In the head of my 96 U320 there is a thermostat labeled "hydroflame'. And it turns something on. The question is what?
Anybody?
That is what turns on the bathroom aquahot heater blower
does it have anything to do with the heat on the floor? Living room gets warm but bathroom doesnt so was wondering
Thanks
Yes. Turn it on and set the desired temperature and you should get heat if it's working properly.
Thanks all
That also will heat your bays where the water tank and pump are. You need to have either the diesel or elect switch in the on position of your Aqua hot system to produce heat.
You should have 3 of those in your coach 1st in living room zone 1 - 2nd in the bath zone2 - 3rd in bedroom zone 3 , If when you turn either one of the 3 zones the pump in Aqua Hot comes on and it also turns on fans behind the heat exchange's in whatever zone is turned on, all this is done in side cover of Aqua Hot, If when you turn on bedroom and the other one comes on , wiring is been changed, all zones are activated by a negative signal from t-stats on wall
You need to get your signature showing your year and model as some later coaches only have two thermostats, one in living room for zone 1 and 2 and one in bath for zone 3
Richard, can you heat your bays without heating the cabin? Just concerned about those rare nights where we do get down to the 30's.
Sven,
This isn't Richard but let me jump in.
This only applies to coaches with the Aqua Hot system.
Unless someone has changed things you should have a t'stat in the water pump bay area that will cause the heater units in the basement to operate separate of the "cabin area" You do have to have either the electric or diesel switch inside "on" as the t'stat don't turn on nothing but the circulating pump to that loop and the heat fans.
As far as 30* we don't even worry about basement heat.
Pamela & Mike
Just what I was going to say.
I have a mystery with my Bedroom heat exchanger that I need to track down. When it turned cold here the bedroom fan started coming on when the main thermostat was not set to call for heat in the bedroom. I thought it might be a sticky relay but I proved that it was not. When I turned down the thermostat in the bay to its lowest position it stopped the heat exchanger fan in the bedroom. I don't understand why the bedroom heat exchanger would be connected to the thermostat in the bay and also to the 4 button thermostat in the coach. Any ideas?
Thanks. Thats a good thing to know. So that thermostat controls the heat for the bathroom area and the heated storage bay. And since the aqua hot is the furnace it must be on i assume.
Michaeloh59, that's right. There is also a Tstat mounted where your Manoblock water system is that you can set the temp also. I think most set it around 35 deg.
Michael, that thermostat does not turn on the bay heat only the bathroom heat. the thermostat by the manabloc is what turns on the bay heat, and yes the aqua hot has to have either the diesel or electric turned on the heat the fluid in the boiler tank which is then circulated through the system when a zone calls for heat.
The confusion here is that the bathroom and the basement are on the same AquaHot fluid zone loop (iow - they share the same zone valve), but each have their own thermostat that controls the blowers in their respective areas.
Thanks Michelle, you did a much better explanation then I did. It was much easier to understand.
My bad, I thought the bathroom fan also heated the bay at the same time. 😩
Richard,
Just for your info you have 2 heat radiators and fans in your water pump/service bay.
Pamela & Mike
Yes - and critters like to build nests on them, so use an inspection mirror and check them periodically....
last week we drycamped in front of my folks house in Las Vegas.
Knowing the weather would be at freezing I turned the bay heater thermostat from it lowest position to 50 degrees.
You could hear the fans running below the floor I have never heard before. Obviously works.
55 degree temp increase from the input temp allows hotter showers if you do not care about the additional consumption of diesel and battery power to run the bays blower fans.
Good test.
Maybe just faster hot water, the temperature is set by the Aqua Hot tempering valve. A pain to adjust though
This statement is wrong.
Just like how any thermostat operates, the basement thermostat has nothing to do with the temperature of the hot water (or heat) coming from the AquaHot. It merely sets the temperature below which the heat comes on in that area, above which it does not.
As craneman states, the temperature of the hot water is controlled by the AquaHot.
I was testing heating the water tank itself. Starting out with 50 degree water versus 40 degree water.
Then the 55 degree max rise....
The function of the aquahot is to heat the water to a set point, The higher the input temp, the less it has to work. This has nothing to do with the demand. If it cannot supply the water at the set temp, the boiler will keep firing and attempt to reach the set temp. This is how it works, makes no difference what registers are open. The max rise is at a certain demand [gpm].
If there is no demand, it could be 75 f. rise. I believe max temp rise on some aquahot models is at 1.5 gpm
All, very much appreciated.
Rudy posted here my same experience. Up to the 1.5 gpm you will receive a 55 degree temp rise on the hot water side over the input water temp. Meaning the storage tank or input water hose temp.
If you want hotter hot water up to the mixing valves setting start with warmer tank or water in temp.
Search rudys posts you will see his comment about this observation.
If I start with warmer water then the wall mounted shower temp adjuster can be adjusted more towards the cold side as the hot water input is hotter.
If the input is 32 degrees you will get 87 at continious rated flow of 1.5gpm
At 70 degree input temp you get 125 degree continious 1.5 gpm.
You may get more temp rise in short spurts but what I was testing was continious output.
Once the copper plumbing around the burner can stored hot water is depleted then the burners max output results in a 55 degree temp rise over the sources temp.
The oasis unit offers 60 degree rise at 3.0 gpm. Designed for two showers on at the same time. Bath and a half coaches.
"If you want hotter hot water up to the mixing valves setting start with warmer tank or water in temp."
You will need to explain this to us. The aquahot heating element whether electric or diesel will shut off at a set temp. The water in the tank [coils] will be this temp. If the flow is such that the aquahot can maintain that temp, it will stay at that temp. If the aquahot can transfer enough heat to the water flowing into it, the temp will remain the same and not get any hotter than the temp of the coolant. The water in temp only comes into play when the aquahot coolant cannot transfer enough heat to the water used.
The water in your fw tank may be only 40 f. but if the flow of water through the heat exchanger is slow enough, the hot water coming out of your faucet will be max. temp. Easy to demonstrate. When your fw tank temp is 40 f., turn your shower and sink faucets on full, water will start out at full temp and then start to drop because the aquahot is not keeping up. Now just open up the sink at low flow, the temp will remain at full temp because the aquahot can transfer enough to keep the temp at the max set by the mixing valve.
So you see it is not so much about the water in temp, but about how much water you are trying to heat.
55 f. rise at 1.5 gpm is possibly equal to 75 f. rise at .5 gpm.
Hotter water in does not necessarily mean hotter water out.
If you operate the unit continiously like it's rated for you will finally run into the units 55 degree rise at 1.5gpm over the inlet supplies temperature.
Anyone disagree that that's the units design limits?
You may never run into it a motorhome but you could run a hose into the coach and attach a hose to the outside faucet and with the hose and diesel burner on and the hot water side of the faucet open to the ground you will finally have 55 degrees difference between the inlet hose water temp and what comes out of the tap,
Somewhere in the flow the burner will come on and extra residual heat retained in the boiler will be used up and the burners actual btu input will be the waters sole heating source.
55k btus into a continious running system is designed to heat 1.5 gpm to a 55 degree rise over inlet temperature.
So in a continiously operating system the inlet water temp variations will be reflected in the output water temp.
Not sure of the coils around the boilers capacity or the aluminum/steel boilers ability to retain heat but over long enough you will reduce its heat retention enough to eliminate its influence.
After that its the straight btu input minus the plumbing systems hest loss getting to the faucet.
Straight technical test. Not normal world.
If I wanted to provide showers externally to a crowd the unit is capable of a continious 55 degree rise over the input water temp.
32 degree water would give 87 degree cold showers. Not a good winter continious hot water provider.
A electrically heated water hose into the coach should warm the water enough to provide continious showers if so desired.
We are sort of preppers and I want to know the units real potential.
You could potentially furnish showers to a large group if the water in was 50 degrees or more continiously.
Not important. I test things most could care less about or ever use things this way.
Good test to see if your coils are loaded with lime and sediment like most are.
Rudy talked about cycling five gallons of vinegar through the coils to flush the line and sediments.
Good test would you think?