Hydro hot pros cons

[debvohio]

We are looking at a 2005 Tiffin Alegro bus. It has the hydro hot heating and hot water system. On our current mh we have traditional furnace and hot water heater. What are the pros and cons of this system. Hubby worried more complicated system more headaches Thx

[tom chelbana]

Hydro-hot is great and a must on all high end coaches. You will not save money over propane hot water system because service will cost a lot. Still would suggest you get hydro-hot system because of all the pluses. Ends less hot water, heat coach when traveling down the road without gen. and a great heat system for coach when cold outside. Because it is diesel cost less to run. Only uses 1/3 gallon diesel when the system is operating.

[MCJones]

Point of info: The Oasis systems are less costly to service and keep maintained because they are more user friendly. Same advantages, endless hot water, less expensive using diesel fuel. The kits for the ignitor and filters are easy to get and video directions show you how to do it. IF you have a choice, I recommend the Oasis heating system over the Hydro Hot and I would not have a coach without one now. For us, there has been less trouble with the Oasis then the units we have had with separate propane furnace/hot water heater. JMO - mark

[Spk64]

We love our HydroHot. Hot water is never a worry and the heat is great. Going down the road we get heat from the vents when needed and some hot water from the engine.
The only thing you need to do is keep up the annual maintenance. It is pretty easy to to do replacing filters, nozzle and a little cleanup of the chamber.


Steve

[89sandman]

Big money to keep working...

[dons2346]

Once you have it, you will never go back to the old heater/water heater junk

[Smitty77]

Pro's: One stop shopping for hot water, heating, and engine pre-heating.

Con's: Not a 'water heater' (natural gas, or, propane - which most of us are used to), some yearly funds to maintain a filter/nozzle/combustion chamber maintenance. (East to learn to do your self, or write a check!).

Overall, after 3-4 people needing to wait for a water heater propane based Atwood to catch up with demand. We're happy with our HydroHot! Keeps us warm; keeps our engine pre heated when needed.

Smitty

[Mr_D]

This is our first RV with the AquaHot, and we love it!! We have the 600D what has 2 - 2000 watt electric elements as well as the diesel fired burner. The fans are a little noisy but I understand there's replacement unit to cure that.

[Pigman1]

Depends on how you use your coach. Since we boondock a lot Hydro Hot was not a choice. The units many fans and pumps are electricity users. If you go from park to park, the annual maintenance costs and troubleshooting can get up there. One solution does not solve all problems. We special ordered the 43' Bus with LP heat, hot water and range and are very happy, but many people do not RV to the places we go and stay.

[Dutchstar08]

I'm currently parked next to a rig with one. Its obnoxious.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Big money to keep working...

How do you support this statement? My coach is 12 years old with an OEM AquaHot system. I do the annual maintenance. Until bio diesel came along, I did this service every 2 years. Since bio, it's now necessary annually.

The parts for the standard service is a nozzle and a fuel filter which total about $50. The rest is my labor. There are other parts that may or may not need replacing but my experience says the system is pretty reliable and certainly not excessively expensive to service. For the most part, I'm not aware that it's running.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by Pigman1

Depends on how you use your coach. Since we boondock a lot Hydro Hot was not a choice. The units many fans and pumps are electricity users. If you go from park to park, the annual maintenance costs and troubleshooting can get up there. One solution does not solve all problems. We special ordered the 43' Bus with LP heat, hot water and range and are very happy, but many people do not RV to the places we go and stay.

I would bet your propane furnace uses more 12V power than my Aquahot !

[allynne]

Hydro hot is great, after having furnace and hot water heater using LP on previous coaches I would never be without a hydronic heating system. It is quiet, less costly to operate and annual maintenance is about $100.

Endless hot water, and plenty of even heat in zero degree temps. Did I mention quiet?

No comparison with the old noisy LP systems.

Al Sawyer
'05 Mt. Aire

[Pigman1]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

I would bet your propane furnace uses more 12V power than my Aquahot !

Not even close. Do an energy audit for yourself and you'll see. This statement was also confirmed by the engineers at Tiffin when the re-design was being done before construction.