Aqua Hot....How can this be!!!

[Larry Geese]

We have been in the Texas Hill Country since Oct 15th. Texas seems to have a moderate temperature and we don't need to run heat 24/7. I use Aqua Hot to heat water and warm the coach in the morning. I turn the temp down to 50 degrees for both front and rear during night and kick it up to 66 degrees in the morning for a couple hours. I use electric to hear water at night and switch to diesel in the morning for showers. This morning I checked the fuel usage for Aqua hot....have not moved the coach since Oct 15th......75 gallons of diesel fuel...HOW CAN THIS BE??? That is about $225 @ $3.00 a gallon.
I had the Aqua Hot serviced by Roger Burke in Tucson, Az last March. I think it is adjusted to factory specs. I ran electric space heater for a month at 14 cents per KW and the price was about $120 per month then went back to Aqua Hot full time.
We have an 05 Windsor. I this normal or even close to normal?? Do I need to tune the thing up?

[Pusherpilot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Geese We have been in the Texas Hill Country since Oct 15th. Texas seems to have a moderate temperature and we don't need to run heat 24/7. I use Aqua Hot to heat water and warm the coach in the morning. I turn the temp down to 50 degrees for both front and rear during night and kick it up to 66 degrees in the morning for a couple hours. I use electric to hear water at night and switch to diesel in the morning for showers. This morning I checked the fuel usage for Aqua hot....have not moved the coach since Oct 15th......75 gallons of diesel fuel...HOW CAN THIS BE??? That is about $225 @ $3.00 a gallon. I had the Aqua Hot serviced by Roger Burke in Tucson, Az last March. I think it is adjusted to factory specs. I ran electric space heater for a month at 14 cents per KW and the price was about $120 per month then went back to Aqua Hot full time. We have an 05 Windsor. I this normal or even close to normal?? Do I need to tune the thing up?

Larry,
How do you figure the fuel usage for AquaHot? Our 04 HR Imperial which is virtually identical to the 04 Windsor has no way to determine that other than keeping track of the hours and using 1/2 gal of usage per hour of burner operation.
Ron

[Larry Geese]

My Windsor tank was full when I arrived in Kerrville, Tx. My fuel gauge is just bellow 1/2 tank, I have added 10 gallons by hand...so if my tank is 125 gals, then 1/2 is 62.5 plus 10 that I added makes for about 75 gallons. No! I don't worry it to death over a few gallons with my gauge or the Aladin that is not calibrated to perfect accuracy. I don't check fuel mileage, I just need to fill up....all I know is that I need fuel period!! I'm not going to stop where I'm going frettin' about mpg...I just pay $$$ and keep on going.
Larry

[Diplomat Don]

Larry.....I don't have Aqua Hot and unless I'm doing the math wrong, that is only one gallon a day to heat the coach and water in the mornings. When you look at it as $2.25 a day for heating and hot water, that's realitively cheap. May you should leave the water heater portion on full time so that it's not doing a cold start up in the morning. It might be better, but certainly won't be huge.

Does the Aqua Hot heat the engine and coolant all the time or can that be zoned out? What about storage bays...are they being heated by the system?

[Larry Geese]

Hi Don and Mary. Thanks for your reply. I have electric metered for my monthly site. I first paid $105 for month of October, $120 for November and not sure aboaut December to Jan 15th 2011. So it seems that $225 in electrical usage in conjunction with $225 for diesel fuel...$450 seems like a lot to me.
Maybe a propane furnace is better...don't know. Aqua Hot is new to me.

[Roger Berke]

Hello Larry

Coach owners report diesel fuel usages in the 1-2 gallon per day range depending on how cold it is outside and how warm you want it inside. Your Aqua-Hot will use about ½ gallon per hour when the diesel burner is actually running.

According to my calculations, you have been parked for 75+ days. 75 gallons of usage is not out of line.

You can minimize your diesel fuel usage by turning the electric element on and leaving it on. Depending on how much you pay for electric will determine if that is more economical or not. You will use around 10+KWH per day by using the electric element.

- Roger Berke -

[Larry Geese]

Hello Roger, Thanks for your advice. I will leave the electric on to help minimize the fuel. I just didn't know what to expect with me being new to Aqua hot. Your input makes me feel better. It is what it is, I just didn't want to be using that amount of fuel if was something that needed adjustment.
Haven't seen you since the tune up at the Monaco Rally at Beaudry (now closed) in Tucson.
Thanks...Larry

[a k]

Hydra hot uses 50,000 BTU/hr steady running. About 130,000 BTU's /gal for diesel so that would be almost a gallon every 3 hrs if it never cycled off. thats 8 gallons/day IF IT NEVER CYCLED OFF.

Figure 10 cents /kw and the elect heater i believe is a 5kw heater.(15,000 BTU) so it is about the same except the electric is almost 100% eficient

Electric in Midwest is 5cents/kw in winter

[Route 66]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a k Figure 10 cents /kw and the elect heater i believe is a 5kw heater.(15,000 BTU) so it is about the same except the electric is almost 100% eficient

.....and you don't have to go get it.

[Larry Geese]

Thanks ak. Seems my Aqua Hot cycles on and off all night long, even when it's in the 40's at night and I set if for 58 degrees (front) and 50 degrees (rear). I have a very hard time sleeping with it on and running because of all of the different noise's. I hear the pre-wind-up, the burner goes on for a few minutes, then off and the wind down cycle, then the blowers for the furnace on and off...the the cycle starts all over again. I used my electric hear with the Aqua hot OFF so I could sleep and not listen to all the different noise. Some things make a SOUND this is exceptable...too me the Aqua hot is always making NOISE!! I have to turn on a fan in the bedroom to create "white noise" to sleep.
Seems to me the enigneering is not over for Aqua hot. I wonder when it will catch my coach on fire like my old Camelot that burned do to Norcold.
Larry

[a k]

I leave the electric on all the time and it will keep th hot water tempered. If i do wash or shower I just flick the diesel on. of coarse when its cold I leave them both on.

[Pairajays]

I leave my diesel on all the time. If the electric heating element can not maintain a set temperature the diesel takes over. The diesel burner usually does not fire except when taking a shower or space heating is required. Actually, I don't know for sure it fires when showering. Can't hear it from inside the coach.

Jim

[AC eagle]

I have a 2010 AH 450 and it is much quieter then the 08 model previous.
Something so Good how do the Sell it so Cheap!!!

[zmotorsports]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pairajays I leave my diesel on all the time. If the electric heating element can not maintain a set temperature the diesel takes over. The diesel burner usually does not fire except when taking a shower or space heating is required. Actually, I don't know for sure it fires when showering. Can't hear it from inside the coach. Jim

This is exactly how we use ours as well. Both electric and diesel switches on and when the electric cannot keep up the diesel will kick in. I don't understand the noise issue though, our Aqua-Hot is so much quieter than our LP furnace in our old Beaver coach. If I really pay attention and listen I can hear the burner ignite from inside the coach but it isn't loud enough to wake us. Our friends that go to the dunes with us have told us they cannot hear ours running if they are in their trailer.

The blower fans inside the coach at each register were a little louder that our friends Newell coach, however not as loud as our squirrel cage in the furnace of our last coach. After researching, I found that Monaco had there own heat registers/fans manufactured rather than using OEM Aqua-Hot registers. They also draw about a 1/4 amp more each. Two years ago I swapped all of our registers out for the Aqua-Hot Cozy III units and have been very satisfied. Mike.