I was imagining a recirculating radiant heat system for my fiberglass-floored Boler this morning.. What do you think? Could it be done? What sort of heat source? I would think that a radiant heat system would warm an egg up in little time and be quite efficient and safe - any thoughts or feedback would be great to hear. Have a great weekend! Alec

I, too, wonder if it would work. I think it would be a great idea.

I seem to recall a (now lost) post about a heated floor mat kinda like this one that was post by Steve L, I believe. If it works, I don't know why your idea wouldn't.

How about a energy system based entirely on a 5hp gasoline engine, driving an alternator, something like a 3000 watt Honda GenSet. Exhaust to heat your water. Coolant air ducted to heat the inside of the trailer. Electric refrigerator, range. You get the picture.

There could also be some cross-over, i.e., excess electricity generation could be diverted to an electric space heater when desired. A fluid cooled engine would be better. How about a marine outboard motor? It wouldn't be too hard to provide a closed cooling system with pressure tank that would use coils in the floor of the trailer as a radiator. When heat wasn't needed, the coolant could be circulated through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank, or just dumped via a small radiator and fan.

You see, the sky is the limit. Unfortunately for me this is all so unsettling, because in my mind is this war raging between cool complexities and the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) philosophy. Normally KISS wins, big time. But occasionally it loses, and cool wins!!

Some years ago I had a diesel-fired hot-water furnace. It had a Bock 51 gallon diesel fired water heater. From there the hot water was sent to a heat exchanger in the furnace/ac blower to heat the house. It was efficient enough that in 1994 when I installed it, I could heat our 2400 sq.ft. house plus showers, laundry, and all the dishes one could wash for about $1.00 a day. I'm sure the daily expense would have climbed radically since heating diesel was about $0.60/gallon back then, but the idea is still sound. In a trailer, you'd probably want to use copper pipes in the floor, and plumb it to an LP or electric water heater. You'd have to plumb in a pump, of course, but it's actually quite efficient as the heat that isn't used is returned to the water heater.

Roger

Promising idea, popular in large high-end motorhomes, popular topic last time it came up here...
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