The tankless hotwater heater thread prompted my thoughts on alternative
heat for the inside of the van when camping etc.

Would not a circulating fan mounted behind a finned heat coil INSIDE the
van - supplied with hot water from a source OUTSIDE the van - when
camping eliminate a lot of problems related to other than under the seat
gas or diesel fired heaters? No fumes, no CO, no  CO2, no water vapor to
condense inside, etc. Just dry heat coming off the  coil.

The tankless water heater thread reminded me of having seen something
like what I described mounted in a school bus in Alaska up near
Fairbanks that had been converted into a camper. It worked mighty slick.
The owner of the bus had plumbed it with copper tubing, installed heat
coils and thermostatically controlled fans, DC circulating pumps, and
shutoff valves and quick disconnects at the point where the plumbing
entered and left the bus. System was filled with water and antifreeze.
Outside was a drum fitted with a coil of copper tubing down inside and
the drum was filled with water with some antifreeze in it. The drum was
up on a steel frame with a half-drum wood stove underneath.  Wood of
course was the fuel for this contraption. It worked well. Was not
extremely portable, but it could be broken down and moved if needed.

Would  not the principles applied in the school bus camper be a viable
and safe-for-sleeping-in-cold-weather alternative to the underseat
heaters, catalytic heaters, etc, that are often used in the Vanagons?

Opinions, ideas, and suggestions, anyone???

Thanks,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver