Hydronic and Espar Heat
Last year we modified our Winnebago View to be able to use the motorhome (full water, showers, dump tanks, without Propane) throughout the Wisconsin winters. I thought I'd share the writeup that I di...
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Update on Espar hydronic:
After doing some more research, I found that I had plumbed the motoraide connections into the engine in the wrong spot. I changed it to send the coolant to the water heater and the dash heat directly from thee output of the Espar.
I also noticed that the coolant pump seemed to be pulsating. Tapped it with a hammer a few times and it freed up sand ran correctly. That would be at least part of the issue with the water heater not being fully heated overnight. During the night we could hear the Espar go high speed then slow down then back tho high speed and on and on. That would make sense if the coolant was not being circulated correct by the pump. The Espar would reach the temp limit when it shouldn't have. Now the Espar stays very consistent in its noise output and the engine temps reach 180 like it should. The other morning it was only 110 degrees after running all night.
So, I believe I have the problem with the water heat sliding overnight. Tomorrow night should be down to 30 degrees, so I can test it then. I also installed a 5watt solar pump in the coolant loop right before the water heater.
Looking forward to testing this out again.
After doing some more research, I found that I had plumbed the motoraide connections into the engine in the wrong spot. I changed it to send the coolant to the water heater and the dash heat directly from thee output of the Espar.
I also noticed that the coolant pump seemed to be pulsating. Tapped it with a hammer a few times and it freed up sand ran correctly. That would be at least part of the issue with the water heater not being fully heated overnight. During the night we could hear the Espar go high speed then slow down then back tho high speed and on and on. That would make sense if the coolant was not being circulated correct by the pump. The Espar would reach the temp limit when it shouldn't have. Now the Espar stays very consistent in its noise output and the engine temps reach 180 like it should. The other morning it was only 110 degrees after running all night.
So, I believe I have the problem with the water heat sliding overnight. Tomorrow night should be down to 30 degrees, so I can test it then. I also installed a 5watt solar pump in the coolant loop right before the water heater.
Looking forward to testing this out again.
