Well, I did it. - R-pod Owners Forum

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Location: San Luis Obispo
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Posted: 10 Nov 2017 at 8:56am

Marwayne,

Thanks for the pictures and help. This should be fun and it's such a great idea!

Your heater core looks like 12" x 8" ?

I found this 12 x 8 on ebay for $36 and it's on it's way, and I Have the other parts already.

Still noodling out how to power the pump and fans with a thermostat, does the thermostat send good 12v to the pump and fans or did you use a relay?

Thanks again, John

SLOPODMODS
John&Sue,SLO,CA
2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost

marwayne

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Posted: 10 Nov 2017 at 11:46am

My heater core is about 8" x !4", I have a fan on either side. The air duct is under the heater core, the air pressures meet in the middle under the heater core being pushed up and than out. I also tried a heater core like yours, however it needed a powerful fan to push the air through the tiny openings of the heater core. That is why I built my own, the fins are far enough apart for the free flow of air being pushed by the fans. I just wired it up direct , no relay switch.

If you want something done right, do it yourself.
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd.

voisj

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Posted: 26 Nov 2017 at 11:52am

Marwayne,

Thanks for the info! I finally put it all together and it works very well. I used an 8 x 8 heater core and a 3 speed 8" computer fan that blows the air from the back side. I hooked a switch up that allows me to use either the new exchanger/fan or the regular furnace on the original thermostat. It's just temped in, (not pretty yet), until I can test it for real, It's been 80 degrees the last 5 days and 60 at night, not the best for testing.

Thanks again, John

SLOPODMODS
John&Sue,SLO,CA
2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost

marwayne

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Posted: 26 Nov 2017 at 7:09pm

Well you did it. congrats

If you want something done right, do it yourself.
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd.

MIK

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Posted: 20 Oct 2018 at 9:28pm

Originally posted by voisj

Marwayne,

Thanks again, John

Hi voisj, do you have the parts list you used for this project?

2018 R-Pod 180

voisj

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Location: San Luis Obispo
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Posted: 22 Oct 2018 at 9:50pm

MIK,

Bought the main items from EBAY.

8x8 heat exchanger https://www.ebay.com/itm/Water-to-Air-Heat-Exchangers-/152421137863?var=&hash=item237d01fdc7

12 volt pump

8" three speed computer fan https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antec-BigBoy200-200mm-TriCool-Fan-Case-Cooler-3-Spd-NEW-Computer-Refrigeration/142966824242?epid=150853733&hash=item21497c9d32:g:ywAAAOSwh2FbBEnB:sc:USPSPriority!93401!US!-1:rk:1:pf:0

I used a three speed fan so it could be quieter if necessary, (was not necessary as these things are really quiet.)

Home depot

1/2" pex tubing 2 - 10' pieces.

sharkbite tee fitting - 2

sharkbite 1/2" valves - 2

sharkbite (1/2") to male thread fittings - 4 (2 for pump and 2 for heat exchanger)

copper 1" to 1/2" female reducer fittings -2 ( soldered to the heat exchanger pipes, had 1" copper in/out).

24 x24 sheet of tin (to box in heat exchanger).

$12 cheap thermostat

heat wrap.

Thats it.

I was going for a simple system.

Return air comes in through the existing furnace return air holes.

I drew from the cold line into the WH as I always had air in the top of the tank and this solved the crazy pump/gurgling sound problem.

I found full time 12v power at the furnace.

I put a shut off on both the in and out. (after these pics) I needed a shutoff for the in side because convection kept the water moving if I didn't. The out side was just so I could isolate the system for repairs or whatever.

It's still operating perfect i'm told in Santa Barbara they never even use the furnace. But then it's never really cold there.

Third picture. I used a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood to replace the veneer for the new panel in case I needed to go back to stock. Turns out Rustoleum hammered bronze spray paint matched perfect. And you can see the valve I used to shut off convection flow. You need this, My wife made me shut it off when she showered because it messed with the hot water SOMETIMES,(never happened to me) you could just add a check valve on the cold line and it would solve this.

Hit the SLOPODMODS link by my signature, about halfway down the page 1 is a video link.

Any more questions, let me know.

rgds John

SLOPODMODS
John&Sue,SLO,CA
2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost

offgrid

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Posted: 23 Oct 2018 at 7:49am

Voisj, very nice work.

Looks like you put the heat exchanger link in twice instead of the water pump link?

The heat exchanger looks like it should have plenty of capacity (its rated for 40kbtu/hr vs the water heater at 12k) but I'm wondering how well the computer fan did for you pushing air through the fins? Usually heat exchangers go in ducts with squirrel cage blowers that can handle a lot of back pressure.

Thanks!

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

voisj