Just finished fitting a ecotherm heater which uses the hot water from the suburban sw6dea hot water heater. These can be bought from SWIFT in kit form however I made my own for under $100 with the help off our friendly wrecker and flea bay. I procured a good car heater core, ordered a 12v solar water pump, a n/c solenoid, temperature regulator, computer cooling fan 12v, John Guest push on fittings and 12mm nylon tube, various fittings etc. Useing a tee in the cold water line to the 12v water pump to the heater core from the core thru the normally closed solenoid to another tee on the hot water line. Zip tied the fan to heater core, wired the temp reg, fitted it in next to the suburban heater in the cupboard which is not used except for the filler lines for the water tanks. Got a 114mm x 222mm grill from the bunnies and put it on the other side into the bed cavity. If you need additional info get in touch. In the process of testing So far so good.
aussie_paul said
09:24 PM Jun 3, 2017
Innovation, love it bandit11.
Aussie Paul.
OutbackMK said
10:19 PM Jun 3, 2017
Running the genuine article... some things that need to be checked 1) Pressure of pump right to return water to tank without popping safety valve. 2) Noise level of fan low. 3)Use a thermostat to control fan on and off. 4) Low pump noise original pumps started cavitating when other taps turned on, new ones are very quiet.
Summary; The Ecotherm kit I brought installed easily and although it cost me more than $100 was well worth the price as it was a lot simpler and safer than a DIY gas or diesel heater installation without the worry of a fire burning under the van.Also could be ordered with fittings which saves a lot as JG bits are like gold from normal suppliers. Worked a treat without increasing gas usage free camping at Kangaroo Valley which was very cold. Brian
-- Edited by OutbackMK on Saturday 3rd of June 2017 10:19:53 PM
bandit11 said
10:24 AM Jun 5, 2017
The pressure of the pump is 45 psi, which is too high for the automotive heater core, it has sprung a leak, will post here when a work around has been figured out.
mischief said
09:42 AM Jun 10, 2017
Hi Guys Did this exercise on a Truma 14ltr unit ..Was successful to a point,,but run out of puff as the heater core could not keep up with the demand. Slowed down the pump speed and helped a little..My belief is a bigger heater 22ltr at least and adjustable fan speed at the core would suffice.. Bad luck about your radiator core,,you need an oil cooler one.. Hell of a good project though.
Dick0 said
09:42 PM Jun 11, 2017
bandit11 wrote:
Just finished fitting a ecotherm heater which uses the hot water from the suburban sw6dea hot water heater. These can be bought from SWIFT in kit form however I made my own for under $100 with the help off our friendly wrecker and flea bay. I procured a good car heater core, ordered a 12v solar water pump, a n/c solenoid, temperature regulator, computer cooling fan 12v, John Guest push on fittings and 12mm nylon tube, various fittings etc. Useing a tee in the cold water line to the 12v water pump to the heater core from the core thru the normally closed solenoid to another tee on the hot water line. Zip tied the fan to heater core, wired the temp reg, fitted it in next to the suburban heater in the cupboard which is not used except for the filler lines for the water tanks. Got a 114mm x 222mm grill from the bunnies and put it on the other side into the bed cavity. If you need additional info get in touch. In the process of testing So far so good.
Good that others are having a go at thermal heating...it really is a simple DIY project.
Of course different installations in different caravans.
To solve over pressuring the heater core get a engine oil cooler ,new, from eBay a 12 row is what I used, use new parts because it it is in the caravan water and you don't want sump oil contamination, adds $55 to the conversion, the cooler is aluminium
Just finished fitting a ecotherm heater which uses the hot water from the suburban sw6dea hot water heater. These can be bought from SWIFT in kit form however I made my own for under $100 with the help off our friendly wrecker and flea bay. I procured a good car heater core, ordered a 12v solar water pump, a n/c solenoid, temperature regulator, computer cooling fan 12v, John Guest push on fittings and 12mm nylon tube, various fittings etc. Useing a tee in the cold water line to the 12v water pump to the heater core from the core thru the normally closed solenoid to another tee on the hot water line. Zip tied the fan to heater core, wired the temp reg, fitted it in next to the suburban heater in the cupboard which is not used except for the filler lines for the water tanks. Got a 114mm x 222mm grill from the bunnies and put it on the other side into the bed cavity. If you need additional info get in touch. In the process of testing So far so good.
Innovation, love it bandit11.
Aussie Paul.
Running the genuine article... some things that need to be checked
1) Pressure of pump right to return water to tank without popping safety valve.
2) Noise level of fan low.
3)Use a thermostat to control fan on and off.
4) Low pump noise original pumps started cavitating when other taps turned on, new ones are very quiet.
Summary;
The Ecotherm kit I brought installed easily and although it cost me more than $100 was well worth the price as it was a lot simpler and safer than a DIY gas or diesel heater installation without the worry of a fire burning under the van.Also could be ordered with fittings which saves a lot as JG bits are like gold from normal suppliers.
Worked a treat without increasing gas usage free camping at Kangaroo Valley which was very cold.
Brian
-- Edited by OutbackMK on Saturday 3rd of June 2017 10:19:53 PM
The pressure of the pump is 45 psi, which is too high for the automotive heater core, it has sprung a leak, will post here when a work around has been figured out.
Good that others are having a go at thermal heating...it really is a simple DIY project.
Of course different installations in different caravans.
This is what I did last year and works a treat!
To solve over pressuring the heater core get a engine oil cooler ,new, from eBay a 12 row is what I used, use new parts because it it is in the caravan water and you don't want sump oil contamination, adds $55 to the conversion, the cooler is aluminium