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Radiant heat conundrum

Yahoo Message Number: 89006
So here's a conundrum.

We own a 2004 Allure, with which we are (only figuratively) in love.
According to the previous owner, they never even tried the radiant floor heating. We found that it does not work. At the Albany rally a couple of years ago, "radiant floor heating man" came to our coach and determined that there was a break in the radiant heating line, underneath the tile in front of the sink. It must have been there since the coach was delivered. As one can imagine, removing the tile to expose the radiant heating line would be both difficult and expensive.
Still, those who have working radiant floor heat swear by its usefulness.
So at dinner tonight, my wife and I were discussing various approaches to this problem. We have already had a discussion with Dave & LJ's in Washington, who were able to remove our less-than-splendid Splendide clothes wetter and non-dryer and replace it with a beautifully made and generously proportioned storage cabinet in its stead. Apparently, the idea of tile removal and replacement is not something a person approaches lightly. But still, if we had that radiant floor heating, then we likely would not need to use the noisy furnace, or electric heaters when plugged in.

In a hiatus in the conversation, wife Linda asks, "Why can't we just put an electric blanket on the tile?" (Or electric blankets, for that matter). I must admit that the question threw me. So, before I go out and buy several groups of "warming wires," I wonder if anybody else has tried this approach. Are there any comments about how stupid or profound this suggestion might be. And, the current draw for these "warming wires" must not be all that high. Could they even run on the inverter overnight?

Comments are requested, jokes are laughed at (if good), and intelligent commentary is always a plus. Thanks.

Ken Harrison
#31035
-- "The great thing about science is that it's true, whether or not you believe in it." (Neil DeGrasse Tyson)

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89015
Hi Ken - No jokes from me. Understood her question.
I don't think the heat blankets would be as effective. They could also cause a tripping/slipping hazard if you need to get out of the rig in an emergency.
Sorry your floor heating does not work. I know many owners enjoy theirs. We've used ours once to see if they worked, but my wife likes floor mats with non slip rubber backings, so we don't use ours.
We have two forms of heating, in addition to the Hydrohot. We close off the kitchen door when sleeping, and use a small electric heater we've hadnfor several years. We run this on low most of the time. Before bedtime, if needed, we have it in the front area, again with the kitchen door closed off from the back.
On nights that are colder, or no electric, we use a Mr. heater Heat Buddy. We have both a small one, and the big one. Usually travel with the small one ready to go. If we know we'll be in real cold weather, we bring the bigger unit. Just recently had a tap in quick disconnect line stunned out under the drawers of the fridge. An 8' 90 degree fitted hose allow us to place the heater up on the ding room table.

We've been very comfortable down into the mi 20's.
In real cold freeze conditions, we set the Hydrohot fed heater to kick on as low as the thermostat will go. Run electric if connected, but add diesel when needed. We have one element instead of two in the more robust Hyrdohots. But find that the electric keeps up with the night time heating augmentation, and protect the basements.
I also got it beat into me on many boards, to keep all of the carbon monoxide and smoke detecors and LP detectors well serviced. It was great input, as safety saves lives.
It would be expensive to fix your floor heat just for heatingmpurposes. But are you sure the DW is not after some new tiles;)!

Best,
Smitty

04 Allure 31017
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89025
Ken, due to my making some less than ideal decisions concerning our Intrigue, I refuse to call anyone else's ideas dumb. With that said, I think electric blankets were designed to be slept under and not walked on. I don't think they would hold up to much foot traffic. I don't know how old you are, but the older I get the less I pick my feet up. It would become a tripping hazard in my rig. We love our floor heat and wouldn't buy another motorhome without it. Due to noise, we very seldom turn on our AquaHot. When we need extra heat we break out our small electric heater to take the chill off.

By the way, your description of your Splendide clothes wetter was right on. Ours is now resting peacefully in an Oregon landfill and we have a nice storage cabinet in it's place.

Dan 06 Intrigue 11936

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89026
Ken - Conceptually it all sound workable. But practically it's a really bad idea IMHO. The first thing that comes to mind is that electric blankets are not designed to be stepped on repeatedly. And I doubt their wattage would be anywhere close to the OEM floor heating system.
If my memory servers me correctly there are industrial heating blankets that you might want to research. You're looking for something that could function as a rug with heat wires. Any such device would need to be designed to withstand traffic and the point loading and abrasion associated with feet.

I'd add that the OEM radiant heating included a collection Molex connectors within the power feeds. At least on our bus anyway. It might be worth some time to explore the possibilities of one of these connectors being "open". Thus creating a loss of power. Also the thermostat circuitry and associated wiring should be inspected and tested. A VOM and AC power detector would make that job easier. We've got Gold Heat in our bus. I'd guess that the floor's surface area covered by this system includes multiple heating pads. If they are in parallel and the whole system is dead, it's likely that a common power feed would be suspect. If they are series connected, one open circuit kills the whole thing. In our bus, some of that wiring can be accessed from within the storage bays. You need to take off the beauty panels to expose the space between the frame rails. It's one of those crawl in on your back deals. Your call as to the convenience factor.

The floor heating is a nice comfort feature but certainly not adequate for heating the bus. I've done a small amount of research on heating a bus with electricity. Read here: http://www.muniac.com/Winter_P1.html Good luck.

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 40' #31349

(Bus-Stead Lemon) My Allure Page http://www.muniac.com/Allure%20Page.html

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89027
Ken: wouldn't be without the floor heat. We use it most of the time as our regular heat source to keep the chill off the coach. Only when into or below 40 do we add Hydrohot heat. I doubt very much that the blankets would be sufficient to get the tiles hot enough and then you should look into the draw of the blankets. What would be wrong with just replacing the tiles where needed, either with an original match, or even a contrast look, just in the one area?

Roger Harper
2006 Intrigue
#11990

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89030
Ken,

The single best feature in our Intrigue (other than 525hp Cat) is the heated tile floor. Absolutely would not enjoy a coach that didn't have this feature!

Ricardo

04 Intrigue #11830

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89031
Ken ,

I concur, We could not go without the radiant heat for long as it is our primary source of heat. Quiet and efficient. Most of the cost of the fix is taking the time to carefully , piece by piece removing the tiles that need to be removed without damaging the mat or wires. I would do this part myself as it just takes patience not skill. Then get someone to come in and do the repair and replace with some kind of nice pattern tile that has a good contrast, or get a custom tile made to your liking. We have one cracked tile in front of our fridge that eventually will need to be replaced and that is my plan of attack anyway.
Marc 05 affinity 6429

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89038
Ken

The radiant floor heating is great and the colder outside the better you will like the feel and quiet heat. I have a number of broken tiles probably due to a leak under the refrigerator which spread. I have been talking to several sources on how to replace the tile and not damage the heat pad. It is expensive about $200 for the first tile and the price may come down if you are doing a number of tile. I also talked to Gold Heat the supplier and they told me that their ability to trouble shoot the break in the circuitry has improved dramatically. I would start with Kevin Waite who has replaced a lot of tile and has a better shop rate than some of the other possibilities out there.

Dan 2006 Allure 31348

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89042
Ken, In my coach closet there is a bundle of 7 or 8 spare tiles that match my floor. Maybe you have some spares in yours also.

Dan 06 Intrigue 11936

Re: Radiant heat conundrum

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 89075
CC can probably tell you the brand and style of tile that was installed in the coach. The design person at OMC was able to find out that information and I was able to locate and purchase the exact tile.

Dan 2006 Allure 31348