Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Topic: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question (Read 1573 times) previous topic - next topic

Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

January 06, 2017, 04:26:00 pm

Getting down to about 25 tonight so I turned on the bathroom thermostat and sure enough the fan kicked on. I turned the 115 AC AQ on, and using the front thermostat turned on heat for both zones 1 &2. I also turned the dial on the homemade switch installed by previous owner in the storage bay and again the fan came on. As far as I can tell all the fans are running but I am getting NO heat. I should add I have the shore power plugged into a 20 A plug. Any ideas?

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #1 – January 06, 2017, 05:05:26 pm

Make sure your Agua hot has coolant in it, ac element may take a few minutes to heat , it is only 1500 watts I think, will not heat coach in cold weather on ac only if your staying in it.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #2 – January 06, 2017, 05:12:32 pm

dc,

You are correct. The 1650 watt, 5000 btu electric element will heat the coach down to 50 degrees F. Below that, one needs the Wabesto burner ON to remain comfortable. In cold weather if plugged in, both heat sources ON.

You are correct on the coolant tank level also. See my post on Michael's other thread.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #3 – January 06, 2017, 05:22:40 pm

Not sure about 20 amp plug, may or may not send power to all breakers in panel, need someone to chime in who has done that.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #4 – January 06, 2017, 05:30:01 pm

Quote from: dc3120 – January 06, 2017, 05:22:40 pm

Not sure about 20 amp plug, may or may not send power to all breakers in panel, need someone to chime in who has done that.

20 amp will supply all breakers. However total load capacity is only 20 amps, I would turn off my electric element on aquahot, as your charger will consume 10 or so amps to keep batteries charged because aquahot pumps and blowers will use quite a bit of 12 volt power.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #5 – January 06, 2017, 05:30:22 pm

dc,

The electric input to the coach sends 120 vac power to the whole coach. A 50 amp source provides two legs of 50 amp power each or 100 total amps for the coach. A 30 source provides 30 total amps to both legs in the coach. Any combination of power consumption on both legs as long as the total is less than 30 amps

So the same for a 20 amp source, both legs can not consume more than 20 total amps.

I have been stranded in a shop in the past. I could run one A/C or one coffee pot or one toaster oven or the Aqua Hot electric element or one hair dryer but only one at a time.

Hope this helps.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #6 – January 07, 2017, 01:15:34 am

Quote from: Rudy – January 06, 2017, 05:12:32 pm

dc,

You are correct. The 1650 watt, 5000 btu electric element will heat the coach down to 50 degrees F. Below that, one needs the Wabesto burner ON to remain comfortable. In cold weather if plugged in, both heat sources ON.

You are correct on the coolant tank level also. See my post on Michael's other thread.

Rudy,
You wrote "The 1650 watt, 5000 btu electric element will heat the coach down to 50 degrees F." I have inside thermostats set to 52 and the "water" bay thermostat set to 45. Thursday evening I run the Aqua hot first with diesel got it all hot (inside temp to 60-65) and then left it over night with both diesel and electric Aqua hot switches on (connected to shore power) Last night it went down to 22 and tonight will be going down to 15-17. Should i have set the thermostats higher tend 45 & 52 ?

"ac element may take a few minutes to heat , it is only 1500 watts I think, will not heat coach in cold weather on ac only" But since i have set the water bey thermostat to 45 and inside to 52, it should maintain and keep it from freezing correct?
Thank you,
AL

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #7 – January 07, 2017, 08:53:44 am

Al,

5000 btus is not a lot to heat the interior and utility basement. But all you need is 32+ degrees for the water to be happy.

15 degrees ambient is 17 degrees below 32. So you are hoping 5000 btus is going to keep that delta through out all of the areas that have a water pipe. Plus you may be below 32 degrees ambient for 24+ hours.

I am not smart enough to guarantee you can maintain the delta on electric only. It will if you have both electric and diesel burner ON.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #8 – January 07, 2017, 10:54:10 am

Quote from: Rudy – January 07, 2017, 08:53:44 am

Al,

5000 btus is not a lot to heat the interior and utility basement. But all you need is 32+ degrees for the water to be happy.

15 degrees ambient is 17 degrees below 32. So you are hoping 5000 btus is going to keep that delta through out all of the areas that have a water pipe. Plus you may be below 32 degrees ambient for 24+ hours.

I am not smart enough to guarantee you can maintain the delta on electric only. It will if you have both electric and diesel burner ON.

Rudy,

Yes I have both " electric and diesel " Aqua hot switches turned on. I am going to take temperature readings with my temperature gun again.
Thank you,
AL

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #9 – January 07, 2017, 12:57:42 pm

Both heating systems are separate from each other.

If the tanks temp drops below its cut in point the electric element comes on.

Drop another ten degrees and the diesel burner comes in in addition to the already on electric.

Electric is 5000 btus. Diesel is 50,000.

both circuits have the same high tank temp cutoff values if memory serves me.

185 cut in for electric. 175 for diesel. 210? High cutoff.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #10 – January 07, 2017, 02:46:13 pm

Last night low was around 25 or so. I had previoisly heated AH with diesel, but left it overnight on elec only. This morning i went out to check and the vents were not blowing warm air, seemed pretty cold to me. So now im wonderinf whether the AC AH element works at all? Any thoughts?

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #11 – January 07, 2017, 03:58:59 pm

Michael,

Read reply #7 above for the answer. It is all explained there.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #12 – January 07, 2017, 09:01:17 pm

Newer Aqua hot or Oasis units have double or more btus input from electricity.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #13 – January 10, 2017, 12:56:08 am

My Aqua ( not so ) Hot has both the electric and diesel switch on. The water is not really as hot as we like it to be to take a shower. I looked up past threads on AH, but didn't see anything that might explain possible remedies. I was looking for a T Stat to reset. It is interesting to me that, even in the cool of the morning here in Tuscon, the diesel DOESN'T FIRE UP!!??? Tomorrow, I will try turning the electric OFF, and just trying to fire up the diesel heat. Any ideas as to how to get a hot shower working here?? Thanks.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #14 – January 10, 2017, 07:29:03 am

Gleam,

The diesel burner control thermostat may be opening at a lower temp and not recovering till a lower temp than it did when new.

I replaced one two weeks ago and all heating and hot water was well again. I measure the tank temp to diagnose the issue.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #15 – January 10, 2017, 08:47:09 am

1. Take showers using water tank to make sure supply water isn't too cold.
2. Use Oxygenics shower head to make sure your flow rate isn't too high.
3. Cycle mixing valve to make sure it is working well.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #16 – January 10, 2017, 12:16:27 pm

I'm with Brett, cycle the mixing valve/adjust to a hotter setting then go from there.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #17 – January 10, 2017, 09:46:53 pm

Rudy....where is the diesel control t stat located? Where would I buy a replacement ?
Brett....we were looking at Oxygenics heads. do you recommend a model ??
I take it you mean the mixing valve in the shower ? There isn't a valve under the MH?
Thanks

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #18 – January 10, 2017, 09:59:09 pm

The mixing valve is located inside the cover of the Aqua Hot same place as the thermostats. The Mixing valve can be hard to reach. Read your Aqua Hot manual for details.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #19 – January 10, 2017, 10:04:06 pm

Gleam, is your water hot enough at the Kitchen sink? It is quite common to have crud build up in valves, faucets and other places that could be limiting hot water flow. Start with the simple stuff. Oxygenics shower heads are popular. There are many 1.5 gal/min shower heads out there. We found a nice Moen that we like better than our Oxygenics.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #20 – January 11, 2017, 07:57:34 am

Gleam,

Above the burner is a removable panel. Inside are 4 thermostats. The top one on the left is the control thermostat that has a white and a orange wire.

Purchase parts at parts.rvhydronicheaterrepair.com. Type thermostat in the search box.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #21 – January 11, 2017, 08:24:55 am

The mixing valve is under the burner. The burner really has to be removed. Mark its current position, then rotate the knob to its limit in both directions, then return to its original position. You can adjust it slightly hotter, but only after checking out all the other reasons for inadequate hot water.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #22 – January 11, 2017, 10:22:32 am

It is difficult but I can turn the mixing valve with the burner hooked up. That is the only way to set the temperatures at the sink for the constant hot water.

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #23 – January 11, 2017, 11:34:40 am

This is a great forum! Thank you, all, for your help with this. I have both the electric and the diesel switch on . Haven't heard the AH " fire up" yet. I ran the hot water at the kitchen sink, and it was luke warm.....I never had to move my hand or temper the water, so something is definitely not right. I have to fix this, so Amy can take a HOT shower. Sounds like I am about to get to know my AquaHot REAL WELL. Can't hurt. Hope I can fix this. We are LOVING this FT!!

Re: Yet another furnace/aqua hot question

Reply #24 – January 11, 2017, 12:19:28 pm

OK. I just turned off the electric switch and left the diesel on. The AH DID fire up, I put my hand near the tailpipe. Let it run until it turned itself off. The water temperature HAS NOT CHANGED!!?? Still can keep my hand under the kitchen faucet at full hot, and it is lukewarm. Houston....we have a problem.

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