Foam Board Insulation

[Karin]

I don't think buying a woodstove would be practical for me, but I'm seriously considering the Wave 6.

Insulating the windows will be easy. The bus used to be a mobile metal shop and the previous owner, to protect his equipment from theft, installed a double set of horizontal bars on the inside, running the length of the windows on either side. They're flat, and all I have to do is slip the Styrofoam between the windows and the bars. Perfect!

If I see the need, I'll try insulating walls and ceiling.

Thanks to everybody for the great advice! I'm timid about posting
here, but not so much anymore.

I'm looking forward to the day when I ask for advice about my own vehicle.

 

[SoulRaven]

A 23k BTU kerosene heater will do you a lot better than the wave 6 and only cost a fraction as much to run.

You can pick them up pretty cheap on craigslist, and not even have to worry about adding any extra insulation.

These are basically 4 times more powerful than a wave 6.

 

[Bdog1]

Riffraff, in regards to the plywood floor:
HD will cut the ply, and get it square, they charge $2 a cut but I have found they never charge you. I usually try to keep the cuts basic and know exactly what I want in advance.

 

[riffraff]

Hmm I imagined making a large cardboard cutout to fit the outline of the floor. IRRC they told me that basic cuts were free but they wouldn't do complex cuts at all. Once the plywood floor is in I could go crazy and measure for a bedframe!

Looking forward, once the plywood floor is down I'd want to finish the walls somehow. The foam boards are way too shiny to leave uncovered. Plywood on the walls too? How to secure them? Will try and find out. Guessing that would be helpful for securing things like a bed frame, solar & battery stuff and to add a cab/living space divider.

I found out today that I have a couple more days to work on this. *whew*

 

[riffraff]

Riffraff, good for you, you're getting somewhere, unlike some of us.

Thank you! Lots of nice people here helping guide this newbie. Didn't mean to hijack your thread but it seemed on topic.

I get what you said about adding to the value. My landlord is strangely noncommittal about all this. He's a nice enough guy, but I would think he'd be more interested.

He sounds like Scrooge to me!

 

[RogueRV2]

Protect that expensive insulation. Just ask them to cut a piece that fits between the wheel wells and the length of the sheet of insulation... That should be no more than 4 straight cuts.

 

[riffraff]

I like that thinking. If I were starting over I'd have that done and ready for when the floor insulation was finished, before working on the walls. I trampled on it a bit but it is surprisingly tough at 2". Knee pads seemed effective at mitigating any damage.

 

[Karin]

Off Grid wrote: A 23k BTU kerosene heater will do you a lot better than the wave 6 and only cost a fraction as much to run.


Ok, but what are other pros and cons? Is it safe?

 

[RogueRV2]

Karen said: "I don't think buying a woodstove would be practical for me, but I'm seriously considering the Wave 6".

I'm from a part of the country where just about everyone has experience with wood stoves. There is an excess of wood, so we burn lots of wood... If one boondocks in these parts, one never needs propane, if they have a wood stove. It would be safer for yourself, and I would prefer the convenience of a propane heater, especially in an RV, and if one can afford such. Look at the Mr. Buddy heater as well and see what fits your situation best. And to reduce the propane expense, you may also run the old stove and then the propane heater during the night. I except the price of all fuels will increase at a faster and faster rate in the next few years making wood stoves a necessity.

 

[akrvbob]

The single most important safety factor with any type of stove in a vehicle is clearance area around the stove. Since you have a bus it's going to be easier but for most vans it becomes a critical issue. Continuous exposure to heat can literally cause nearby flammable items to smolder and then simply burst into flame.

The Kerosene heater needs 3 feet in front and above it, that is hard to do in a van. Look carefully at the clearances required in the owners manual of any stove you are considering and follow them strictly!!
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

I have a 23k BTU round kerosene heater in my stock low top 15 passenger van, and with about 8 inches in all direction, nothing gets hotter that luke warm, no wheres close to reaching a combustion state.

With mine, the majority of the heat goes up, not out the sides. Since my van is a low top, I did add a heat deflector to the top of the heater, so that it wouldn't get the ceiling too hot. In vehicles with standing height, this was never a problem though.

Up in the frozen north, most all of the job shacks use kerosene because the propane heaters just won't do the job, and are also much more costly to run. Most off gridders also prefer kerosene.

Another added advantage of kerosene heaters (wick type) is that they are totally silent. If the hissing of the propane heaters drive you nuts like they do to me, kerosene will give you blessed silence.

Please note that I am not advocating ignoring the safety directions, I am just reporting on my findings, and my own setup. Different heaters my act differently.

 

[RogueRV2]

Hi Bob,
Your concerns are well founded. Any heater, be it propane, kerosene and especially wood stoves, are very dangerous if installed or used incorrectly. Yes, follow the manufacturer specifications for installations. By going beyond the manufacturers recommendations with redundant and excessive safety measures, I've found that aluminum sheeting does a fantastic job at reflecting the radiated heat and greatly reduces the temperature of the surface it shields. Unlike steel or other metals, by adding sheet aluminum during installation, this added safety feature greatly reduces the heat to the surface directly behind it. Aluminum foil works just as well, but unfortunately it is prone to tearing or puncture. The much heavier gauged aluminum flashing or sheet can be safely used for the purpose.

 

[Dino]

Off Grid do you recommend any particular brand or size of kerosene heater for use in a van? Thanks....

 

[SoulRaven]

Off Grid do you recommend any particular brand or size of kerosene heater for use in a van? Thanks....

I think this all depends on the conditions your expecting. I happen to have a cabin and a variety of kerosene heaters to choose from.

This summer, I have only been using a single burner (10k BTU) of a kerosene wick type camp stove with a clay flower pot turned upside down on it, and haven't needed anything more.

The kerosene heaters basically come in two flavors, round & rectangular. The rectangular ones throw most of the heat out the front, and the round ones throw most of the heat upwards.

If I'm wintering where it's cold, below zero, I will take my round 23k BTU heater, and stay toasty warm. Zero to freezing, a 10-12k BTU heater either round or rectangular, depending on what fits your setup the best, should be fine. Anything above freezing, I just use my campstove.

One thing I really like about using my campstove, is that the heat output can be totally adjusted, either as high or as low as you like. Most heaters are not as adjustable. When I was using propane, not only was it much more costly, but it was also a continuous pain to turn the heater on and off. ( I had both a Big Buddy and a Wave 6, neither were very adjustable, and I was always either way to hot or way to cold.) With my current setup, I can turn it up to raise the temperature, then turn it way down to maintain it. Now I can keep my van a nice constant temperature without all the hassles.

A clay flower pot will work on a propane campstove as well, it will just cost you quite a bit more for the propane.

Let me know if you need more.

 

[RogueRV2]

Thanks for sharing. I did not know much about kerosene heaters, but I do have 2 of the round types. As it wood be too expensive to buy wood for my wood stove, I will now be taking one of the kerosene heaters to Q to save money, and save the propane for cooking. I am concerned tho that the smell of kerosene might get to me, but I must save money, so it is necessary to give it a try. It's good have options as well as one type of fuel not be available. I also carry 2 kerosene lamps for those long dark winters weeks that PV system does produce enough. Running the generator to charge the batteries just to make light is inefficient in comparison to a kerosene lamp.

 

[SoulRaven]

Thanks for sharing. I did not know much about kerosene heaters, but I do have 2 of the round types. As it wood be too expensive to buy wood for my wood stove, I will now be taking one of the kerosene heaters to Q to save money, and save the propane for cooking. I am concerned tho that the smell of kerosene might get to me, but I must save money, so it is necessary to give it a try. It's good have options as well as one type of fuel not be available. I also carry 2 kerosene lamps for those long dark winters weeks that PV system does produce enough. Running the generator to charge the batteries just to make light is inefficient in comparison to a kerosene lamp.

Generally you shouldn't get much for fumes except for a few seconds when you light it, and a few seconds when you shut it off. I just love the kerosene heat when compared to other types. It seems to be the only type to penetrate clear down to my bones.

I love my kerosene lanterns too. They use so little fuel, and I prefer their nice warm glow over the harsher lights. I really only need enough light to walk around, see where I sat my drink etc; and even though they aren't really bright, they're more than enough for most of my needs.

I also picked up a solar powered book light that has a single LED light. I sit it in the window to charge it, and it gives a surprising amount of light when I want it. I also have a couple of solar/hand crank LED lanterns I can use if I'm wanting to light up a whole campsite.

Maybe see you at Q, I'm hoping to make it this year.

 

[LeeRevell]

I suggest the 'heater' posts herein be moved to their own thread, as this thread has been seriously highjacked and thrown off-course.

 

[highdesertranger]

I agree the heater part should be moved. but since we are on the subject. off grid what are you using for kero? diesel fuel. just curious because you said it's much cheaper. around here kero is very expensive, propane much, much cheaper. they are close to the same btu rating. so I really don't understand where the savings are. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

I went back and re-read the thread and in post 17 Karin, the OP brought heaters into the topic. My main goal with not hijacking threads is that the OP is served and her question is answered. I think we covered the topic really well and since she expanded the topic to include heaters, she is being served.

However, a second purpose for not hijacking threads is to make it easier for future forum members to find the information they are looking for. Splitting the tread would help a lot with that.

Let me see what I can do.
Bob

 

[Karin]

Thanks, Bob, for the information about the clearance for the Kerosene heater. I don't have that kind of clearance in the bus and I'm considering the Wave 6, but, as usual, internet browsing has me confused.

I found one account about the Wave 6 not keeping an RV warm at http://rvecafe.com/cata.html. They recommended the Empire 18K btu heater. Maybe that'd be overkill for me.

There's a site with tools for calculating BTU per square foot. Maybe I need to look into that first.

Tomorrow. Too tired tonight.