99 320
I'm checking out our new 99 as we get ready to hit the road. Anyhow, I got to looking at the Aqua Hot to familiarize myself with its components. This rig has the unit in the middle of the coach. I see the fuel lines, coolant distribution lines and so on but where the heck is the air intake??? Thanks.
jor
Here is a link to the manuals for aqua-hot units.
Dunno if it helps.
Keith
Aqua-Hot Heating Systems Inc. (http://www.aqua-hot.com/eSource/ecom/eSource/default/Manuals.aspx)
Jor,
The Aqua Hot intakes air from below the burner which in your case is near the middle of the bottom of the coach. If you open the unit to where you can see the burner, the air intake is the little round part on the bottom at the rear of the burner case. There is a hole in the bottom of the unit and floor of the basement to admit air into the unit.
The blower sucks the air in and blows it out at the back of the photo disc which forces it to go through the swirler where the fuel nozzle introduces the atomized fuel spray. The igniter sparks the swirling flame that gives you 50k btu of heating power. (The electric 1650 watt element has 5k btu of heating power.)
The hot gases exit the rear of the combustion tube and flow back around the outside of the tube heating the interior of the combustion chamber with its u-channels spaced all around for more surface area to soak up heat for the boiler fluid in the tank. The hot gases exit the combustion chamber in the center below the swirler into the exhaust pipe and out the side of the coach.
While the boiler fluid touching the hot surface of the combustion chamber is getting hot, the stir pump is circulating the boiler fluid to evenly distribute the heat through out the 16 gallons of fluid. The burner fires till the control thermostat is satisfied at about 185 degrees F where it cycles off the flame and a 2 to 3 minute purge occurs and then blower shut down.
Hope this helps.
Rudy, Thanks for the great explanation.
As for our issue, I do think we have a somewhat clogged mixer valve. Not going to tackle that until we get home. I did find the valve and you are very correct. It's a pain in the butt to get to! I can't get pliers to it and i can't turn the valve, so I think I'll have to remove the burner assembly to get to the valve.
It's not critical - at least yet! We still have plenty of hot water, we just have to move the shower valve almost all the way to HOT.
Thanks, Keith. I've got the manual but I didn't see anything re the location of the intake. And thanks, Rudy, for the specific information. I missed that intake hole during my quick look. I'm really looking forward to using the Aqua Hot.
jor