Community Forums

BoDawg226 · 09-26-2018, 03:17 PM

This is probably a dumb question, but I haven’t had to use the furnace yet - only the heat pump. But we have a Hydro Hot that I know is the “furnace” but do you just control with the thermostat? Set to furnace and put the gauge at desired temperature? Does this use the roof AC units ??

BFlinn181 · 09-26-2018, 03:35 PM

I suggest you search online for your thermostat manual. It should show you how to program everything connected to it.

BoDawg226 · 09-26-2018, 03:43 PM

I know how to use the thermostat but my question is how does the Hydro Hot work to hear the unit? Do the AC units power the blower? I’m just not sure how it works? And do I have to have the HH running on diesel?

Spk64 · 09-26-2018, 03:49 PM

Yes, it uses the same thermostat. Just be sure to turn the diesel burner switch on.
Also if you have the engine loop it works while going down the road using the engine heat instead of the diesel burner.

Also it does not use the AC units, but if you have it on heat pump and temp gets too low it automatically switches to the furnace. But diesel switch still needs to be manually switched on.

Janet and Todd · 09-26-2018, 04:49 PM

In addition to turning the diesel switch on, you have to change the mode on the thermostat from elec to gas. Just keep pressing the mode button until "gas" appears. I suppose you could run the heat pump in one zone and the HH heat on the other although I've never tried it. It's no speed demon in heating up the rig but you will enjoy the quiet even heat throughout the coach. The HH is also your hot water boiler as well. Continuous hot water for as long as you want it.

BoDawg226 · 09-26-2018, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet and Todd

In addition to turning the diesel switch on, you have to change the mode on the thermostat from elec to gas. Just keep pressing the mode button until "gas" appears. I suppose you could run the heat pump in one zone and the HH heat on the other although I've never tried it. It's no speed demon in heating up the rig but you will enjoy the quiet even heat throughout the coach. The HH is also your hot water boiler as well. Continuous hot water for as long as you want it.

So, my next dumb question- where does the heat emanate from since it does not use the AC blowers? Still through the vents in the ceiling? I feel dumb asking but just want to understand how it works. 😊

Spk64 · 09-26-2018, 05:51 PM

There are several registers at floor level. Bath, bedroom, kitchen, front. They each have their own blower.

BoDawg226 · 09-26-2018, 05:52 PM

And if you have to switch the mode from electric to gas (on the tthermostat), how would it automatically switch from the heat pump to the furnace?

Spk64 · 09-26-2018, 05:53 PM

Mine only toggles between, Cool, Heat Pump, Furnace. No gas or electric option.
Which thermostat do you have?

Janet and Todd · 09-26-2018, 06:54 PM

You'll find Heat Exchangers near the floor under the couch, under the kitchen counter next to the pantry, under the bed (two round vents there and the toilet room. The last one is under the shower which heats up the floor of the shower and the tile floor in front of the shower door. There are three zones. Zone 1 is the front of the coach, Zone 2 is the bedroom area and zone 3 is the basement which has it's own thermostat mounted on the ceiling above the smart bed next closest to the wet bay. Lift up the couch and look for the black box near the middle front of the couch. It should be a cozy II or cozy III. Boiler coolant is sent to these heat exchangers by a stir pump inside the Hydro Hot in the wet bay behind the inside door. There is an annunciator panel in there too. Familiarize yourself with this panel. It will alert you to any malfunctions. You should probably check out Roger Berke's forum for all things Hydro Hot. Lots of great questions and thorough answers to common problems. RV Hydronic Heater Repair - Home Also, exercise the HH monthly and service annually with a new nozzle and fuel filter.

Janet and Todd · 09-26-2018, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spk64

Mine only toggles between, Cool, Heat Pump, Furnace. No gas or electric option.
Which thermostat do you have?

I think, in the case of your Newmar, the Heat Pump would be equivalent to electric and the Furnace would be equivalent to gas on our Alpine Apex coach thermostat.

Spk64 · 09-26-2018, 07:11 PM

Thanks for clarifying, was not sure if same thermostat was used or not.

BillJinOR · 09-26-2018, 07:32 PM

The same thermostat but the thermostat may-should have have heat pump / air conditioning/ furnace settings .. the furnace is the hydro hot. Make sure the diesel burner switch is on. Normally you need to manually select what you want .. it won’t automatically switch between them .
Google hydro hot and look at the unit and get the model number off it ( you’ll need to pull the cover off ) that will give you the manual for it . It’s important to understand it and how to maintain it properly as it’s very expensive to fix.

Cinequip · 09-26-2018, 11:15 PM

Lori,

Here is a summary of how your heating/cooling system works, from an Alpine owner with Hydro-hot (Aqua-Hot):

Your thermostat has two zones - front and back.. Each zone has 4 settings selected by the mode button: off, furnace, heat pump and cool. You have to manually set each zone to one of the above functions. If you need heat, select furnace and turn on the diesel hydro-Hot switch. At night, I only have electric turned on, and diesel off. The electric element is sufficient to run ONE furnace zone, without diesel on. We set the back temp to say 62 degrees (front zone OFF) while we sleep, and electric works fine. If you're driving, the engine heats the hydro-hot with electric and diesel OFF. You can have furnace heat running while driving.

If you want A/C, then select cool on one of both zones. The AC air comes out of the ceiling vents. You MUST be plugged into 50amp power to run both AC units (or have the generator running). 30amp shore power can only run one AC unit.

Our coach has heat pumps, so we can also heat by that method instead of furnace. In this mode, the AC units run and warm air comes out of the ceiling vents. This is noisier than the furnace mode, so we don't use it very often.

You've probably already discovered that when you turn on your thermostat, there is a fairly long delay before anything starts up. Also, if you are in furnace mode, whenever you use hot water the the heating fans shut off. This is due to the Hydro-hot prioritizing making hot water, instead of heating. If you want heat during your shower, you need to be in heat pump mode with ceiling heat running.

Hopefully, this helps you understand the whole package.