Espar in cargo van
- Thread starter Mike99
- Start date
I have the diesel D4....even in -30 with a 40 mph wind I still couldn't get above the half way mark on the thermostat...it would sweat me out....
But the OP asked about the gas model.
I know that....there isn't much difference between them....I think its like 30 degrees at the source...diesel burns hotter then the gas model....so I was told....But the OP asked about the gas model.
Gas or diesel, doesn't matter. They put out the same BTUs, the only difference is the amount of fuel required to do it. Gas requires slightly more fuel because gasoline has less energy content than does diesel.But the OP asked about the gas model.
Got ya. Good to know.
And if cold weather comes and not enough $$ to buy an Espar, what is next best heat source?
No Ragman, I don't consider Marge Simpson a viable heat source.
No Ragman, I don't consider Marge Simpson a viable heat source.
Mike99
Veteran Expediter
A generator . You can buy a good used Honda 2000i from craigslist with 6-700. I will call Espar tomorrow for an estimate. Thank you for your answers
I had the Espar D2 Airtronic installed in 2011. I am going to invest in having the Heater Box switched out for the D4 this year before winter arrives.
Insulated as soon as I bought the ext. Sprinter. In the winter at night I partition off right behind my bunk with the 4'x8' pink insulation panels (1/2" thick) and at full bore on a 5-10 degree to -20 did NOT keep me and Maggie toasty warm.
Upgrading. Was told the D2 would be plenty and nope, on those REAL bitterly Cold days into night. Nope.
But it I$ $O worth the investment. This is your Office and Home on Wheels. You should have and deserve to have Comfort, Good restorative Sleep and be physically Safe, not freezing under everything you have to put on.
Insulated as soon as I bought the ext. Sprinter. In the winter at night I partition off right behind my bunk with the 4'x8' pink insulation panels (1/2" thick) and at full bore on a 5-10 degree to -20 did NOT keep me and Maggie toasty warm.
Upgrading. Was told the D2 would be plenty and nope, on those REAL bitterly Cold days into night. Nope.
But it I$ $O worth the investment. This is your Office and Home on Wheels. You should have and deserve to have Comfort, Good restorative Sleep and be physically Safe, not freezing under everything you have to put on.
You may have to get serious with the duct work. Just an open hole with the heat blowing out won't properly circulate the air around inside the van. You want a section of hose for the cold air intake on the back of the heater to be as far away from the heat output as possible. I have my heater blowing hot air out the front of the bunk, and the cold air return about 3 feet from the rear door of the van. Airflow and circulation is the key to efficiently heating (or cooling) and space.
Mike99
Veteran Expediter
I dont have a bunk.Open cargo are. What do you think?
My bunk actually presented additional airflow problems that I had to address. I initially had the heat output pointed straight up along the side wall, and no hose connected to the cold air input. Since cold air sinks and warm air rises, all that did was create a situation where it was 110 degrees near the ceiling and about 4 degrees where my feet were. Laying flat on the bunk was Goldilocks, though.
I then dropped the output hose down and ran it straight through the bunk (Espar heater is mounted just in front of the passenger side rear wheel well), and connected a length of duct hose and ran that towards the rear door of the van, near the rearmost of the wheel well. That resulted in a really, really hot from area of the van, and a relatively warm cargo area of the van, except the heat in the rear of the van was only from the height of the bunk and upwards. At the floor of the cargo area is was still 4 degrees. Heat would exit out the hose in the front of the van, waft rearward, but it wasn't gonna sink, cause warm air rises.
You can see the heat output vent in the lower corner of the bunk. There is another hole in the back of the bunk where the hose passes through from the heater to the front of the bunk. As you can see, my bunk is a barrier to airflow, so something had to be done about that.
On the right side, on the shelving, the second vertical support, just above the black cases with the yellow spots on them, is the vent for the cold air return. The hose goes from the intake on the heater to that vent.
On the back of the right side of the bunk is another vent. That's a second heat output, put there to direct heat below bunk level to the read of the van.
It's hard to see because the duct hose is wrapped in Reflectix, but under the old Pantehr hat and the Bengals hard hat is the duct hose. The one is a straight shot from the heater output to the front of the bunk. But instead of just the hose, I added a "Y" fitting and attached a second hose and wrapped it around to go out the rear vent of the bunk, and pointed the vent opening downward.
So, about 2/3 of the heat is coming out the front, the other third is coming out the rear, and the cold air return is sucking all of it towards the rear door and then back into the heater. The only real cold spots now are the foot wells up front. Everything else is fairly evenly heated.
It's all about airflow and getting the heat where you want it, without many cold or hot spots. Without a barrier to block the airflow, an open interior is a lot easier to deal with. All you really need to do is direct the heat output to the living area, and then have a cold air return near the floor and near the rear of the van, which will pull the heat back and down, and back into the heater. Kind of like the way a ceiling fan works in a room, only different.
Mike99
Veteran Expediter
My bunk actually presented additional airflow problems that I had to address. I initially had the heat output pointed straight up along the side wall, and no hose connected to the cold air input. Since cold air sinks and warm air rises, all that did was create a situation where it was 110 degrees near the ceiling and about 4 degrees where my feet were. Laying flat on the bunk was Goldilocks, though.
I then dropped the output hose down and ran it straight through the bunk (Espar heater is mounted just in front of the passenger side rear wheel well), and connected a length of duct hose and ran that towards the rear door of the van, near the rearmost of the wheel well. That resulted in a really, really hot from area of the van, and a relatively warm cargo area of the van, except the heat in the rear of the van was only from the height of the bunk and upwards. At the floor of the cargo area is was still 4 degrees. Heat would exit out the hose in the front of the van, waft rearward, but it wasn't gonna sink, cause warm air rises.
You can see the heat output vent in the lower corner of the bunk. There is another hole in the back of the bunk where the hose passes through from the heater to the front of the bunk. As you can see, my bunk is a barrier to airflow, so something had to be done about that.
On the right side, on the shelving, the second vertical support, just above the black cases with the yellow spots on them, is the vent for the cold air return. The hose goes from the intake on the heater to that vent.
On the back of the right side of the bunk is another vent. That's a second heat output, put there to direct heat below bunk level to the read of the van.
It's hard to see because the duct hose is wrapped in Reflectix, but under the old Pantehr hat and the Bengals hard hat is the duct hose. The one is a straight shot from the heater output to the front of the bunk. But instead of just the hose, I added a "Y" fitting and attached a second hose and wrapped it around to go out the rear vent of the bunk, and pointed the vent opening downward.
So, about 2/3 of the heat is coming out the front, the other third is coming out the rear, and the cold air return is sucking all of it towards the rear door and then back into the heater. The only real cold spots now are the foot wells up front. Everything else is fairly evenly heated.
It's all about airflow and getting the heat where you want it, without many cold or hot spots. Without a barrier to block the airflow, an open interior is a lot easier to deal with. All you really need to do is direct the heat output to the living area, and then have a cold air return near the floor and near the rear of the van, which will pull the heat back and down, and back into the heater. Kind of like the way a ceiling fan works in a room, only different.
Nice van turtle. What type/types of insulation did you use and where?
I used a combination of board foam and canned foam, then completely covered with Reflectix silver bubble pack insulation, sealed on the seals with the silver foil tape. I didn't insulate the driver or passenger door at all, and only used foam insulation inside the sliding door. I insulated ceiling and walls and rear doors (but I shouldn't have used canned foam in the rear doors, because it holds moisture which results in the rusting of the bottom of the door).
DO NOT INSULATE THE REAR DOORS LIKE THIS!!!
But this is how I covered up the foam, both on the doors and the walls and ceiling.
Looks pretty, anyway.
There is board foam and canned foam behind the plastic panels and under the luan on the ceiling.