carbon monoxide poisoning? Was if from your propex as that's close to impossible unless its goosed!

Propex, if installed correctly can be used in a moving vehicle?

Spend your cash on either your stock heating system or getting your propex fitted properly.

Happy to provide advice... first bit would be don't bother doing this. Maximum alternator output is 55 amps on most buses which equates to around 600 watts. It runs the bus, its lights etc and flat out.

Fag packet calculations show 200 watts will raise the heat of say 3 litres of water from 10 deg C to 70 degC in an hour and 3 minutes.... need I go on? you will be constantly cooling that to get the heat out of it so it will never get there.

An enclosed system in contact with the exhaust headers might work if you can get enough contact area as that's waste heat.

As a comparison. A standard Electrolux fridge element is around 100 watts from memory and people have lots of issues with dead batteries using them.

 

Are you Scotty?

 

Hopefully you've had it all checked over now?
And fitted a CO alarm as per @Merlin Cat suggestion?
I wonder will it actually take someone from the forum dying before people understand that these old gas and electrical systems need respect and a professional attitude towards re-commissioning and on going regular use.
A 3 way fridge used on gas should be serviced and cleared of obstructions every year. Period!
Oh, and while I'm on my soap box, DC electrical systems can catch fire if not properly designed. Do your research before you dive into the solar panel fitting if you haven't already...

 

Could you then put a fan in the engine compartment and the push it up a pipe to the cab area? Your'e a genius you

 

I just want to thank everyone for there support and advice. I will build it just because I've bought the parts but sounds very much like it'll be pointless. However I guess I can use it for warm water to wash up. And just use the propex once checked over.


Ok so heating doesn't look like it'll work. How about cooling what if I put the tank of water inside a mini fridge underneath the van for cold air over the summer?