Espar in cargo van
- Thread starter Mike99
- Start date
Thanks turtle.
gotto_03801
Seasoned Expediter
great setup!! but I am curious to how you keep cool when it's hot out since all I seen was a fantastic fan. I know that's not gonna do much good when it's a 100 out and your on blacktopMy 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.
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Thanks for your input Turtle. I can easily put a 3' extension hose on my Cold Air Intake. BUT, I am still and going to move up to the D4. Done messing around, Ya know? I can't go through what Mags and I did these past two winters. I want to have MORE than what I need. Not a thermostat set to 90 and it's still only 40 in the van. That just makes no sense. I want to mimic as close as possible the comforts I had in my Freightliner Cascadia.
Your's is a lot more finished and looks nicer Turtle. You did a great job. Mine is very rustic. Did the best I could. Ceiling is insulated and covered with those white, textured 4'x8' panels I bought at Home Depot. Side walls insulated with cut panels and canned foam...wished I'd have taken the time to also cover that with the white sheeting. Oh well, hoping and praying she'll get me to 2025 at least.
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I have the D4. The biggest between the D2 and the D4 is when the D4 is running on Low or Medium the D2 would be running on Medium or High. The D2 puts out the same BTUs as the D4 when the D2 is one level up.
However, the D4 has a 100mm (3.936996 inches) diameter hose and the D2 only has a 75mm hose (2.952747 inches). That one inch makes a huge difference in how much air gets moved in a given period of time. And it's all about airflow. Do your duct work properly and you'll find the van heated evenly and quite comfortable.
Crack a side window and get the fan turning on high and you get a nice breeze through there. But basically, I sweat a lot.
Definitely need the D4...I wanted it originally and Ray kept telling me I wouldn't need it if I partition off the bunk...which I did. Still wasn't quite enough on those Nasty, Bitterly Cold, Windy Nights. Gotta sleep good.
Hoping his guys don't have to do anything but change out the Heater Box, Ya know?
If you can, purchase the Espar D4 Airtronic....I have the D2 and it doesn't put out enough heat in my opinion. I have 12' of room back beyond my almost full-size bunk (it's a twin that I added 9" of width to to give Maggie, my dog more room) Bought the 2500 Sprinter 170" wb extended purposely so that I could have a permanent bunk and haul 3 skids.
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I have exactly 108 (9 feet) inches long for cargo. So, 2 skids.
It's rare that I miss out on a load because I can't haul 3 skids, and then don't get a 1 or 2 skid load, instead. If 2 vans are sitting there and a 2-skid load and a 3-skid load comes up, they're not gonna give the 2-skid load to the guy who can haul 3 and then just let me sit. I can't haul the 3-skid load, so I haul the 2-skid load, instead.
On those rare occasions that I don't get loaded at all because I can't haul 3 skids, there are countless examples of me being able to grab a nap while loaded that more than make up for it.
I just delivered a load that went 1300 miles straight through, with enough time to spare (after fueling and peeing time) in the run to grab a 2 hour nap and then a 3 hour nap. If I was loaded with 3 skids and no place to sleep, I'd have been screwed. And probably would have fallen asleep at the wheel. So, dead. Or I'd have had to turn down the load. So for meeee, a place to sleep while loaded is more important than being able to carry a third skid that generally doesn't pay any more than 2 skids, anyway.
The load I brought down here? One skid.
with marshmallows please
Espar in van ...? No
One in future ...maybe .. just that with Big Buddy and very good sleeping bag ..I have been comfortable... but maybe I will spend the $$$$ this year but I still think they overcharge for install ....
One in future ...maybe .. just that with Big Buddy and very good sleeping bag ..I have been comfortable... but maybe I will spend the $$$$ this year but I still think they overcharge for install ....
ThermoKing also sells and installs....and sometimes they have some great prices I HEARD....note the I heard...you should check them out...had mine installed there....also Thermo King has service centers in nearly every major city with a national warranty.....
http://www.esparparts.com/
gotto_03801
Seasoned Expediter
bubblehead
Veteran Expediter
Espar will likely be my next purchase. As I write this, I have been on hold for Webasto Customer service for 25minutes and 58 seconds. And counting. My Airtop 2000st caught the truck on fire due to a poor installation (I found out after the fire) and I am now searching replacement parts to correctly install the unit and avoid future fires. Thirty minutes and 42 seconds....
I started with a d2 in my sprinter and moved to a d4 this past winter. No bunk wall full open but do have curtains I can use on each end of the bed. Ceiling is foam board covered reflectix with the gray panels that came on the walls. The walls are rolled insulation covered with bead board. The roll was stuffed in the bigger voids and spray foam in smaller ones.. nothing added to the sliding door and only a small amount to the rear. The d2 actually did well except on the coldest of nights then it might be 57 or 58 inside when I woke up. The d4 takes care of that problem.
I would never recommend trying to heat a full sprinter, uninsulated with even a d4, it's kinda like searching for the cheapest fuel then driving 75 miles an hour everywhere. It just defeats the purpose.
I would never recommend trying to heat a full sprinter, uninsulated with even a d4, it's kinda like searching for the cheapest fuel then driving 75 miles an hour everywhere. It just defeats the purpose.