Staying warm while driving

CaptPat · 12-20-2009, 03:46 PM

While traveling from Northern VA to Florida last week we were driving for some period with temps below 20 degrees. The dash heater was very infeffective, we have aqua hot and were using the engine to heat it, however it wasn't helping much either. Is that normal or do I need to fire up the diesel burner too?

George Z · 12-20-2009, 03:54 PM

May have an engine thermostat problem but I wouldn't hesitate to fire up burner if I were cold.

cyko · 12-20-2009, 06:30 PM

We had no heat last year traveling south. Turned out when we had our coolant changed they left a couple of valves controlling flow to the heater shut off. We did run our propane heater on the road and it worked fine.

RobRV · 12-20-2009, 06:45 PM

If yours has the Typical Evans Electronic Water Control Valve the Flow Restriction through it is about 50%. The Valve can be bypassed, however it may lead to a problem with the Engine later on so be careful that You replace the Original Part!

It Takes a long time before You get any Heat from Most Diesel Engines especially if they are located at the rear of the coach!

Roger Berke · 12-21-2009, 06:06 PM

There is no reason that you cannot use the Aqua-Hot diesel burner to heat your coach while you drive.

The engine coolant line that runs between the engine and the Aqua-Hot is typically ¾” inside diameter. There is a limit to how much heat your engine will transfer to your Aqua-Hot to heat your coach.

Turn on the diesel, and set thermostats inside the coach as you normally would when stationary. Keep driving south until you don’t need heat.

- Roger Berke -
Moderator
HydronicRVHeating : Hydronic-RV-Heating

Cruzer · 12-22-2009, 12:33 PM

In cold temps we drive with the diesel burner switches on. Remember that the diesel burner only kicks in when the boiler antifreeze drops to a given temperature. When you drive you do get some "free" heat because the HydroHot's Motoraide feature allows engine coolant to add some heat to the boiler. If it's not that cold out the heating demands aren't that great so you may even make it on the Motoraide alone. If it does get colder and you need more heat the diesel burner will kick in as needed to keep the boiler hot but it will be far less when driving than when standing because the Motoraide will contribute a good chunk of that heat.

Just for reference, the BTU ratings of the three heat sources for HydroHot are as follows:

Diesel Burner - 50,000 BTU

Electric Heating Element - 5,630 BTU

Motoraide Heating - 10,000 BTU (approx)

Flagelpater · 12-22-2009, 04:31 PM

FWIW You can hang a sheet right behind the driver and co-pilot seats, floor to ceiling. This will allow the dash heat to be more effective. If you notice the dash heat is effective when you come to a stop, the problem is because you are giving up most of your heat as air moves over the windows when you are going down the road. Make sure you have all rear window curtains closed and roof vents insulated as well. Contact cooling is very effective.

read & learn · 12-23-2009, 08:21 AM

We do the same as Flagerpater, The old sheet trick also works great in the summer for the AC. Remember dash heater, AC is not made to handle the larger area of the RV just the driving area.

CaptPat · 12-23-2009, 02:08 PM

Thanks everyone, we'll try running the diesel burner on the return north later next year.

Gary - K7GLD · 12-23-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flagelpater

FWIW You can hang a sheet right behind the driver and co-pilot seats, floor to ceiling. This will allow the dash heat to be more effective. If you notice the dash heat is effective when you come to a stop, the problem is because you are giving up most of your heat as air moves over the windows when you are going down the road. Make sure you have all rear window curtains closed and roof vents insulated as well. Contact cooling is very effective.

AH-HA!

So THAT'S what the Velcro and sheet are for that came with our '88 Winnie we recently purchased! I figured it was some sort of screen for use between the driver and passenger seats and the rest of the living area - but since we also have the curtain for the side windows and windshield, I couldn't figure why anyone would want to partition off the front captain's chairs from the rest of the front room area while parked - never thought about using it while under way...

Thanks!

powerboatr · 12-23-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

AH-HA!

So THAT'S what the Velcro and sheet are for that came with our '88 Winnie we recently purchased! I figured it was some sort of screen for use between the driver and passenger seats and the rest of the living area - but since we also have the curtain for the side windows and windshield, I couldn't figure why anyone would want to partition off the front captain's chairs from the rest of the front room area while parked - never thought about using it while under way...

Thanks!

yup I learn something new everyday here

George Z · 12-23-2009, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

AH-HA!

So THAT'S what the Velcro and sheet are for that came with our '88 Winnie we recently purchased!

Thanks!

No no it's a complimentary Halloween costume.

Gary - K7GLD · 12-23-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Z

No no it's a complimentary Halloween costume.

HMMmmmm - I'm told I'm scary enough WITHOUT a costume...

The supplied curtain looks to have never been used - didn't know what else it might be for, so just put it away for possible future use.

George Schweikle · 12-28-2009, 07:05 AM

The curtain also works well for cold weather camping; the windshield lets a lot of heat out, so the front can be curtained off to hold more heat in the back when stationary. We used to use the same trick when we did a lot of ski trips in our Midas Mini.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

....The supplied curtain looks to have never been used - didn't know what else it might be for, so just put it away for possible future use.