[a900]

Running a heat exchanger off the van coolant system to heat a the supply of pure water. Massive amounts of wasted energy through the coolant system that could be transferered

[brianbarber]

This would be the way forward
  It may be something that somebody has in development already.
Only issue is securing vehicle whilst engine running as whole point of hot water is not just heat, but the consistency  of that heat.
 
Mr B

[Clever Forum Name]

Already a couple of vans out there with this idea.

Water works window cleaning of Corby was developing a system which does/did this.

It was fitted on a transit mk7 and the results at brush head were good. Couldn't tell you temperature but it was hot!

[lal]

Already a couple of vans out there with this idea.

Water works window cleaning of Corby was developing a system which does/did this.

It was fitted on a transit mk7 and the results at brush head were good. Couldn't tell you temperature but it was hot!

 This sounds very interesting, using vans own cooling system to heat the pure water 

[Spruce]

Running a heat exchanger off the van coolant system to heat a the supply of pure water. Massive amounts of wasted energy through the coolant system that could be transferered

Our Hdi engines hardly ever achieve normal engine temperatures in the winter with stop start motoring. The only thing you could do if you did a high mileage was use that heat to warm the water in your wfp tank.

There was someone promoting a kit a few years back, but he was using an old VW diesel engine. His wife Debbie was using it to show in one of the southern beach parking lots.

His website doesn't load anymore
http://www.thefreeheater.co.uk/index.html

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=178779.0;all

Here is one of his videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0jrkWsaK04

If you click on his name he has a couple of other videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VAR4iiBuU&t=130s

Here are the parts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUBTk3Lj-vs
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[Arnold Palmer]

We've done it a few different ways over the years with varying degrees of success.

In the end it's easier, cheaper and less hassle to use an immersion heater or L5.

[EandM]

Running a heat exchanger off the van coolant system to heat a the supply of pure water. Massive amounts of wasted energy through the coolant system that could be transferered

Our Hdi engines hardly ever achieve normal engine temperatures in the winter with stop start motoring. The only thing you could do if you did a high mileage was use that heat to warm the water in your wfp tank.

There was someone promoting a kit a few years back, but he was using an old VW diesel engine. His wife Debbie was using it to show in one of the southern beach parking lots.

His website doesn't load anymore
http://www.thefreeheater.co.uk/index.html
Maybe Debbie pulled the plug on it or the idea just didn't work in practice.

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=178779.0;all


Here is another of his videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0jrkWsaK04

.

That was my first thought too.

It's a great idea on something old and IDI but unless you're doing considerable mileage a modern DI or TDCI diesel engine is never going to generate sufficient excess heat to be of any benefit.

[Spruce]

Running a heat exchanger off the van coolant system to heat a the supply of pure water. Massive amounts of wasted energy through the coolant system that could be transferered

Our Hdi engines hardly ever achieve normal engine temperatures in the winter with stop start motoring. The only thing you could do if you did a high mileage was use that heat to warm the water in your wfp tank.

There was someone promoting a kit a few years back, but he was using an old VW diesel engine. His wife Debbie was using it to show in one of the southern beach parking lots.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VAR4iiBuU


http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=178779.0;all


Here is another of his videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0jrkWsaK04

.

That was my first thought too.

It's a great idea on something old and IDI but unless you're doing considerable mileage a modern DI or TDCI diesel engine is never going to generate sufficient excess heat to be of any benefit.

I agree with you.  We hardly get any warmth through the van's heater by the time we get to work. In summer the engine warms up much quicker, but we want hot water in winter.

The new diesel engines are much more efficient and produce less heat. Range Rover has a Webasto diesel heater to supplement the heat needed to warm the inside cabin, so having one of these fitted would be a waste of time on that vehicle.

.

[dazmond]

also whos gonna leave their engine running all day while  working?(sometimes 90 metres up the road)

[Spruce]

also whos gonna leave their engine running all day while  working?(sometimes 90 metres up the road)

Daz, the idea is to fit a 12v electric circulation pump in the heater line. When switched on it will draw water from the hot engine block and pass it through the heat exchanger before returning it back to the engine.

So what happens is that the engine acts as a large heat source. But the engine has to be hot for this to work in the first place.

We found that a hot engine looses most of its heat within a hour of switching it off in winter. But water at 20 degrees is still enough to keep hoses supple so is that enough for what we want?

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[EandM]

I agree with you.  We hardly get any warmth through the van's heater by the time we get to work. In summer the engine warms up much quicker, but we want hot water in winter.

The new diesel engines are much more efficient and produce less heat. Range Rover has a Webasto diesel heater to supplement the heat needed to warm the inside cabin, so having one of these fitted would be a waste of time on that vehicle.

They're a great invention and application.
Our three Peugeot 406 hdi have auxiliary heaters fitted as standard kit, as do many of the PSA Diesels,  and they start producing cabin heat pretty much immediately. The morning school run in the 2.2 coupe is about 6 miles and by then the water temperature is up to normal - however - it takes another 5 miles of the return journey to get the oil temperature up to normal. My old IDI Ranger is fully warmed up  in around 3 miles.

[a900]

Defiantly would work better in the summer but the fact is that once the engine is warm there is a lot of energy wasted that could heat the water tank or a smaller header tank upto a much higher temperature. Even in winter I don't think anyone would want to touch there engine block or radiator. Once it was set up there would be free hot water.

I'm sure someone could workout the energy could be draw from the coolant system and work out how much driving is required to heat say 350l 35c or 650l to 20c or something

If the coolant pipes are run right to the water tank or header tank there would be no extra freezing issues to deal with. Also could drive to furthest job of the day first to get the temperature up or used in tandem  with a lpg set up to cut gas use age.

[Spruce]

Defiantly would work better in the summer but the fact is that once the engine is warm there is a lot of energy wasted that could heat the water tank or a smaller header tank upto a much higher temperature. Even in winter I don't think anyone would want to touch there engine block or radiator. Once it was set up there would be free hot water.

I'm sure someone could workout the energy could be draw from the coolant system and work out how much driving is required to heat say 350l 35c or 650l to 20c or something

If the coolant pipes are run right to the water tank or header tank there would be no extra freezing issues to deal with. Also could drive to furthest job of the day first to get the temperature up or used in tandem  with a lpg set up to cut gas use age.

2.65kw of heat will raise 2lpm of water through 25 degrees C.

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