Heat camper with hot water?

[esimmers]

My Hawk's only about a year old. It didn't come with a furnace but does have the new propane-fired hot water heater. I like the hot water, but the water heater holds 5 or so gallons (40 pounds) of water that can never be used since once the main tank's empty, the pump doesn't have anything to push into the hot water tank to force out the hot water.

I've been thinking of how to heat the camper when it's chilly and have considered installing a furnace or Wave3. Then I had this idea that maybe there's a way to use all that heat in the hot water tank to heat the camper. We have hot water heat in our home and really like it. It seems all you'd need to get something like this to work would be a small circulating pump, some sort of a radiator and a little fan to blow air through/over the radiator.

What do you think? Anyone considered this idea?

 

[pods8]

Folks do that sort of stuff but usually off the engine coolant. The main issue with what you're proposing is a pump will likely pull more amps than a furnace fan will. So while totally doable I don't think its efficient when most of us are usually concerned about power draws. Heater coils embedded in the flooring would be a more even heating though.

Not worth it in my eyes, and I have thought it over briefly for my camper build, but to each their own.

 

[craig333]

its an interesting idea. My main issue would be all the assorted plumbing and the possibilities of leaks. Would probably be a really comfy type of heat though.