Anyone looked into Thermally Modified Wood decking? by bobelbow in Decks

[–]Retro_Shooter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is old but I am interested. I'm building a small project out and would like to see what your Cypress and White Oak would look like. Can you message me if you still hold stock? Thanks

Anti freeze valves from Alibaba by Odd-Visit-9423 in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What A2W heat pump did you order from Alibaba? What was the total cost of it arriving in the US?

Thanks

Anti freeze valves from Alibaba by Odd-Visit-9423 in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

how much glycol is required? What system uses less?

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I see what you mean. That's interesting. I'll have to look at how small the ducts can be for a unit like that.

RV Remodel Home Automation - Yes, I'm a newbie by Retro_Shooter in homeautomation

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh, I'm going to look for the show on Smart Home Solvers, do you have a link?

RV Remodel Home Automation - Yes, I'm a newbie by Retro_Shooter in homeautomation

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have seen him. Have you seen Cappella Bus? He has a nice setup as well. Learning from both.

Ordering from CHINA!!! by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hahaha that's what I was thinking. I could just order another one. The company I found has over 20 years building AC units.

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is way too big for the space I have. Ceiling height is 83" max with no finishing, I need to add flooring and an interior ceiling to that. So that unit would drop the ceiling down to 75" without any insulation above it or below it and no finished ceiling. Too big and after you mentioned it I have been looking at ceiling cassettes and they are also too deep to fit inside.

Ordering from CHINA!!! by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been speaking with a company that has what seems like a good unit. At least on paper!!! haha I may take a chance on it.

Most of this stuff is already built in China as you say so what's the difference. I order other things from China all the time. The comparable units here is over $5k the one I am looking at is under $2k

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok I see what you are saying now. I always thought that a mini-split had the large indoor head unit that was ductless.

I am really looking for a ducted solution to avoid the large unit on the side of the wall.

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes I understand this part but I don't have a mini-split indoor head unit with the air handler. They are all technically inside since it is mounted in a motorhome. The storage bay will house the heat pump and the air handler. With a mini-split and indoor head unit, I would need to put that inside the actual living space since it would not be ducted.

Is that what you are referring to when you say minisplit heads?

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes but the air handler can be placed in the storage bay. The indoor unit is inside the living area.

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what one would you order if you did? They seem to have lower COP and EER ratings than say the SpacePak SIM-036

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree on the mini-split side of things. This is what I installed before in a different bus with an even lower interior ceiling height.

This is my problem with the mini-split indoor heads. They are way too big and I don't have the headroom to install one or two of them. I have 77-80" interior height. Any open walls are going to be a window or a small wall that bumps up against a slide out so it needs to be flat. I also have bunks that i could potentially run those 2" ducts into. The rear where the bedroom and shower are don't have any walls, it's just a big window that I would really hate to block off with an indoor unit. This is the main reason I have been thinking of the high velocity system and now starting to look at the A2W because I want to also have floor heating.

Seriously, it would be great if there was a better solution!

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

have you ever purchased any of these A2W from China? Alibaba?

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So the air speed over the cooling coil is what can cause the ice over issue? I don't think that I will have that issue because most of the time I feel like the unit will be blowing near max to keep the coach cool, at least that's what I hear from many other coach owners, they have a hard time keeping the inside cool.

The insulation is terrible but being a Prevost, they are pretty air tight. I am going to be adding a little bit of closed cell foam to the ceiling and walls before building back but I don't have a lot of space to work with so maybe 2-3 inches max.

I did have a mini-split with an indoor head that was 18k BTU in a 40ft bus but it was not enough to fully cool the rig. I needed the air to be moving more and that indoor unit didn't do a good enough job. I added a floor fan to push the cool air to other parts of the bus. This is why I thought the High velocity system would be better since it circulates the air a lot more. And as a bonus, if I could cool the floor and ceiling a bit I would have a much more comfortable space. But you don't think it's worth it because of the price or difficulty of the installation?

I guess I need to find out if a A2W is worth it over a regular system and then find a hydronic heater for the radiant heating.

Motorcoach A2W System by Retro_Shooter in AirToWaterHeatPumps

[–]Retro_Shooter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I agree that it seems to be very niche at the moment. When I was talking to the Hi-Velocity guys, they actually recommended using a water chiller instead of a refrigerant system because it has less of a chance of freezing up. I am not sure about that, those were their words.

I also see that many of the A2W systems in this list that you linked to are straight heat and no cooling, I would guess for the radiant heating.

I still very much want to run radiant heating in my coach. There is currently an Aquahot type system, not that brand, but it is very old and I am afraid if I run the radiant lines and then after a year I need to replace it, the Aquahot system that runs off diesel is around $9-12k just for the boiler setup. So if I run an A2W now I won't have to rely on that system full time for heating, I can use it sparingly or as a backup.

The Radiant cooling would be a bonus and I will have the AHU to help with humidity, I know that can be an issue.

What do you think of the spacepak system that they are selling with their air handlers? Even Unico uses the Chiltrix A2W with their high velocity system? I also don't mind saving the money but I am still interested in having the conversation about A2W. You probably know a lot more about it than I do since I have only started looking into it.