Hydronic and Espar Heat

[06ViewH]

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 did on the Winnebago View Owners site. The following are the posts that may give someone some ideas on winter heating.

By the way - we still LOVE the hydronic heating setup and the Espar heating.

[06ViewH]

Today I finished up the wiring and added a new switch panel from Aquahot that has 3 switches Gas, Electric, and Engine.

I used the battery monitor to see how many amps the Espar used. Without the dash fans on, the amp draw was 1.5amps. With the dash fans it was 8.5amps. That is a bit of a problem - 7amps for the dash fans seem high. I'm hoping that I can just not run the dash fans and instead install 2 (.5 amp each) Cozy III heat exchangers to heat the coach. I'll find out soon when I receive the Cozy III's.

I also decided against the Redytemp recirculating pump. First the price is quite high at $400, plus it is 110v and would require that we always have the inverter on. Just dont want to take the chance that someone clicks off the inverter. So, instead I ordered a 12v solar recirculation pump that uses less then 5watts. Also ordered a recirculating valve to handle the water circulating.

Getting closer.

[06ViewH]

Spent good part of the day trying to adjust how the Espar mod operates based on what item is controlling it. Yesterday while testing out the water heaters control of the Espar, the water heated great but it also was 90 degrees in the coach. The way to fix this is to have the water heater only turn on the Espar and not the dash fan. But still have the fan turn on with the normal thermostat. Also, I'd like to turn in the Espar heater from the dash manually.

So, ran more wires, used a few relay's, and tried many different ideas. I believe I have it all working, but need one more relay to complete the job. That way the water could be heated with the Espar in the summer without heating the coach.

Slowly getting closer - soon the outside temps will gives me a good test.

[06ViewH]

Today I installed an Automatic Digital Temperature Controller for the water heater(http://www.ebay.com/itm/160816907893?var=460077054980&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT). We always have the desire to know the water temp in the water heater, but even more so with the Motoraide connection.

I installed the display on the "control wall" with the other lights/switches and ran the probe (extended it) to inside the styrofoam jacket around the waterheater. I then wired the Propane waterheater switch and the Espar pre-heat mod into the control unit.

Now, we can set the waterheater temp at the desired temp and the controller will turn off the propane or Espar when it reaches that temp. The real goal with this addition was to ensure that the water temperature is set for use to heat the coach and keep the lines from freezing.

I turned on the 110v waterheat switch and the water temp maxed out at 140 degrees. I then cooled down the water in the waterheater and ran the Espar pre-heat for about 4 hours. With the Espar it maxed out at 122 degrees (outside temp in the 50's).

Now, we can heat the coach with the Espar and have it controlled with the thermostat. Plus the waterheater controller will control the Espar to keep the water heated for use in heating the coach via the heat exchangers. The waterheater heat options are Electric, Gas, or Espar with switches that allow one or all to be on at the same time.

Now waiting for the Cozy III heat exchangers to install and the RedyTemp circulating pump.

[06ViewH]

I've been slowly working toward the solution to be able to run our 2006 VH completely (water, showers, etc) in the winter. Here are some of the items that I have completed and items on the task list:

-- completed the mod to run the Espar heater without the engine running.

-- added hose to hookup the Motoraide feature on the water heater. This will allow us to have the water heated as we drive and also when we run the Espar Mod without the engine running.

-- wired the Espar heater to run off the "Electric Heat/Heat Pump" option on the motorhomes thermostat. This will allow the furnace to be an "online" backup to the Espar pre-heater and also allow us to set the thermostat and that will cycle the Espar on and off as needed.

Next UP:

-- ordered Aqua-hot Cozy III heat exchangers (about .5 amps). I plan to tie the heat exchangers into the hot water heater instead of using the engine heat (motoraide hoses). This way we can get heat by using propane, electric, driving (motoraide) or Espar Mod to heat the water. The only concern is the water temperature from the water heater being not hot enough, but I measured the temp at 135 degrees from the bathroom faucet with the electric switch on. These heat exchangers will also be switch from the heat pump switch on the thermostat.

-- ordered RedyHeat to keep the pipes from freezing. Will hook this unit up to the water lines in the "water compartment". This will circulate the hot water back thru the cold water lines to the hot water heater. This is temperature controlled (based on water temp) and uses very little amps.

-- already have a Honda 2000eu generator that we'll use when needed. The Honda barely sips any gas and is quieter then the onboard LP generator.

-- ordered thermostat controlled electrical 12v switch. This will allow the control of the water heater temperature based on the thermostat. The electronic switch will be wired to turn on the Propane, Electric, and/or Espar Pre-heat. I like the idea of knowing the water heater temp prior to jumping into the shower or turning on the water heater just because we don't know the temp. With the motoraide connection, we did not need the water heater on most of the time - but a few times it was a cold shower when we had used up the hot water. This will take the guessing out of it.