Sprinter Van Conversion Hydronic Hot Water System Install

[@masiquraishi4837]

My dad has been building a sprinter van for a while but seems to make no progress unless I am helping and always watches videos and shares them with me. I feel like I have seen most of the folks who make videos about van conversions but you my friend are a cut above the rest really glad I stumbled on this video and now your channel!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, I'm really honored to hear you say that. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know. The amount of work into the build and let alone filming it slows things down a ton so it really helps when I hear it helps or is interesting for people like yourself. Even just a couple people finding value in the content makes it worth it! Also, I can relate to your dad, it's definitely nice to have an extra set of helping hands or even someone to bounce ideas off of. I'm sure he appreciates it. I've been fortunate to have my wife and some other friends helping me here. It's definitely a big undertaking converting a van, especially if like us you can only work on it a few weekends per month.

[@slayden633]

Level of detail is well above even professional upfitters! I’ve helped a couple buddies take apart some 6 figure up fits and it’s down right sad! You’ve pretty much convinced me if you want it done right do it yourself!!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow thank you so much for the comment and the kind words we are super humbled that you would think this about our build! It sure can be the Wild West out there in van building, the market took off too fast IMO and I’m surprised there’s not more regulation considering the fact that it’s still a passenger vehicle on the road. Even RIVA is a bit of a joke, it protects against gross negligence but still not a requirement to sell a van conversion and don’t get me started about overweighting builds… Not to discredit others doing this as a full time occupation, but to your point these prices in return for the quality, I didn’t see it at any of the shows I attended researching vans. The skinning was great, but look in the walls or at the trim or under the van that same level of care wasn’t there. This is what set me on my own journey here. I’m not saying everything I’ve done is perfect or I know it all, but at least I know exactly what I’m getting and documenting it to such a level that if I ever sell the van they will know too. Anyways thanks again and sorry for the rant! Now if I only had more time than a few weekends a month to get after it 😅

[@princexavier6925]

This is a better install than I have seen even professional shops do. And the singing at the beginning is clutch. BRAVO. When I have the money, I would gladly pay to have you do this install for me.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you that means a lot to us. We spend a lot of time making sure things are put together thoughtfully and that most details are considered. If you are local to the Bay Area here we can definitely talk about it! I’ve been thinking about piecing together my own kit akin to Rixens or VLT.

[@chosmer1]

George Lucas and Alanis Morissette are shaking in their boots with the filmmaking and singing going on here. Excellent mix of humor and top notch MacGyver Van building going on here. I am blown away by some of the tools you have, you take "having the right tool for the job" to another level. This guy whips out metal brackets to mount hoses that look like they should be on Falcon nine rocket. Please don't stop making videos, these are awesome!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Haha, this made me laugh. Although, I doubt that's really the case. They are probably shaking in their boots from the silliness of it all! But anyways, thank you for the continued support it really means a lot. My wife says I have every tool under the sun, I keep surprising her when new one's show up from Amazon one a week :). I feel very fortunate that I've been able to start side businesses that support this love of tools! My end goal is to have everything to make anything! We are trying to keep pumping them out, they are a lot of work between all the things life has going for us!

[@bj231bj]

I think you are a genius. The way you make those bracket is awesome!! Thanks for share another video with us !!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you for the kind comment. I don't know how true it is though!! I had some great mentors and teachers that shaped me and the way I think about things along the way. Very grateful for that!

[@meestahwah]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the custom brackets, chafe guard, and wiring loom work. I installed a similar system on my sailboat and went to a similar level of detail.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you so much for stopping by and the kind comment! Glad you appreciate those extra details as well. We put a lot of thought and time into each project. There’s a lot of cross over in the marine and van world for sure so not surprised about the similar system in the boat!

[@taeum3062]

Your build is next level! I doubt there is a builder that comes remotely close to your detail. Looking forward to your progress!!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow thank you so much I really appreciate it. I don’t know if that’s completely true but we are trying our best to do some new stuff and build out the van how we’d expect it to be made by a professional! Anyways, thank you again and wish I had more time to get more content together! I’m gonna go pretty light on the videos on the back half here to speed up.

[@CiviL_Machine]

Bracket master. Methodical fabrication and routing. Machine tool skills. Appreciate you posting this. SUBSCRIBED

[@moonrakerdesign]

Wow, thank you for stopping by and all the kind words it really means a lot to us! And thanks for appreciating the little details too.

[@jamestreanor182]

The goggles over the glasses are awesome. What an impressive build/install!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @jamestreanor182 safety and style 😜 I had another take of that dialog without all the gear on but I definitely lacked the luster. Anyways thank you for stopping by and the kind words, it really does mean a lot to us.

[@zenandtheartoflife]

Your girl seems nice but she's just totally off base on the cover. I mean, you nailed it bro. Anyhow, I definitely appreciate the attention to detail and overall breadth of skills used to put this install together. There was one moment that corresponds to something I'm planning on incorporating into my own system, with controlling the D5 using the cerbo gx. You may be thinking cabin temp, but I'm more concerned with the temp of the fresh water in the isotemp (freezing would be bad). With shore power, I don't mind running the heating element to protect from freezing. When remote, I believe having the D5 kick on when water temps in the tank get low may be a good idea. I don't have your level of ambition so I'll just end up taping a sensor to the output pipe on the ISO and insulating it well. But I'm sure you could come up with a much cleaner way to design/build a sensor (maybe an inline probe in a custom machined fitting?) Or, maybe you figure out a better place in the ISO to put the sensor. Anyhow, I will be watching for whatever you decide to do to integrate your heating system with the Cerbo GX.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Lol. I let her know you said so, and thank you for the kind words on the build. Yeah I'm still figuring out my whole freeze prevention strategy and where I need to monitor temps, but did you see this Short I put together? kzbin.infoCixUVKZOb4A I added this inline to the Hydronic portion right by the water tank at least for now and thinking about doing something similar for the water lines. Since this is my first van and first experience with Van Camping in general I think I'll have a lot to learn and figure out as things materialize. Especially with all my tanks outside the van. I know I'm definitely going to run out Cerbo Relays, so I was looking at this community.victronenergy.com/questions/245584/remotegpio-ex-venus-rgpio-now-available-with-setup.html. I'll probably go a little overboard with tank pads, heat tapes and maybe even some additional hydronic lines wrapped around some stuff to really figure out what works best. Definitely open to hearing yours and others thoughts here though since I don't have much experience. Anyways, thanks again for stopping by!

[@zenandtheartoflife]

Ok. So I did like your temp probe solution -actually saw a friend of mine do something similar with his home brew kit. Anyhow, I appreciate that insight! In addition, I also went ahead and ordered the relay expansion module and associated connector from Ali express. I’ll let you know when I program and share my experience! Oh and did you happen to know what the part number is for that wire connector to the Bosch pump?

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@zenandtheartoflife sorry for the late reply here, just now seeing this comment. That would be awesome if you can share you experience with that expansion module! For the connector on the Bosch pump, I ordered this one - amzn.to/3PhR0Ww

[@ndraju]

Todd your attention to detail is way over the top! In a good way lol. Would love to meet you somewhere along the way. I am in the process of building out a 2024 AWD myself.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Narayan! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving this comment. I appreciate the kind works and yes I tend to obsess over the little things sometimes! I feel that's part of th efun thought. Congrats on starting your journey, and yes would love to connect we van folks. Do you live in the bay area?

[@ndraju]

Hey Todd still waiting on that meeting 🙂

[@HybridBattery]

You could have added a relay to the Espar coolant pump to allow you to have either the d5 or the ignition turn it on. This means you could have used one pump instead of two.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks for the option. Yes, very true, but about the same amount of effort. I also didn't want to mess with the Espar Harness.

[@RadosławWyciszkiewicz]

Wow! Great work! Planning to do my own conversion in the future (not as expensive as you;) )After watching your videos I can say one of the best I have seen so far! Cannot wait for more! All the best from UK 👍

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks for the taking the time to comment. We really appreciate the support and glad our content is helpful! Yeah we understand there are definitely different budgets and goals for a camper van build, do you think it would be interesting to review some less expensive alternatives to some of these more complex projects?

[@RadosławWyciszkiewicz]

There is some much stuff on KZbin already, and the good thing is that you guys doing things in a different way which is new to me and I absolutely enjoy it! This is your Van and you want it to be done in your way:) Premium:) Very clear you have some good skills and knowledge... CNC etc. I am sure this van will be one and only! ( Sorry for my English - not my native language) ;) All the best!

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@RadosławWyciszkiewicz thanks for all the feedback, your English is great and I appreciate you taking time to comment in another language, I know how difficult that can be! I'm glad you are enjoying it, and thanks again for the support! I've been very fortunate to have some great mentors and people teach me the things I know throughout my life. I hope I can do the same and pass some of these learnings on to others!

[@TheMadamDragon]

Can you use the isotemp hydronic system for radiant floor heat? I've seen other people use other water heaters and diseal heaters for this but have never seen someone use the isotemp. I wonder if it's possible

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @TheMadamDragon, unfortunately the IsoTemp alone is not enough for radiant floor heat. It's designed to take heat input in to heat up the water not send heat out to heat up the coolant/hydronic fluid. Even the 110V element is for the water in the tank only. You really need something to heat up the actual coolant and pump it around the tubing underneath the floor. The Espar D5 or Webasto Thermo series heaters would be ideal.

[@kingofswamis]

Incredibly detailed list of items needed on this job. Thank you thank you. 🙏 Thank you. Hey let me know when the horn bracket and cable come in. Gotta do some honky Tonkinin

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you! Glad it helps! It's a lot of work to collect and document everything but it's nice to look back and see the result! I'm just waiting for more connectors to show up. They were a little more popular than I thought they would be. Maybe 1 week or so!

[@AllenKrughoff]

Absolute next level. I've got our Isotemp Slim Square in the back of a 144, previously just wired for 110V to heat but want to get the coolant loop sorted during this chapter of remodel. If you were just doing the Isotemp, would you still do the heat exchanger route? I'm looking to address potential low temp engine situations in super cold environments (to quote Dumb + Dumber - Uh yeah...we're in the rockies) and seems like the best solution vs. looping it all in series and using the engine coolant pump for interior heat. Also we're blowing up your affiliate links, keep those coming.

[@AllenKrughoff]

Oh! Somewhat related, doing the gray tank and electronic ball valve, I stumbled on a US Solid IP67 (instead of IP65) 1" electronic ball valve that seems like a new release (UPC 888107112358). Wanted something fully waterproof as we do creek crossings and what not and it was surprisingly hard to track down if that's useful info. Cheers

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Allen, thank you so much for the continued support! Even if I was just running the IsoTemp I'd still split it up with a heat exchanger for three reasons. 1. It doesn't add that much additional complexity. Adding the head exchanger, expansion tank (you can buy one off the shelf) and pump is a pretty simple project when compared to some of the others on the van. 2. For the additional work you isolate the ISOTemp loop and won't be pumping your vital engine coolant all over the van. The number of leak points and issue spots increases quite a bit when you route these lines all the way to the rear of the van. Chances of something happening after everything is buttoned up is relatively low, but still a risk and being stranded with a engine coolant leak doesn't sound like a good time. 3. With the IsoTemp isolated you can chose when you want to heat your hot water or not. I don't always use my van for camping so being able leave the back half of the system off is super appealing. And like you said not having to heat all that extra mass all the time during startup situations is a positive as well. Overall I think it's more than worth the extra effort even if you don't do the D5. It's a much more robust system this way.

[@AllenKrughoff]

@@moonrakerdesign Gooooood points all around, sold me. Any recommendations on a non-super-custom-moonraker expansion tank (i.e. what you were thinking of getting before making your own?). Send a referral link along! I also thought it'd be possible to put a small heater matrix/fan thing in the same cabinet as the isotemp, and get some warm air to the rear seats/after parking for winter activities when it's all up and running without much added complication. Something like a Kalori Compact EVO1 FAI blower 12V, like a lesser version of a D5 air heat.

[@ndraju]

Todd - quick question about why you needed the second pump in addition to the one which the S3 controls? Could you just have switched the same pump on in parallel when you wanted to override (when the S3 is not running)? Just going through my heating system design finalization and trying to minimize the components - though I will probably have 4x the complexity :-). Trying to do hydronic air heat (my undermount a/c has a heat loop provision), floor heating and engine preheat in addition to water heating. Planning on adding 4 way valves to enable/isolate each of these zones - i.e. not have the engine coolant going through the heat exchanger unless actively trying to preheat the engine or heat up the front of the cab via heater core.

[@moonrakerdesign]

The D5 pump plugs directly into the D5 and is controlled by it. I didn’t want to mess with any additional connections to that pump to have the D5 throw errors or anything like that. The additional pump was cheap enough and serves the purpose of while I’m driving I can kick it on and heat my water from the cab rather than having to go back to the Easy Start pro (doesn’t make sense to have it in the cab) to turn on the pump. Hope this makes sense.

[@royalto3rd]

Were you going to use your provisioned A/C undermount for heat generation, then run that through a flat plate heat exchanger to preheat the engine? I'm doing the same. Just wondering what your system diagram looks like?

[@victorestevez7809]

Thanks Todd! Starting out the New Year with a Banger! Man, I can’t wait for more videos. Happy New Years!!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Happy New Year Victor, hope you had a good end to 2023. Thank you for the generous remarks here, we will try to keep them coming!

[@victorestevez7809]

@@moonrakerdesign I know these videos are not easy to produce. Doing a phenomenal job of explaining things as you go and capturing them with different camera angles doesn’t make them any easier. This is why I appreciate them even more. I’m sure there are many more of us that appreciate the time and dedication you spend into sharing and expressing your passion. Much appreciated 🫡

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@victorestevez7809 thanks again for that continued encouragement and the recognition of the effort. It really does help to know people are finding value and use from the content!

[@h00d000]

Good job, Todd! As always, another excellent and detailed tutorial on the Van build. Happy New Year!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Alex thanks a bunch, the production effort on these videos is def a lot of work but glad to hear you are enjoying them still 🙂! Happy New Year to you and your family as well!

[@bmxguy]

super clean my dude

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you friend. It’s much appreciated 🙏🏻

[@KehlPetersen]

Thank you for this video and all your other videos - what is your level of concern with a hydronic system spliced into the engine coolant lines in terms of the impact on engine operation if you have a line fault (cut/etc.) or an issue with the other hydronic loop equipment? I wonder if a stand alone hydronic system is safer but of course you can't take advance of the engine "free" heating while driving! Also, I want to ensure I have a 4-season van so what issues, if any, do you see with having so many of the system elements under the van and exposed to cold temperatures - like a trip to Alaska in winter? Thanks

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Kehl, thanks for the kind words and the comment. This is why I did the heat exchanger route where the hydronic loop and engine loop are separate. It's also why I chose to mount the heat exchanger where I did to keep that splice into the engine coolant loop as short as possible in fact it only ads about 30" of hose. This wasn't even enough to have to top off the engine coolant reservoir. I have seen people route the engine coolant lines all the way back to the Isotemp but for me that was too many variables and connection points to worry about. I keep a single straight barb fitting in my maintenance kit it for any reason I need to bypass the heat exchanger. I haven't put the videos up yet, but my water lines are fully insulated and have heat trace inside, I also have two temperature sensors on the hydronic fluid and water temp, if those go below 40ºF the Cerbo GX monitoring temps kick on a relay which turns on the D5 using the yellow additional wire. The absolute best way would be to have everything inside the van, but a Sprinter 144 is small enough already so I personally chose to offload all water under the van with heating pads and heat traces. Hope this helps.

[@jessemock]

Your customization skills are TOP NOTCH! Do you find the 5.3 gallon Isotemp enough for two people? or would you go larger if you could? I'm about make a purchase and I dont want to regret it! Keep posting, love your stuff!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Jesse, thanks a bunch for the kind words and the comment we really appreciate it and glad you enjoyed the video! It's a bit of a complicated question to answer. For a 144 I'm not sure where I'd be able to fit something larger, this was the largest size I could fit without taking up substantial space inside the van (something I didn't want to do). We also don't have a dedicated shower planned. We have the rear outdoor shower and then a folding one planned for the front. But I think having a built in shower it would probably get used more often and for longer just by nature of having dedicated space. So maybe one of those recirculating/filter options for that might be a better solution for that. Anyways, what are you goals? I personally wouldn't go any smaller than this with 2 people. You also have to remember that it will mix with some cold water to hit the right temperature with the thermostatic mixing value so the useable hot water is closer to 7-12 gallons of hot water depending on your cold water tank temperature.

[@jessemock]

​@@moonrakerdesign Goal is be water sufficient for a week or so, hopefully for two people at times ;). I have a huge 14ft box truck so I definitely have room, just not sure if I get a larger calorifier or not. worried it might take too long to heat up. Hopefully have a recirculating shower, which I know will require either a hydronic heater or the Bobil air heat exchanger in tandem with the calorifier. how is your hydronic heater holding up? do you know anything about the cheap Chinese versions? such as vast difference in price and the Chinese air heaters are great. hmmm

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@jessemock Hey Jesse, from my experience the Chinese knock-offs are good until you need support. Both my Espar D2 and D5 unit have been great and the response from both Espar as well as Espar-parts.com has been awesome and almost immediate so they've earned my business longer term. I tend to be pretty loyal to a brand if they've taken care of me in the past. If you have the space, you might as well at least step up to the 25L Slim version or even 30L or 40L SPA. Cost to upgrade is minimal. If you heat from the engine it happens pretty quick, think about how fast your engine heats up for hot air, I would say my tank is to temp from start in under 40mins of driving.

[@timbradley3758]

Love you guys.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks much Tim and glad you are enjoying the content!

[@renzo9689]

Sweet content! Not sure if I'm here just for the entertaining music vids or your mad skills at engineering van stuff. The heat exchanger you're using- is it a 10 plate or 20 plate heat exchanger? Thanks and cheers from Nova Scotia 🇨🇦 ✌️

[@moonrakerdesign]

Lol. Thank you, well hopefully you are coming here for the complete package :) I'm using the HX1410DW:F12 B3-14DW 10 Plate Stainless Steel Heat Exchanger - amzn.to/3W4Y1wx It's a proven SKU in campervans used both by Rixen's and Aquahot in their systems.

[@renzo9689]

Thanks!

[@AllenKrughoff]

@@moonrakerdesign did you use the 1/2" NPT heat exchanger? It looks like Duda makes the 14DW in a 1/2" female, 3/4" male and 3/4" female versions - seems like the latter two would match with the 3/4" gates coolant hoses more seamlessly and just want to make sure I'm not missing something (which I usually am)

[@moonrakerdesign]

@ mine has 1/2” NPT female ports

[@AllenKrughoff]

@@moonrakerdesign thanks 🙏

[@lkazanov]

Very cool!! The only downside I see is lack of electric plug in backup for the hydronic system. But you get a much bigger water tank. I'm thinking of Aquahot as a comparison. I am blown away at your level of detail and sophistication. You easily surpass a mechanical engineer level.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey again! Thanks for the continued support and the comment. Actually, if you check out the Electrical Phase II video you can see I ran a plug for the 110VAC heater element in the water heater thank there. I just wasn't ready to tackle my VAC runs at this point in the process yet. Thank you for the kind words I really appreciate it, I've been brainwashed and taught by a lot of great mentors throughout my career. The Aquahot system is pretty sweet and a really good option, I opted to go this route because I wanted everything out of the van the space premium in a 144 is tough. The struggle is real so trying to free up as much of that as possible. Also it's nice to be able to drive to the beach and have hotwater for a day trip without having to turn on an aux system.

[@lkazanov]

@@moonrakerdesign You're very welcome, and again well done. Do you plan on installing ??Kaloric?? radiators for hot air?

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@lkazanov I think right now I can only fit the Rixen's one for my planned area, but yes I'm planning on putting one more in the back for those extra cold days to help with the Espar D2 up front.

[@meestahwah]

Oh snap!! The song was fantastic!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hahah thank you, we go a bit off the rails sometimes 😅

[@lyslet]

You turned it up to 11 once again, great over the top install and video! That's the first time I've seen anybody using anti-seize on their Rivnuts. I like the idea, and after some research I think I'll try the marine grade LB 8023 for it's water-washout resistance.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you appreciate the kind words! The solution works really well and unlike paint you don’t scratch it off as you insert the Rivnut. Good find on the LB 8023, that seems like an overall better option for this kind of thing and I’ll recommend that for people just starting out from here on out! Although I’m going on about 1.5 years on my oldest outdoor Rivnut and the LB 8036 anti-seize hasn’t washed off and is still looking good!

[@pedrofontes8494]

Do you need all the components you’ve installed to have it working, cause on their website they have a kit which seems it’s like to hoses.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @pedrofontes8494, technically no. You can run the water heater directly inline with you engine coolant. VanLife Outfitters has a pretty good blog post about this - www.vanlifeoutfitters.com/using-a-marine-isotemp-water-heater-in-camper-van-conversion/. For the sprinter where I split for the heat exchanger you could just run those hoses back to the water heater. This heats up the water in the tank while you drive or if you let the engine run. One reason why I didn't do this is because if anything happens to those hose runs and that's your vital engine coolant that's spilling out, not an extra auxiliary coolant loop. If anything happens to either loop in my system they are pretty isolated and the engine loop had minimal modifications which makes me feel warm and fuzzy. However, when you add a second loop you need an expansion tank on that loop because as things heat up they expand and you don't want the system to pressurize. The reason I added the D5 was, one I got a really good deal on it, and two because I can heat up the water without having to turn the engine on, there will be times when it will be inconvenient to turn on the van just to heat up some hot water, so this acts as redundancy and since I already have a D2 with an easy-start pro, I can hook this up to that same controller since it can run two heaters. One could argue the 110V element in the water heater is the redundant heating method, but that's a very power hungry option and should really only be used if you are connected to shore power. Anyways, I hope this helps.

[@pedrofontes8494]

@@moonrakerdesign ya this was very helpful. Any chance you will make another video on this. Also you could have a link to some of those parts you made

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@pedrofontes8494 I'm not sure I'm following, make another video on? Unfortunately, the custom parts are only really cost effective if demand is there as a one off it's literally hundreds of dollars each if I didn't give my time away to myself for free. I've been listing parts on the van I make that people are generally interested in on my website when demand hits a certain point. These haven't quite made it there yet, sadly.

[@pedrofontes8494]

@@moonrakerdesign thanks for answering my question, I meant to ask you if you gonna make another video on this system, how it works, and answer our questions

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@pedrofontes8494 Ahh I see, yes I will try to get this, TBH I have a serious video backlog right now... so I make no promises... 😬

[@fernarango]

Hi Todd, are planning to install air handlers? Which one do you suggest. Thank you.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @fernarngo, yes I am planning on installing one at the rear trying to decided between - Rixens - AMC Marine - Real Hot - Aquahot Cozy III

[@fernarango]

Thank you.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@fernarango of course, my final decision will most likely be due to space constraints :)

[@PTG847]

Are you going to show us the rest of your water system? Tank, Pump, Plumbing? Thanks- good job on your build

[@moonrakerdesign]

@PTG847 of course!! Thanks for the comment and we are glad you are looking forward to seeing that. It will be a little bit though. These projects as well as making the videos is a lot of work in addition to a demanding full time job and all the other stuff we have going on in our life. Right now we are working on putting in the van flooring since we need to drill holes through to under the van for some of the L-track bits. This has to happen before the tanks go under the van since some of the holes sit above them.

[@geekazoid47]

Just a note here; you've put your HE in series with the heater core but the recommended method is in parallel. I honestly thing your approach is fine. Also this is almost identical to my MY2017 3.0L V6. Clever location for your HE.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey thanks for the comment and input! Yeah I went the easy route here. So far it seems to be working out really good for us! I do have to cut the lines here pretty soon because I'm adding another Heat Exchanger in the back of the van to take advantage of this loop, so might revisit everything then.

[@geekazoid47]

​@@moonrakerdesign Here's the best info I have found so far in my research: This is the blurb from MBZ for the factory aux heat exchanger for MY2016+ and MY2018+ 3.0L V6's - "An auxiliary heat exchanger is connected to the water circuit in parallel with the front-end heat exchanger". The "front-end" here is the in-dash heater core. There is also a MY2018+ Aux Heat Exchanger Prep PDF you should check out that shows - importantly - which lines are supply and return and the location of the electric coolant pump and where MBZ would have you not modify. Everything looks very similar on my 2017 to the 2018+ VS30. Anyway, parallel means tee off the supply and return lines. Your loop should close and if its any longer than the under hood loop you showed in video, I'd include a pump like this one from US Solar Pumps "S5 Solar Hot Water Pump - S5 12V 8.4L 5PV" - its relatively low current and flow rate, which is suitable for hydronic loops.

[@geekazoid47]

@@moonrakerdesign check out "Sprinter MY2019+ Auxiliary Heat Exchanger Prep (H88)"

[@osmyoz]

Whoaaa man that is neat !! Thanks a lot...

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you! Glad you found it helpful 🙂

[@MeganHieatt]

Nice tidy install. How serviceable are those heat shrink tube clamps if you ever have to remove or change the system? Can you now ever remove those hoses?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Megan, thanks for the kind words. To remove the Gates Power Grip Clamps you have to cut them and replace them, that is the only downside, but yes you can remove them no problem. You can either do this with a special tool from them - www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/powergrip/gates-powergrip-heavy-duty-sb-clamp-removal-tool/gatu/91215 Or you can actually use a soldering iron (I bought an extra tip for mine just for this purpose) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXasYmqfr8-fpZYsi=30lOTxdRdQCjDNv2&t=426 Both methods prevent damage to the actual hoses, you'd just have to buy a new clamp. If you are thinking there are areas where you need to service or want to leave open for change a spring clamp or worm gear clamp might be better for you there.

[@c2gutbuster]

Todd, that switch mounted on the dash for powering up the Bosch pump for when you are driving is very slick. Does it have an illuminated ring that indicates it is ON? Do you have a supplier source? I'd like to do the same with my D6.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey there, yes the ring glows white when it's on! I picked it up from here - amzn.to/3Z70aZW. There's a couple of different color options for the light. Longer term I was planning on offering custom laser etched versions for people as well as the perfectly machined holes in dash blanks too. It's not the perfect solution (ideally Mercedes would just support custom OEM buttons), but I think it's the cleanest compromise I've been able to come up with.

[@c2gutbuster]

@@moonrakerdesign I do not need it right away. I will be bench testing the D6 with a big barrel of water this week. The only major items I need to order are the Duda Diesel plate heat exchanger, Easy Start Pro with harness and a header tank for the engine bay. I have most of the small fittings and hose. The full install into the van will be next Spring. If you will be selling laser etched versions I will wait till you have it along with some other little goodies.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@c2gutbuster Awesome! Yeah I should be able to get my feet under me by then, hopefully! If not, I'll make you a one off since I already have the fixturing and everything setup for the laser :)

[@AllenKrughoff]

@@moonrakerdesign +1 on the machined holes for the dash blanks! Would use this for the same pump circuit and it's also the same button (as far as I can tell) that Morimoto lighting uses for their fog lights, so that'll go in the other spot on my build in theory.

[@ramzizaz]

Great video! What mechanism is in place to prevent the water from boiling and stop heating up before reaching the boiling point?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey there, since the average temperature of the Sprinter Coolant will be 190ºF-230ºF and there will be some heat loss from the exchanger to the water tank I don't think we will have an issue. I did add a temperature probe to this loop though kzbin.infoCixUVKZOb4A. If it is a problem I can cut pump flow with a relay from the Cerbo GX. On the Espar side when that's running that controls the coolant temp 167ºF - 176ºF.

[@GlennInLaguna]

4:14 I think you have a lot of experience with rivnuts. I'd like to ask your opinion about mounting Unistrut on my vans walls. I am building out a work van and was wanting to put Unistrut on the walls so that I can mount modular cabinets to it. Mounting like FeatherBuilt does, you can look up their basic Foundations kit and see how they mount it on the walls, I want to do mine like that. Do you know what size rivnut would be used to mount Unistrut to my van's walls (I plan to buy my Unistrut from McMaster)? I see a lot of opinions about Rivnut's verses Plus-Nuts or even using a combination of the two. But it seems most guys like yourself and others who have a higher level of attention to detail (like Project of Science), use mostly rivnuts. And with the proper tools maybe rivnuts are best if you install them correctly. I see you like the Astro PRN1, but if I were only going to be using 2-3 different rivnut sizes I might be able to just use the single use Wrench-Driven Rivet Nut Tools from McMaster.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Glenn, I wouldn’t go less than 6mm threads for installing this type of thing. This is what Ad Wagon uses and I’m sure feather built does too. If I remember right the factory holes are around 8mm so you are going to need to drill them out a bit put some rust prevention in place (I like marine grade anti seize for rivnuts) and then set them. There’s a lot of debate on plus nut vs rivnut. I like rivnuts because they are lower profile and don’t take up as much space behind the wall. There are some places you need to set a nut that a plus nut wouldn’t fit so IMO why not use them for all. I’ve never had one spin on me, but like you said I used the pneumatic pull tool. I really think rivnuts work best with a pull setter. I don’t really like the ones that spin because you really need to make sure the rivnut mushrooms before any torque is applied to it. Just a lot less margin for error. Anyways if you want to talk more you can always email me at hello at farrframeworks dot com. Happy to give you my number there and we can chat on the phone too!

[@lkazanov]

Todd, a question. Why did you choose to create hot water via a tank vs a heat exchanger? I thought that was the whole point with hydronic systems. You could avoid a water tank in lieu of a heat exchanger. Were you concerned of the proposed 1 gallon per minute limitation through the heat exchanger?? Very curious as to your thought process (which I hold in high regard).

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey there. Sure thing. We take a lot of day trips to the beach and stuff with our dogs as well as move daily almost all the time when we are camping. I really liked the idea of heating up water on the way there and hold it in reserve without having to turn a system on for these instances. To wash them off or our feet etc. it’s really taking advantage of that free heat and storing it while driving. The water tank will easily keep the water warm after parking for 12-24 hours depending on outside conditions. The D5 was actually put in because I scored a sweet deal on it and is primarily used as a back up if we are stationary for a while, engine block hearing (longer term) if needed, and an additional air heat source from the rear of the van. Hope this helps and clears things up. There’s decision tree after decision tree when building a van. You’ll just have to figure out what makes sense for you and how you’ll use the van. It’s actually one of the hardest parts because eventually the decisions also affect each other.

[@lkazanov]

@@moonrakerdesign Todd, thank you as always. The standard shower head is about 2.5gpm. Seems like the Rixen, etc, heat exchanger model is about 0.8gpm. I think your design makes the most sense. Isotemp will also provide electrical backup if you're plugged in. Keep sharing your skills!

[@MrJakeporro]

Great install, interesting system. How efficiently does the engine heat the water tank when D5 is not in use?is there much loss from the long pipe runs and heat exchanger?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Initial testing shows water is up to temp in about 30min - 1 hour depending on the start conditions. The tank keeps the water warm for over 10 hours.

[@Dr.Thundy]

FYI on the extra pump. On my Webasto unit I added a relay on the "Pump" wire. So on the NC pin of the relay I have ignition activated power and on the NO I have continuous power controlled by the Webasto. The resistance of the relay is enough to trick the Webasto into thinking a pump is attached, so no errors. I see that the Espar pump is 3 wires, but I'm sure you could achieve a similar result.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Nice that's a cool solution! Thanks for sharing, and I would be interested if it also works on the Espar, in general they seem a bit more finicky with control modifications.

[@c2gutbuster]

Todd, I am basically going to duplicate your system as designed in 170 Sprinter using the same components. My Isotemp will be at the rear mounted to the floor and will buy the Espar 5 liter plastic tank. I think I have watched this video at least 5 times and read through all the comments. Another first class video. I see at Tec VanLife they sell the D5 as a base kit (no controller) and a kit with the Easy Start Pro "Full Installation Kit". Did you get the kit with the Easy Start Pro?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks so much, and I’m glad you’ve found it so helpful! I had an easy start pro from my D2 install and it can run two heaters. I had to do some harness work which you wouldn’t have to do if you ordered them together. You can also control the D5 with a simple shorting of the yellow wire to the red wire if you want to setup your own control on a Cerbo GX, thermostat or Ink bird type controller!

[@c2gutbuster]

Thanks for the thoughts. I will probably get the add on option. The best thing about Eapar is the documentation and user support. I have an HLN diesel air heater that I will put under the passenger seat.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@c2gutbuster good deal! Yeah I've had no complaints about Espar support! Let me know if you have any other questions about the project and happy building!

[@CharlesAnsman]

WOW !!! 😳 Thanks first class work 🏁

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks Charles! Means a lot to hear you say that!

[@MrSeaCheese]

So impressed with your design and work! I just bought a first gen T1N Sprinter van (Gulfstream RV outfitted) with the espar block heater and I have bought a small heat exchanger (like you have) that I am going to be integraiting into the system. The van currently does not have a hot water tank (just a 20 year old on demand electric water heater). I was wondering what kind of transferance water temperature are you getting off the heat exchanger?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @MrSeaCheese, appreciate your comment here and congrats on your new ride! Hot water temperature will get up to 160-190ºF. I think the Espar will try to hold at 175ºF if I remember right. In my system the water is actually heated by the exchanger in the IsoTemp tank, not the flat plate heat exchanger. Mine only serves to pull heat off the engine coolant loop while driving. Your system will be a little bit different and you need to make sure your heat exchanger can raise the temperature at the flow rate of your fixtures (faucets and shower heads). FWIW Rixen's uses the same flat plate heat exchanger I have here for on demand hot water. Make sure you add a mixing value so the output temperature isn't scorching though.

[@paulwade8103]

Im confused on why you put an additional heat exchanger and coolant reservoir if the Isotemp has a heat exchanger built in. I’m doing the same setup as you so it would help immensely

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Paul. The coolant reservoir is needed because the coolant will expand when heated. You can’t have a closed system without a place for that expansion to happen. Espar recommends around 6L of space in the manual if I remember correctly. You can buy these off the shelf. The extra heat exchanger allows me to take heat from the engine coolant loop while driving without being totally tapped into that engine coolant circuit itself. Meaning if anything fails on my added coolant loop the engine loop is unaffected and will perform as normal. This also allows me to use a different type of coolant in my water heater loop that is safer. If some how it contaminated the water through a heat exchanger failure in the water heater (highly unlikely) we wouldn’t be poisoned. Others have skipped this flat plate exchanger and just plumbed the whole thing into the same coolant loop as the engine but that means if you have a leak or failure so does the engine. Let me know if this makes sense or if you need anymore info.

[@paulwade8103]

@@moonrakerdesign awesome. Thanks for the reply

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@paulwade8103 No problem if you have any other questions you can hit me up at hello at farrframeworks dot com. Happy to provide any additional info. Happy Building!

[@paulwade8103]

@@moonrakerdesign I did find you on Insta and shot you a message on there before you sent this

[@robertludwig5308]

Awsome job all the way!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thanks a bunch we really appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙏🏻

[@JasonConroy]

Great video. Do you have a recommendation between Rixon and Aquahot if I want to go with the off-the-shelf method?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey @JasonConroy, thank you very much! For Rixen's vs Aquahot there are definitely pros and cons to each. From my personal standpoint and opinion if you have the dedicated space where you can tuck the Aquahot box in your build it's a pretty elegant solution which takes out even more of the work required to put one of these systems together. The form factor of their air handlers makes more sense to me too in a van where space is pretty limited you save about 100in^3 for each one. The fact that it can support up to 16,000ft out of the box is awesome too if you plan on doing high elevation camping. Anyways @humbleroad put together a good overview of the internals of the Aquahot recently you should check out if you haven't already. With Rixen's new MCS7 controller it's a much more compelling solution for me and I'm really glad they upgraded things. The MCS6 controller felt like it was from the 80's and there's no way I'd put that one in a van I own in 2024. However, you will still need to piece the parts together from the kit and really figure out how to mount and run the components. That being said from what I know about Jim over there is he will personally guide most people through this process and the amount of support and guidance you get from Rixen's will be above and beyond Aquahot. I'm assuming at a big company like Airxcel to get support you'll have to go through a support ticketing system, where as with Rixen's you can call Jim directly. That kind of small business family support has its own weight in gold for DIY'ers in my opinion. I hope this helps, unfortunately I'm an outsider looking in since I haven't used any of these systems directly in my own build, but people say positive things about both. Ultimately, the best choice for you will depend on your specific needs and priorities. Consider the size of your van/RV (will you benefit from multi-zone), your budget, your heating and hot water requirements, and your preferences for installation and maintenance. Last point here from me, I'd still probably consider a hot water tank for my needs with either system if I went the OTS route. I have two dogs and we go to the beach a lot and being able to load up on hot water on the drive there and hose them off with warm water (they are babies about cold showers) without having to turn on the burner is critical.

[@JasonConroy]

@@moonrakerdesignThank you for the detailed reply. I haven't seen Humbleroad's video yet but will soon. It's a big expense so want to make the right decision for me as I plan to start living in my 170 AWD Sprinter full time beginning April 2025.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@JasonConroy Yeah definitely and congrats on the move to commit to your sprinter full time!! That's awesome and can't wait to see what you put together. One other option I forgot to mention in my video was what @floriskyland2568 commented below and another option I was looking at was the Webasto DualTop. I know another option to add to your list and also equally if not more expensive. But I think it would be good to look at all options objectively before making you decision! Note with that one you can't run heated floors, but not sure if you have that planned anyways.

[@JasonConroy]

@@moonrakerdesign Thanks for the additional information and tips. After watching Mathers on the Map's second build videos and knowing my wife gets cold easily, heated floors are definitely on the schedule. Leaning hard toward Rixan right now based on everything I've seen and your help.

[@_DarkDwellings]

This is high IQ stuff. All while wearing authentic Crocs?!….sheesh

[@moonrakerdesign]

LOL! In my defense they are the in-croc-nitos without the holes and Croc charms 😅! Thanks for stopping by and for the comment!

[@kbeefy]

Just stumbled upon your video, your system is remarkably similar to what I'm planning. Have you come upon any 'oops' or 'gotchas' yet? I have a superflex 460 surplus diesel heater, Kuuma Marine water heater, and plan to add a water to air 'heater core' for interior heating as well as valves to isolate 'zones' when not needed or for quicker engine coolant or water heater warmup.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Really only planning out if I wanted additional loops. I'm going to put an air handler in the back of the van for more heat and would have been nice to run those hoses with this original install. Like you I'll have valves that shut that loop of in the summer time. The other things is I'm finding out now I need to drill the the floor for my l-track so I need to take the hot water heater back out to get these brackets install. So really just about planning all the cascading and colliding projects. It's pretty tough if you've never been through it before.

[@kbeefy]

@@moonrakerdesign I spent the winter (waiting for my vanagon to sell) planning out the water and electrical, hopefully I won't have to redo too many things. I settled on one large coolant loop with 'bypass' valves to isolate the different systems when not needed or for maintenance. I settled on Engine - Diesel coolant Heater - Water heater - Aux heater core - return.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@kbeefy Sounds like a great plan!! After this install, I think it would be really fun to go back and try to make a central Aquahot type box to control everything. I hate how almost everything in the van RV space is run on proprietary controllers. If I have time in the future would love to go back and centralize it one day on a more open source platform.

[@kbeefy]

@@moonrakerdesign Thats well beyond my skillset, I'm going to try to make it just a bit more automated than frankenstien switches and manual ball valves. It won't be as elegant, but I think a few thermal switches, a few electrical actuated valves, and alot of wire and it will work good enough. Have you bought an air handler yet? I see some cheap ones available that are 10-15k btu, but I think I'd rather go with something in the 30-45k btu range.

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@kbeefy Sometimes simpler is the best solution! I haven't bought my Air Handler just yet. But I'm size limited so I'll likely end up with something in the 8-15K range. I've been looking at AMC, Rixens and the Aquahot handlers.

[@octane_ape]

Are you selling any of these brackets? Id be willing to paypal

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey there. Not in production yet but you can hit me up on the website contact form www.moonrakerdesignco.com and we can see what we can do for you!

[@floriskyland2568]

Todd my friend. Amazing work as always. Love your video. Happy New Year. Did you ever consider going with the Webasto Dual Top? That is what I install into mine. Hello from MT.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey Flori, good to hear from you and hope you had a great New Year! Glad you enjoyed the video and hopefully we can make our way up to MT in this conversion later this year! The Dual Top is a great unit and definitely something we considered! The things that kept us from it was primarily the cost, our camping climate, our use case of weekly beach trips with the dogs and having hot water in the tank while we drive out there and I would be lying if I didn’t say the idea of building out the Hydronic system myself seemed like fun 😅. The van has definitely become my outlet as I’ve gotten further and further from hands on engineering and projects in my day career. If I were to build another without the need for a challenge the Dual Top would be right up there as a top choice! Thanks again!

[@floriskyland2568]

Thank you@@moonrakerdesign . Your "hydronic" song will definitely make it into the charts. Love it. :)

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@floriskyland2568 I hope so, then maybe I can retire and just build vans and random fabrication projects all the time 🤣 That would be the dream!

[@JaimetheNomad]

I’m 45 seconds in and this is epic haha

[@moonrakerdesign]

Haha, thank you! When I first pitched the idea for this intro to Colleen she said "we are definitely going to lose followers on this one..." I'm gonna have to show her this comment 🤣

[@kingofswamis]

Periodically I come up with ideas could be no Bueno, Could be V-MOST. Is there a place to message you direct on here?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hey there, e-mail is probably best way to get a hold of me, contact form is on the website www.moonrakerdesignco.com thank you.

[@sstiburon]

Why oh why do you keep making me buy tools?! Another great video, love what you guys do for us DIYers (even without the fabrication means)

[@moonrakerdesign]

Sorry about that Scott!! I (and my wife 😅) often wonder why I buy so many tools myself, but then it really does make the job so much more enjoyable! Thanks for the compliments and continued support. It really does mean a lot and keeps us motivated to keep making these. Even if people don’t follow what we do seeing it in this level of detail hopefully makes people think about things a bit differently. Out of curiosity what did you pick up this time??

[@sstiburon]

@@moonrakerdesign Your approach absolutely makes (at least me) think about things differently especially around attention to detail for serviceability and longevity, it's great to see and follow where I can. I had already purchased the airsaw, the shrink wrap printer thingy, the 90 degree drill, positaps, DT connectors, wire sleeving, the porch lights, heat gun, etc, etc (basically everything from your essential tools video), but this time I replaced all of my rivnuts with those from Mcmaster as I hated the quality of the ones I got from Amazon (too slippery and soft). I am also likely to change my plans for hot water... I was on the fence for the hydronic route as it was a bit intimidating until your video popped up. Will use your affiliate links as I make that happen ;). Thank you again, my dude! Until the next video *fingers crossed*

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@sstiburon Wow! That's a lot of stuff thank you for the support on all of that, we don't get much from it but it really does help us with little things and helps us continue to make these videos! Yeah I tried the Amazon rivnuts too and luckily did them on a test piece my first one was a spinner and the second one collapsed lop sided so I threw them out and tried the ones from McMaster. So far I've been able to set all of them straight as an arrow with no spinners with the pneumatic and DIY solution we've been using they are way nicer IMO.

[@ivant.7598]

You are using so fancy tools! Unheard of tools. And those custom made brackets?/ How did you do all that? Are you using some fancy 3D printer? That's crazy work! I read your disclaimer that this is not professional. If that is not professional, I don't know what else would be. I have never seen something like that!

[@moonrakerdesign]

Yeah I have a lot of tools… my business before and now required/requires some of these things. My wife is convinced I have every tool under the sun. I prove her wrong about once a month. I’m using a vertical CNC milling machine for almost all of the custom brackets and stuff. It’s actually the exact opposite of 3D printing where you start with a big block of material and remove it until you have your part. It can handle a wide variety of materials, but 3D printing is making big strides! I guess I’m a professional engineer, but I’ve never converted a van before so this is new territory for me. Thank you for your comment and your kind words. I really appreciate it.

[@RichmondHollen]

You guys are insane (in a good way)

[@moonrakerdesign]

Hahaha, thanks Richmond. Just trying to make you proud!!

[@mystraderson]

Not much I haven't seen. Airsaw? What! Reciprocating jigsaw pencil.... Im getting one.

[@moonrakerdesign]

LOL! The airsaw slays! I use it so much on the van and pretty much any other sheet metal project I’m working on these days!!!

[@teppohovattala5171]

Little bit too much engineered for my taste, but you made it look good. Whatkind of battery/charge setup are you gonna do? I will do only engine loop and heating element for non drive days.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Appreciate the viewpoint, and yes I definitely get way to deep in the weeds with some of these projects when it's not required. My day job has become a lot of management and keynotes lately so I use this as my outlet 😅. For the battery charging setup. I'm going with dual alternator as the primarily powering source, I can only fit about 320W of solar on the roof. I have 640Ah of lithium going in.

[@kevinmctarsney36]

Great detail! Excellent video!

[@moonrakerdesign]

@@kevinmctarsney36 thanks for the kind words, and the comment. We are glad you liked it and it's very much appreciated 🙂

[@tonyhernandez3433]

Bro. Did u just say San Rafael ?? I jus purchased a used van Can we meet up Would like to pick ur brain for my conversion

[@moonrakerdesign]

Pretty much 😅. I actually live on the border of San Anselmo and Fairfax. Shoot me an email (website on our channel info) and we can talk about meeting up.

[@tonyhernandez3433]

@@moonrakerdesign ty brother 🫡😎

[@leblancexplores]

Bummer Espar doesn't just let you drive their pump...

[@moonrakerdesign]

100% agree, especially because all their controller options are 👎. They do let some people who have had relationships with them for a long time drive it like Rixen's, etc, but they should post their CANBUS commands for all to use.

[@leahptp]

Great explanation, but background music is too loud. Difficult to concentrate on what you’re saying.

[@moonrakerdesign]

Thank you, and yes we have received similar feedback from others and modified audio levels on our newer videos. Unfortunately not much we can do about the ones already posted :/

[@tztz1949]

How do men become so verbose?

[@moonrakerdesign]

Not sure entirely what you mean by this comment? I purposely add a lot of detail to each project because I found that other videos/blogs left out key information including simple things like links to products/tools required. I'm just trying to pass on my learnings to others out there :)

[@kingofswamis]

Yo cousin I think he meant you’re THE MOST. Guy talking about his big V and he likes you the most…Verbose.

[@rray3630]

cringe

[@moonrakerdesign]

Went to check your content and there is none. Go figure.

[@tristanl2743]

Less van content, more singing please

[@moonrakerdesign]

I’ll let Colleen know we need to head in a new direction. Next up Free Bird cover!