Bus heaters

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:52 pm

Greetings. Have been doing research on gas heaters. Came across the Espar site. Their BN4 replacemant is a B3LN. It goes for 1100+ bucks plus 200+ bucks for an istallation kit. What else is out there?

Jeff T · Post by **Jeff T** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:09 pm

Try www.thesamba.com Look in the general parts for sale. Marty Allen has rebuilt heaters for sale at a lot less. I have a BA/6 that I am working on. Hope to have it working by next year. JT

Hank Winning · Post by **Hank Winning** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 8:03 am

what year bus?
We have some used units for trade or sale
keep warm
hank

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:48 pm

We have a 78 westy.

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 3:37 pm

Stopped by the local pick-n-pull after work today. Three Type 4's laying on the ground. One of the three busses has a gas heater. Looks very complete. Didn't check for the front controls. Forgot. I'm going back tomorrow to get it and some parts from the engines. As for the heaters, Can they be mounted under the bus and plumbed into the factory heater tube? Seems that I've seen pictures of this.

Jeff T · Post by **Jeff T** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 4:05 pm

The BA/6 mounts under the bus. A BN/4 mounts in the motor area. JT

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 5:49 pm

Thanks for the info. I did look up Marty Allens ad on thesamba. Impressive for the cost. I think that the Espar version of the BN4, their B3LN, has 13k btu's. But another reference, somewhere stated 3500 watts for the bus heaters. Being an electrician, I can say that 3500 watts does not seem like enough heat. I was hoping for a nice high powered heat source and maybe not use the stock heater boxes. Can I get some for real instances from you all about past experiences. My sources on the btu's and wattage may be in error. Point is , how hot do the gas heaters get.

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 5:53 pm

If the gas heaters are to be used along with the stock heat source for those super toasty effects, maybe a BA/6 is what I should find? Are there any books or manuals out there to read up on? Then I could try to ask more intelligent questions

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 6:36 pm

For the life of me, I can't remember what the model # is of the unit on the 411/412. That one puts out either 13,000 or 18,000 BTU. With the stock heater...it will roast you. The stock heater (heat exchangers), will heat the cabin nicely until the outside temperature drops below 40F. Then its time to turn the green knob.

The unit itself, gets hot enough to burn yourself on. The external temp of the unit is about 225F. The high limit cut-off breaker kicks in when the external metal hits close to 450F. Never had it kick in...so it would have to be awful messed up for that.

Its not uncommon to get heat at the foot vents in the 125 + F range at full blast. Ray

regis101 · Post by **regis101** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 6:44 pm

Thank you, Thank you. The Espar website has some nice heaters but are pricey. Gotta pay, for new stuff, I guess. The btu numbers you speak of are what they offer and more. Nice website.

metropoj · Post by **metropoj** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 4:18 am

OK, here we go .....

I think my BA6 is 16k BTU, and it will ( has ) melted the defroster ducts. When I redid the front of my camper I inadvertabtly put in an older venting system in the dash instead of the bigger ducting and it really cooks.

Ray, I have a partial manual around for that 411/412 heater at home and dammit, I can't remember the name either I was sure it was also a BA or BN6, I think it's the latter.... BTW, this won't work easily as a plug in for the Busses because there are four inlets/outlets on those heaters and the BA6 is a throughput heater "booster" .... taking hot air ( !! ) from the exchangers and mixing with air from the cabin ( a blower under the rear seat ). This gives you heat from under the floor between the seats for the back people and heat / defrost for the cab people .....

They're tricky to keep running but not impossible. The Bn2's in the back I believe are half the rating at 8k BTU from what I've read. I never really liked my BN2, that's why it's sitting up in the attic with the other three. The heat source is not plumbed through the heater system but you actually cut a passage beside your fuel tank ( !! ) and the plumbing sticks out from under the rear seat. I installed both heaters for a while in my 77 but went with the booster BA6. As stated, it's a big cavity to heat with that little heater, especially if your bus is a Westy, has poor seals, etc, stuff like that ...

If you're considering the BA6 floor model ( Mine is in a 79 Westy ), make sure the triple relay in the front is 100% percent before you go paying $$ for the unit. This relay is usually behind the kick panel, in the middle near the floor. There's a big harness on the top going into the unit. These were famous for collecting leaking water from around the windshield by running right into these units and filling up with water. Pry the top off carefully and see how corroded it is. They are $$$$$ and everyone who's a got a few will most likely hold on to them, I know I am !!. You'll need to really do a good comparison between your bus and the plumbing for a BA6, it's quite the collection of passages, blower fans, etc ....

Really investigate the unit as much as possible. Fire is a good way to get your bus warm in a hurry !

ncvwce · Post by **ncvwce** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 9:46 pm

type4 gas heater is a bn4

ncvwce · Post by **ncvwce** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 9:50 pm

sorry...meant BA4

metropoj · Post by **metropoj** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 5:40 am

Big Mike, Floor model or torpedo model in the back ???

78kombi · Post by **78kombi** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:44 am

you can also use the bug/thing bn2 without the fuel return...
small but sufficient,
I rebulit a Stewart Warner awhile back and that thing had 20k btu.
we seriously were in our skibobs in February ( in Cape Cod)
i sold all that now that i got an infant...