What Choices Are There For No-Propane Class B's?

[mojoman]

I almost put in a radiant heated floor till I found a heated rubber mat that covers most of my floor. I don't have to carry it around in the summer and spring.

[DCHitt]

Originally Posted by mojoman

I almost put in a radiant heated floor till I found a heated rubber mat that covers most of my floor. I don't have to carry it around in the summer and spring.

When I had Sportsmobile install the rear evaporator/radiator using the engine coolant I had them run the pipes down the middle of the floor on top of the floor insulation. Great radiant heat and if it is not too cold outside I don't need to run the fan in the rear.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by mojoman

I almost put in a radiant heated floor till I found a heated rubber mat that covers most of my floor. .

hmmm, details please.

dimensions

brand/model etc.

Mike

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

hmmm, details please.

dimensions

brand/model etc.

Mike

For awhile, we used a couple of electric rugs/mats (Warmly Yours brand) in our house. They worked well. They had two temperature settings and used between 1-300 watts. Sounds like Mojoman's rubber mat would work much better in a B.

[mojoman]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought in the summer, Amazon warehouse deals for $18.

[tgregg]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

The issue on the gasoline Promasters is going to be getting heat and hot water without propane...

We have a gas promaster that we converted ourselves without propane.

We heat with a diesel Espar D2, cook with a diesel Wallas / Webasto cook top, and heat water with an Isotherm marine hot water storage tank connected to the promaster cooling system.

[BBQ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejatYmUAK4

[ra2jim]

My 2 cents. Eight years ago I used electric resistance radiant heat under my tile floor when I renovated my kitchen. An outfit in Illinois called Thermosoft sells direct to GCs but retail to anyone. https://www.thermosoft.com/radiant_floor_heat

Rough estimate of 12'x3' in my RT floor space it will run 326 watts / 2.7amps / 120v ac. I had to make my floor pretty level since the wires are about 1/8" thick with the fiberglass mesh. They make it for wood floors (insulate underneath first). Run on Tstat or manual on/off.

If you had a decent solar system like some of you here, wouldn't this be a viable option?

[DCHitt]

Originally Posted by tgregg

We heat with a diesel Espar D2, cook with a diesel Wallas / Webasto cook top, and heat water with an Isotherm marine hot water storage tank connected to the promaster cooling system.

Sound great. How do you store the diesel?

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by tgregg

We have a gas promaster that we converted ourselves without propane.

We heat with a diesel Espar D2, cook with a diesel Wallas / Webasto cook top, and heat water with an Isotherm marine hot water storage tank connected to the promaster cooling system.

Very good, the XP Camper pop up truck camper uses diesel Webasto heat, hot water, and cooktop with a small diesel fuel tank in the camper, independent of the truck fuel tank...

[Marley]

Originally Posted by ra2jim

Rough estimate of 12'x3' in my RT floor space it will run 326 watts / 2.7amps / 120v ac. I had to make my floor pretty level since the wires are about 1/8" thick with the fiberglass mesh. They make it for wood floors (insulate underneath first). Run on Tstat or manual on/off.

If you had a decent solar system like some of you here, wouldn't this be a viable option?

Floor heating like that generally is slow to respond so you get overheating and then a delay for the heat to come back on due the differential in the thermostat.
Worse with mortar covering or concrete floors.

If you run it off shore power all would be fine. Running it off 12v inverter would mean input would be about 3300 watts.

[DCHitt]

Originally Posted by Marley

If you run it off shore power all would be fine. Running it off 12v inverter would mean input would be about 3300 watts.

I think you misplaced the decimal. How about 330 watts or 30 amps at 12 volts.

[booster]

He would also use over 200ah overnight with on continuous, which is a lot even for a big battery bank. Not as much as AC uses though.

Watts are watts, whether AC or DC.

[Davydd]

I know floor heat. My house in Minnesota is solely electric radiant heat throughout 2,400 sf with 15 individual room control zones. I have no other heat source. It heats the house in the coldest of lower 48 states climate.

My Class B has about a 16 ft. long x 20" wide electric radiant heat strip under the floor. No way does it come close to heating the van. It is strictly there for foot comfort.

Here is the rough in for an electric floor heating pad in an Advanced RV. The silver layer on the floor is Hushmat. Edit: I picked a photo of another ARV, not mine but it is similar.

[Marley]

Originally Posted by DCHitt

I think you misplaced the decimal. How about 330 watts or 30 amps at 12 volts.

Too right. Yes I must be losing it.

[BBQ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmRy9s-41KY

[Davydd]

Interesting. I already knew an induction cooktop would outperform propane burners or electric coils for that matter. By my calculation boiling that water in 2-1/2 minutes drew about 5 amps off the battery.

You can buy two-burner induction cooktops. My preference is portable because they can be used outdoors easily thus freeing up counter space for food prep or having a smooth counter for the remainder of the time you don't cook. A portable unit can be easily stored out of the way in a cabinet.

You could probably make one-pot meals using not much more than 20 amps. If so, just about any battery bank size would work. Yes, you would need the large inverter, but then you could brew coffee, especially in a Keurig or Nespresso at will as well. Maybe that is why you are seeing more of them in test Class Bs. The induction cooktop in our B would represent the one last thing that propane could have done. Thus we have eliminated propane in its entirety.

Here is our typical way outside (Quartzsite BLM dispersed camping BTW).

[NorthPotomac]

Well, since I began this thread I've learned a lot, both from the thread postings and from elsewhere.

My research has led me to be VERY wary of quality issues in the Roadtrek propane-free models (whether they be of the Zion or Sprinter varieties -- not sure whether Hymer will be vulnerable to this). That leaves only Advanced RV, which I (like many of you) find to cost more than I'm willing to pay. So I'm now leaning toward Pleasure-Way, which has Lithium-Ion but also Propane, and doesn't seem to have had the multiple quality control issues that pepper the web apropos Roadtrek.

[MsNomer]

How big an inverter is required for the induction cooktop?

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

How big an inverter is required for the induction cooktop?

Seems that the induction cooktops used in RVs that get good reviews, such as True Induction, are 1800 watt models that use 15 amp plugs so a 2000 watt inverter would be adequate. Not sure if they need pure sine wave or not?