Hot water and hydronic heating

lawrosa wrote:
..I would probably get a wave 3 or 6 and hang it on a wall somewhere... Wave 3 heater

From the link above:
•For use in vented areas only

Hi lawrosa,

Initially catalytic heaters produce little CO however as the pad ages that increases. It also increases dramatically as Oxygen is depleted. I will not use an unvented combustion heater of any kind.

pianotuna wrote:
Does this calculation hold for a fan assisted heat emitter? Or does the fan have the effect of extracting more heat from the working fluid?

Its the same. Fan assist is due to the nature of the housing.

On baseboard air enters the bottom and heat outputs the top.. In a fan type case there are no inlet slots for air to enter hence why the fan..

As far as CO for the wave heaters, they produce no CO as far as I know... I will check specs though...

Does this calculation hold for a fan assisted heat emitter? Or does the fan have the effect of extracting more heat from the working fluid?

lawrosa wrote:
So my 200 sq ft camper would need 7000 btu as a heat sourse at a minimum..

200 sq ft x 35 btu per sq ft = 7000

7000 / 550 btu per ft of baseboard @ 180f = 12 ft of base board...( But wait)!!!!!!

I dont have 180f water. And as the chart for heat emmiters goes@ 120F water I would get maybe 200 btu per ft..

so 7000/ 200 btu per ft @ 120f water = 35 ft of baseboard...


Now where the heck will I put 35 ft of baseboard...???

In the United States, there are at least three organizations who have published workplace recommendations or standards for CO:

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has set the following enforceable standards: permissible exposure limit (PEL) for carbon monoxide is 50 parts per million (ppm) (55 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m(3))) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) concentration [29 CFR Table Z-1].

NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) has established a recommended exposure limit (REL) for carbon monoxide of 35 ppm (40 mg/m(3)) as an 8-hour TWA and 200 ppm (229 mg/m(3)) as a ceiling [NIOSH 1992]. The NIOSH limit is based on the risk of cardiovascular effects.

ACGIH (The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) has assigned carbon monoxide a threshold limit value (TLV) of 25 ppm (29 mg/m(3)) as a TWA for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek [ACGIH 1994, p. 15]. The ACGIH limit is based on the risk of elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels [ACGIH 1991, p. 229].

Some organizations cite medical problems arising from exposure to as little as 10 ppm, and have set much more conservative recommendations, typically giving 10 ppm as the level at which one should start worrying.

It's worth noting that a typical CO detector in an RV may not sound an alarm until CO level has been at or above the 50-100 ppm range for an extended period (hours).

lawrosa wrote:


IMO anyone would be best off with a wave olympian heater that also uses no electric...

I would probably get a wave 3 or 6 and hang it on a wall somewhere...

Wave 3 heater

I'm thinking (can also creat me problems) I've seen an article in Trailer Life a few years back featuring a company that makes a system that utilizes the heat ducts in most rv's. It mounted the the heat exchanger in an area like a 5er basement area. Sorry, I don't remember the name of it.

Im a plumber.. The issue with this concept is that these heat emitters are based on 180F water temps... The campers hot water heater like mine are set to 120F with no way to turn it up.

This will mean the heat emitters output is reduced.. To compensate you will need more heat emitters.


So my 200 sq ft camper would need 7000 btu as a heat sourse at a minimum..

200 sq ft x 35 btu per sq ft = 7000

7000 / 550 btu per ft of baseboard @ 180f = 12 ft of base board...( But wait)!!!!!!

I dont have 180f water. And as the chart for heat emmiters goes@ 120F water I would get maybe 200 btu per ft..

so 7000/ 200 btu per ft @ 120f water = 35 ft of baseboard...


Now where the heck will I put 35 ft of baseboard...???

Although the plan seems good this is what most fail to see...


IMO anyone would be best off with a wave olympian heater that also uses no electric...

I would probably get a wave 3 or 6 and hang it on a wall somewhere...

Wave 3 heater

I was wanting to do this as well and did some research...

This is the concept



This is what I wanted to experiment with...


I would use these two type of heat exchangers



I found one guy that had great success with his smaller TT trailer doing this...




Doesnt really look like a hard thing to play with to see how it work for you... Another guy on here has done the same concept keeping his fresh water tanks and lines heated up from freezing in the winter..

I think it would work like gang busters in my OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer and replace the way too hot and loud for us being the OEM propane furnace. The AQUAHOT 200 heater exchanger with built in axial fans would fit right into the spot where the OEM Propane furnace was installed...

Roy Ken

It would be easy to do with a circulating pump--but I would not use the fresh water tank as the reservoir. Use the water heater instead. The pump would need to be rated for the temperature and for potable water as would the "radiators". They are available from other hydronic systems with a built in 12 volt fan.

Thinking.....that often gets me in trouble.
I'm not sure if I completely understand your plan.

However, I have been researching hydronic radiant floor heat. On the Radiantec.com website (I can't make a link on my Kindle) they use an 'Open Direct System' for domestic hot water and hydroponic floor heating.
Maybe it's similar to your plans? Check it out when you get a chance.

Have a good New Year. Spring is on the way.