Hydronic vs Air Heater | Which is the Best Van Heating Option

Рет қаралды 6,108

Күн бұрын

Differences between a hydronic and an air heating system for camper van conversions.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro/Overview
2:25 How Aqua Hot works
6:36 In-floor heat
8:21 How air heaters work
9:05 Differences
10:15 Heating water
11:30 Controllers
12:27 Install difficulty
17:10 Pro & Cons
23:40 Cost comparison
26:20 Which should you buy
➳ WHO WE ARE
We're Lisa & Jeff Warnick and we've been repping Thrive freeze-dried foods for over 10 years. It's been a dream of ours to have a van to travel the country, supporting our team and sharing the Thrive love. After we built our first van, we realized how much we love the creative process of designing and building vans...so now we're building and selling our own custom vans. We also do conversions on client-owned vans.
In this video we discuss the differences between a hydronic heating system and an air heating system for camper van conversions. We go over the pros and cons of a hydronic system like the Aqua Hot 125 and Espar and Webasto air heaters.
Disclosures: All opinions are my own. Sponsors are acknowledged. Some links in the description are affiliate links that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Пікірлер: 39

@renstillmann 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for this video, after many years of thinking and reading I finally bought my own van, and this video helps me to make the right choices. Timing couldn't have been any better. Thank you 😊

@OurThrivingLife 4 ай бұрын

Great to hear!

@Dripshotsmedia Ай бұрын

Best explanation of radiant heat that I've heard. Thanks

@scottbutters9030 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for video! In a few weeks ill be starting my floor in my 170 Sprinter. I'm wanting to do the same and heat the flooring with glykol. Would love if we can get more information about what size and materials you used, if possible. Again thank you so much for all your videos. They definitely help.. Cheers!

@jav3arroyo Ай бұрын

Great explanation. A diagram of the Hydronic system would be very helpful too!

@OurThrivingLife Ай бұрын

Great suggestion!

@guitardoc99 4 ай бұрын

Another great video. Last I checked Aquahot won't sell to the DIYer. Are you familiar with Bobil air and water heaters? Popular in the UK, they connect a heat exchanger to your diesel air heater and heat water with it. Can also heat water directly from battery or shore power. Love the concept.

@OurThrivingLife 4 ай бұрын

Sounds interesting. I have not heard of Bobil.

@ronaldjensen2886 4 ай бұрын

Great video. It answered a lot of questions I have had. I have an espar hydronic and want to make a DIY solution that combines engine preheating, maybe floor heating and hot water. Would it be possible to install a three way valve or similar to bypass the engine and/or cabin heating, e.g. on a sunny day when I only want hot water for sink and shower?

@OurThrivingLife 4 ай бұрын

I think a 3-way valve would work fine.

@JohnNeal Ай бұрын

I’m watching, wearing the exact same pullover sweater (from Costco).👍

@OurThrivingLife Ай бұрын

Good taste!

@JohnNeal Ай бұрын

@@OurThrivingLife don’t we though!😁👍

@MogsAndDogs 4 ай бұрын

Very good explanation, thank you! Does it have any mechanism for heating the engine coolant for cold weather starts? Or using the coolant for heating water like some of the tanks?

@OurThrivingLife 4 ай бұрын

It is possible to tie it into the engine coolant system, but it’s not really designed specifically to do that. We work on brand new vans, and we like to keep the engine and house systems separate as much as possible.

@MogsAndDogs 4 ай бұрын

That makes sense. Thanks.

@KipperKushman 25 күн бұрын

The larger units will heat the engine coolant, but the smaller ones won't.

@fernarango 18 күн бұрын

Hi Jeff, as always very educative video. Thank you! In the heated floor shown in minute 27:45 did you put the xps foam directly on van metal floor or did you frame it. What size of pex was used 1/2” or 3/8” thank you so much.

@OurThrivingLife 17 күн бұрын

The foam is on the floor, with 1” aluminum bars strategically placed for reinforcement. The tubing is 1/2” PEX.

@fernarango 16 күн бұрын

Hi Jeff, thank for your response. I assume that if the XPS insulation is 1” and the PEX is 1/2” then the 1” aluminum bars can only be placed in the perimeter. Correct?

@mamatuja Ай бұрын

We should get this system with all options possible (installed). Maybe they will give us a free van to go with it.🤔😉🤑

@michaelshankin6320 2 ай бұрын

I’ve been considering an aquqhot system. One feature I like is the ability to heat engine coolant to aid cold weather starting, especially for the Sprinter diesel engine. 2) questions: can you than use the heated engine coolant to heat the van while the engine is running? Second with the aqua hot installed on the bottom of the van exposed to the weather, road salt, water etc will that affect longevity of the heater?:

@OurThrivingLife 2 ай бұрын

The heater is underneath the van, but everything else is inside. You can plumb it into the engine coolant if you like to heat the water, but as soon as you turn off the engine it will start to cool down and you’ll have to run the diesel heater. We don’t feel that it’s worth the cost and effort, but your mileage may vary.

@chrisward5314 4 ай бұрын

Did you install one yet? Wondered if you had an install video and if you DIYed the floor or bought one.

@OurThrivingLife 4 ай бұрын

I already installed one. Doing another in a few weeks. I’ll try to do an install video. We made the floor on our CNC.

@douggraham5812 Ай бұрын

What about the water heaters that use engine coolant? Have you tried one?

@OurThrivingLife Ай бұрын

We do use the Isotemp water heaters that are capable of running off of the engine coolant. However, we don’t like to tap into the coolant system on a brand new van. We find that the electric heating element is sufficient.

@OKFrax-ys2op 2 ай бұрын

Using in the mountains in thin air, how will the fuel systems work 🤔

@OurThrivingLife 2 ай бұрын

No problem. It’s rated up to 16,000 feet.

@RoamtechVans Ай бұрын

Do you have a supplier that I can order this from specifically the 125G? or are you able to sell this directly?

@OurThrivingLife Ай бұрын

We order directly from Aquahot. We’re not a reseller.

@RoamtechVans 7 сағат бұрын

@@OurThrivingLife I was able to order the AHE-125-GN1. Do you know if they are supposed to come with 3 cozy heat exchangers? or is that ordered separate? The kit I have only came with the unit, lcd, and gas heater.

@mamatuja Ай бұрын

I looked up the price on this and I think I'm going to be taking cold showers for a while.😢😢😢

@mamatuja Ай бұрын

If this takes to install 30 hours you better have it installed somewhere in Venezuela.😂😂😂

@mamatuja Ай бұрын

Is this company supplying the extra money because obviously no one has extra money.😂😂😂

@wawa8031 3 ай бұрын

Why not just connect a hydronic diesel heater to a hot water tank that has a heat exchanger already built in (such as the eletric one at the start of your video) and an air matrix or two, that way you will always have hot water ready on demand and save alot on cost too compared to this

@CS30123 4 ай бұрын

The complexity added with these is kinda silly. Especially considering the price point. It just makes no practical sense. Upgrade your electrical system with more battery storage for that money. Far more useful. And/or get a 2nd alternator to charge your batteries which makes all of the power usage irrelevant.