Retrofit a diesel-fired heating system?

[Bill Garamella]

"you could include a thermo switch embedded in a ¾" union to close a
power relay controlling the bus heater motors. Once the coolant temperature
dropped below, say 140 deg. F, the fans would shut down. If you haven't
already done this, another advantage of the temperature contactor would be
to prevent cold air from blowing until the re-circulating coolant was up to
temp."

Donn,

This sounds like the perfect solution. I don't know anything about thermo
switches or
embedding them in unions. But , i imagine it to be relatively simple and I
think I have a
guy who can help me with this. Thanks for the idea. I bet it will work nicely.

I am thinking about a similar solution for the Yanmar/Kohler gen-set fan. I
want to
quiet the thing down and am condsindering installing a 12Volt fan in addition to
the 1/2
hp AC beast. Use the 12 volt until temps rise enough to kick in the AC unit.
I imagine I can install an embeded thermo switch that will turn it the AC unit
on and off
by temp.

Shane did something like this on his 85 PT and it works well. The fan operates
intermittently. I don't think he has incorporated the 12 Volt fan into the mix.
I imagine
with the DC fan running all the time, one could really reduce the amount of time
the AC
unit runs.... unless of course your under heavy load like running 3- CruisAirs.

NH BIll
1983 FC 35 "Casa Billisa"

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Donald Watson" wrote:
>
> The Webasto Thermo 90 is definitely a decent unit. I installed one on the
> 38' sailboat I lived on for seventeen years. The Thermo 90 was used
> continuously for seven or eight years, logging well over 4,500 hrs. It
> feeds four radiators, the output of each escapes me at the moment, but each
> must be rated well in excess of 5,000 btu.
>
> I have had an issue, however, and that's that the burner appears to burn too
> lean. I've had to replace, with new or rebuilt, the burner tubes several
> times. I believe that I might have to throttle down the inlet. Webasto
> offers some diagnostic software and a 'pigtail' with which to convert to a
> serial port feed. I've got to locate this package and remedy the problem,
> but I remain an advocate of Webasto products. It's good to know that the
> Thermo 90 was sufficient to heat Scott's PT38.
>
> Scott, you could include a thermo switch embedded in a ¾" union to close a
> power relay controlling the bus heater motors. Once the coolant temperature
> dropped below, say 140 deg. F, the fans would shut down. If you haven't
> already done this, another advantage of the temperature contactor would be
> to prevent cold air from blowing until the re-circulating coolant was up to
> temp.
>
> Donn
> 76FC33
> South Kingstown, RI
>
>
> From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bill Garamella
> Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 12:37 PM
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Retrofit a diesel-fired heating system?
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> , "Scott Forman"
> <scottforman75@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Has anyone ever retrofitted one of the diesel-fired heating systems to
> > a mid-80's PT? This one one of only a few features of the newer
> > coaches that I really wish I had. It seems to my feeble mind that one
> > should be able to install the unit in a bay and tap in to the loop for
> > the original hot water heaters coming off the engine, but I am no
> > engineer. Any advice on this?
> >
> > Scott Forman
> > 86 PT38
> > Memphis
> >
> Hello Scott,
>
> I recently installed a Webasto Thermo 90 in our 83 FC. We installed it in
> the rear driver's
> side compartment. I am very happy with the outcome. The plumbing is the easy
> part.
> Installed it in series with the aux pump loop just before the pump.
>
> Tapped the fuel tank from a spare 3/8 plug that was already equipped with a
> standpipe.
>
> The electrical is a bit involved. Installed diodes and power supply for the
> aux pump and
> winter/summer Sporlan valves with an additional winter summer switch for the
> Webasto.
> The pump will automatically run when the Webasto is on.
>
> By doing this we did not have to disturb any of the dash wiring /functions.
> Therefore,
> when the Webasto is off, the hydronic system still functions as it was
> designed to with
> the engine running.
>
> The Thermo 90 is a varaiable output boiler from 6K to 31K BTU. It is very
> efficient.
>
> I have been testing it and it will warm up the coach and block nicely from
> 20 degrees F
> to comfortable room temps within 30 to 40 minuets. Heat starts coming out of
> the
> coach exchangers within 10 minuets.
>
> The only issue I have not resolved yet has to do with the coach blowers. I
> bypassed the
> aux bus where they were originally powered and put them on a dedicated 20
> amp circuit
> at the mid coach sub panel. This is not idiot proof in that once the
> thermostat is
> satisfied, the blowers will turn off but the blower porwer is still on. If
> the Webasto is shut
> down, the risk of forgetting to turn off the blower power remains and the
> blowers will
> run once the temp falls.
>
> I have lots of documentation and photos if you are interested. email
> bgaramella@...
>
> NH Bill 83 FC "Casa Billisa"
>