Community Forums

azSkier · 11-15-2015, 07:52 PM

I am a new RV owner (2006 Essex) with no cold weather experience. I will be driving from Phoenix to Salt Lake City in early December (Hey, you're going the wrong way!).

I will spend a few nights in Vegas and wait for a good weather forecast. I will spend 1 night in St George to prepare for the final drive into SLC. I am driving alone, so I keep my driving periods short.

From St George, I will drive to SLC, unpack and spend 1 more night in the cold. The next day, I will put the RV into storage for the season.

I think I am good right up to the overnight in SLC. Overnight temps could easily be between 0 and 20 degrees. The hydrohot should keep the coach from freezing. Right now, I am most concerned about starting the engine in the morning.

I plan to run the tank somewhat low and refuel near ST George. Hopefully, this will get me Diesel fuel with an appropriate amount of anti gel additives.

My hydrohot does not have the engine heat loop. I do believe there is a block heater that needs to be plugged into 120V somehow. As I may be overnighting at a Walmart, All I have to plug into is a socket powered by my inverter (unless I try to start the generator).

I have looked over the owner's manual, but haven't read any instructions for cold weather operation.

So, all cold weather travelling advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

luckyd · 11-15-2015, 07:57 PM

If you have hydrohot you should have an engine preheat.
This allows the engine to be heated by the hydrohot.
I have an aquahot system and that is one big feature I like.
I always get to start with a warm engine.

I flip the switch when I get up and it is warmed when I am ready to leave.
You say you do not have the loop, so the next best thing
is to run the genny to heat the engine.

azSkier · 11-15-2015, 08:29 PM

My coach has the HHE500-009. The Hydrohot manual says the preheat option is on the HHE200.

I have searched all over for a switch. Have not found one other than some switch in the bedroom that suggests a generator pre-heat. I haven't found any documentation on that switch.

Starting the generator leaves me with the same problem of starting a diesel when it is very cold.

I am uncertain as to how the block heater is connected to power. I have seen the plug, but cannot picture it. Regular extension cord?

What's worse, how will I even know if the block heater is working?

My backup plan is to start the engine every few hours and drive around and warm things up.

Gordon Dewald · 11-15-2015, 08:35 PM

Check your Aqua Hot manual for winterizing. Ours says we have to add pink to the fresh water to prevent the coils from freezing. I am going to use both air and pink when we winterize.

azSkier · 11-16-2015, 06:08 AM

Thanks Gordon... but I will be using the coach right up until I put it into heated storage. So, I will not be winterizing.

I intend to run the Hydrohot to keep the coach and wetbay warm. I have done some testing with the heating systems and most everything seems to be working fine.

I say mostly because I haven't seen or heard the wetbay radiator fans running in the wetbay. The hot water is circulating and the radiator gets warm. The entire compartment was warm after running overnight.

But, I just don't know if the fans are running or not. It is very quiet and I don't sense any air moving. When I last looked around, I could not find any wiring going to the radiator and no fuse to protect the system.

Steve Ownby · 11-16-2015, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azSkier

I am a new RV owner (2006 Essex) with no cold weather experience. I will be driving from Phoenix to Salt Lake City in early December (Hey, you're going the wrong way!).

I will spend a few nights in Vegas and wait for a good weather forecast. I will spend 1 night in St George to prepare for the final drive into SLC. I am driving alone, so I keep my driving periods short.

From St George, I will drive to SLC, unpack and spend 1 more night in the cold. The next day, I will put the RV into storage for the season.

I think I am good right up to the overnight in SLC. Overnight temps could easily be between 0 and 20 degrees. The hydrohot should keep the coach from freezing. Right now, I am most concerned about starting the engine in the morning.

I plan to run the tank somewhat low and refuel near ST George. Hopefully, this will get me Diesel fuel with an appropriate amount of anti gel additives.

My hydrohot does not have the engine heat loop. I do believe there is a block heater that needs to be plugged into 120V somehow. As I may be overnighting at a Walmart, All I have to plug into is a socket powered by my inverter (unless I try to start the generator).

I have looked over the owner's manual, but haven't read any instructions for cold weather operation.

So, all cold weather travelling advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

Don't be shy about running your generator. Either on the road or dry camping over night. If you are using the inverter on the road to power various 120 VAC items, you will take a load off your alternator by running the generator. Then when stopped at Walmart over night, start your generator before you shut down the Cummins. Your engine will have an electric cord coming out of the block. It should be plugged into an outlet in the engine compartment. This might be accessible at the rear engine door or under the bedroom hatch. It could be unplugged & hanging or zip tied close. Make sure it's plugged in. There should be a switch somewhere that turns on that outlet. You might have to call Newmar to get the location. When you turn on the switch you can use a multimeter to make sure the outlet is hot. With the generator running the HH will have no trouble keeping the coach warm inside. Also the engine block heater can run all night & the Cummins will fire right up in the morning. The inverter would kill your battery bank pretty quickly trying to run the engine block heater. I'm guessing that outlet is not powered by the inverter anyway.

Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

azSkier · 11-16-2015, 09:02 AM

Thanks Steve. I am going to try this out this week. I'm thinking I should be able to feel some heat from the engine to see if this is working.

Scottybdivin · 11-16-2015, 09:06 AM

Look in the main panel for a breaker for the block heater. Mine has a 110 outlet in the engine compartment with a cord nearby for the block heater. It is only supplied by shore or gen power. Your coach will do fine in the cold weather with your hydro hot.

azSkier · 11-16-2015, 09:49 AM

Thanks Scotty. I do have the block heater breaker in the main panel. I guess that switch in the bedroom controls the block heater.

I am going to try to make this all work this week to make sure.

Question: Are your wet bay radiator fans running when cold? I haven't seen any electrical connections to mine and I cannot hear any fan noise. Are you aware of any fuse for those fans?

Thanks

Scottybdivin · 11-16-2015, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azSkier

Thanks Scotty. I do have the block heater breaker in the main panel. I guess that switch in the bedroom controls the block heater.

I am going to try to make this all work this week to make sure.

Question: Are your wet bay radiator fans running when cold? I haven't seen any electrical connections to mine and I cannot hear any fan noise. Are you aware of any fuse for those fans?

Thanks

It's just a heat exchanger. There should be a thermostat in the wet bay. Mine is a little black knob and I keep it set for 45 degrees. You can feel the heat if you put your hand close to it and the warmth will be very noticeable when you open a bay door.

twojayhawks · 11-16-2015, 03:16 PM

Question, maybe a dumb question are there and CG's open that you can use and plug in?

Dennis4809 · 11-16-2015, 04:01 PM

I think I saw that you're putting the mph in storage in SLC. Is this heated storage? If not, take care when winterizing the coach. The domestic hot water loop inside the AquaHot is a loop of copper tubing. If that were to freeze and split, you need a new $10K Aqua Hot. You can winterize but I'm told that blowing out the system is'nt sufficient. Antifreeze is a must.

While your in the coach, run the AquaHot and generator as much as you need to stay comfortable.

PDR John · 11-16-2015, 05:24 PM

I spend quite a few nights in sub zero temps in our coach.

First things first: The block heater running on inverter would kill your battery bank in about 2 hours. That's why nobody wires them in like that.

Run the genny! It's what it's designed to do. It was built to start running the moment it left the factory and not be shut off for 50,000 hours. You don't need to let it rest, nor fear starting it because of the cold.

If you don't want to start the genny in the cold, start it before you leave the warmth. That genny will still be usable long after your finished with the coach. I once started my genny in San Francisco CA (60 degrees) and didn't shut it off till 3 days later in Rapid City SD (-7 degrees). Flawless and warm the whole trip.

Starting your main engine every couple hours will do more harm then good. You have the ability to produce your own electricity, do it for safety.

To test how your coach will work is easy.

Block heater: Unplug the coach, start genny and let everything level out. Note how many amps the genny is producing, then flip the block heater switch. The amp read out should jump up by around 9 amps. If it does, than it's working. If not time to test the outlet.

You've already figured out the heat exchanger exchanges heat in the wet bay. Put a wireless out door thermometer in there and keep an eye on the temps down there, without opening the door. That's what I do, never been below 45. Even at well below zero.

If it does drop to close to freezing, put a heat lamp in there. Your genny is happiest with a load, put one on it that helps make heat where you want it.

Same with the main basement, remote thermometer. Set a small cube heater (I've set mine on something metal, pointed in a safe direction) down there to add heat if it's needed.

Here is a thread where I showed how our coach handles the cold: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/camp...ml#post2445107

The key to great comfort and no worries; run your genny.

azSkier · 11-16-2015, 07:13 PM

Thanks for that great, detailed write up PDR John. Using the generator is clearly the way to go. I will try your test as soon as I shake off this flu. (the 10yo generator only has 363 hours on it).

I do have a small space heater to use in the basement just in case. The HyrdoHot has been working fine so far.

There actually is a open campground about 5 miles away. I have that as an option.

And yes, this coach has a reservation for heated storage. Hopefully, I can get in there to work on things during the winter.

While I have been planning this SLC trip for some time, I never considered starting the engine while very cold until just the other day. I felt I needed a crash course in using the block heater.

Thanks everyone.