[cbcs]

Right stay with me here while I try and explain this the best way I can.

I was talking to guy today that is involved in pressure washers, car wash parts etc.

I was talking to him about making a warm water system for window cleaning. He suggested that he could tap into the heater system of the van, put a valve in and an element in somehow (Not sure the details as I don't know much about engines etc) and then when I wanted warm water I could turn this valve on and instead of warming the cab up it would run into the element and heat the water. Then when I wanted the cab warm just turn the valve back off.

Does this make sense to anyone?

[RPCCS]

Dunno how that would work as the water in a car engine works of circulation. Water is stored in header tank of radiator, is pumped through the engine, then through heater matrix, out the other side ,back out through the thermostat into the header tank where it is cooled by air blowing through fins on radiator and the fan.
  To tap into the pipe and  branch off into a tank or whatever would need a return pipe or the engine would get too hot.

[RPCCS]

What would be better is a heating element from a water boiler that could be adapted to run off 12v supply,eg tab lighter socket

[Clive McDonald]

This has been done, it's not very good. The lighter socket idea is worse.

[jewelcleaning]

This has been done, it's not very good. The lighter socket idea is worse.

 

[steve.ternent]

Dunno how that would work as the water in a car engine works of circulation. Water is stored in header tank of radiator, is pumped through the engine, then through heater matrix, out the other side ,back out through the thermostat into the header tank where it is cooled by air blowing through fins on radiator and the fan.
  To tap into the pipe and  branch off into a tank or whatever would need a return pipe or the engine would get too hot.

   sorry but this is correct...
My advice is to stay clear of messing with your car heating system 

[windowwashers]

This has been done, it's not very good. The lighter socket idea is worse.

if posting as comment like that at least say why it is worse so evryone else that does not know can learn from it, I am guessing myself (I dont know) but would drain battery very quick leaving a dead water heater and a van that dont move. My reason for saying this I had a working light from cig (tab up north ) lighter went to start the van later battery dead a as dodo.


Ian

[shaun Collier]

i worked with a joiner who had an ex bt van, that is exactly how his van was plumbed and they had a sink with hot n cold water, BUT, the storage cylinder was in the engine bay and about 15 liters. probably brill for trad but dont think that there is enough btu output from an engine to heat a tonne of water tho.

[steve.ternent]

 : I just wanted to add

If you used it to heat continuously flowing water (somehow!)

you would at least have to have your van running!   

This being not only bad for the environment, but fuel being so expensive...

Not very cost effective... Only my opinion!  :

[Nathanael Jones]

The idea behind this setup would not be to have a HOT system,.. as it simply wouldn't heat fast enough and you'd have to have the engine running all the time.
The idea would be to have a lukewarm main tank (prob only 15 degrees Celsius or so) which would be more than enough to keep frost away from your gear in the winter, and keep your hands slightly warmer too.

It would effectively be FREE (after the installation costs) and very simple heating for your gear.
No more watching the weather forecasts and running out to the van to put greenhouse heaters or electric radiators going after you tuck a quilt round the reel!!!

IMO its a very good idea.

[shaun Collier]

if you only after a 15 degree temp...then install an eberspacher cab heater. i have one installed in my landy...mines diesal but they do a petrol version. i am amazed how cheap to run it is. it has a 7 day week timer and stat which goes upto 30 degrees but mine is set on 18. i used it all last winter with no probs. cost me £800 but it really is worth every penny. so if air temp is high then water temp will also rise but will take over night. the kits are cheaper if you fancy installing yourself. only uses a teaspoon of diesal an hour

cheerds

[Nathanael Jones]

£800 for a heater vs £100 or so to use the engine's heat?

[shaun Collier]

yeah but engine doesn't need to be running that the idea. guaranteed for 5 years. can be left on 24/7 cheaper than owt else

[Nathanael Jones]

The engine doesn't need to be running all the time,.. its only to take the chill off the water. An hour a day even in the depths of winter is prob enough to do the trick, and you'd prob be driving that much anyway.

[cbcs]

I'm going with the £100 or so option. Watch this space. Start the van on a morning before work, drive to work and water will be luke warm about 15 degrees or so, enough to take the chill out like Nat says. Once the water is warm in the tank it should stay warm for a couple of hours. (tested this before, 1000l tank filled with warm water kept warm for 4 hours.)

[Clive McDonald]

This has been done, it's not very good. The lighter socket idea is worse.

if posting as comment like that at least say why it is worse so evryone else that does not know can learn from it, I am guessing myself (I dont know) but would drain battery very quick leaving a dead water heater and a van that dont move. My reason for saying this I had a working light from cig (tab up north ) lighter went to start the van later battery dead a as dodo.


Ian

I'm hardly likely to say it's been done when it hasn't am i? what's more you took part in this post. Wayne did it, heres his comment, he has since bought an omni retro.
I have fitted a 75 litre twin coil calorifier tank into the back of my van. I  have it connected to the hot water outlet on my radiator so that the heat that would normally be dispersed through the radiator is instead passed through my calorifier tank and returned to the cold circulation side of the radiator hose where it is recirculated back through the engine block.
Inside my calorifier tank are two coils with a lot of fins which disperse the heat into the stored water encased in the calorifier which surrounds these two coils. The water that comes from the radiator is filled with a percentage of antifreeze/summer coolant to stop the engine block from freezing or overheating which then pass through the coils inside the calorifier tank. The water surrounding the coils I circulate around my WFP tank via a 12volt, 75psi shureflow pump.
On a long journey the water stored in the calorifier tank gets very hot. I can either leave this hot water to remain stored in the calorifier tank for 24 hours where it would remain hotter than if I circulated it through my very insulated WFP tank or I can transfer it to my WFP tank to use for the day. I have tried using the water straight from my calorifier tank straight to my WF pole but I find it tends to be too hot and the pressure builds up to quick and is likely to blow at the pressure relief valve which I fitted onto my calorifier tank. So for simplicity I use the heat from my calorifier tank by circulating it around my WFP tank instead.
To confuse you even further, in my calorifier tank I have a 2kw immersion heater element which I can connect to an electricity supply for heating the stored water in the calorifier, although it takes much longer to heat using the electric, then it would to have the engine running.
Using the immersion heater with electric cost money. Using the twin coil heat input from the engine costs me nothing if I'm travelling to and from work.
Hope this helps the DIY want to use hot water users 

[WayneThomas]

Just to add to the above post. I still circulate the hot water from my calorifier tank as it costs me nothing to heat it into my van tank. My retro heater hardly gets used unless I want hot water on demand for new cleans, con roofs, salty windows or just to wash my hands, lol.

[Clive McDonald]

Even I have to agree thats pretty smart,As a hybrid hot system it must be almost unique and save a great deal on running costs.

I have made a few negative comments about drawbacks I could see with the calorifier, and even at the begining oi this thread I dismissed it as a non starter. But I think this is a good example of where an idea starts in one place and then goes somewhere totally unexpected.

I couldn't have forseen this , nor could few other people.As such I suspect with rising fuel costs and a push for greeness this could be an idea worth nicking foir the big boys ,

[cbcs]

 

[Nathanael Jones]

Even I have to agree thats pretty smart,As a hybrid hot system it must be almost unique and save a great deal on running costs.

I have made a few negative comments about drawbacks I could see with the calorifier, and even at the begining oi this thread I dismissed it as a non starter. But I think this is a good example of where an idea starts in one place and then goes somewhere totally unexpected.

I couldn't have forseen this , nor could few other people.As such I suspect with rising fuel costs and a push for greeness this could be an idea worth nicking foir the big boys ,

You could market it as a "green" system and prob win more custies that way too!