Community Forums

DCTENT · 01-09-2007, 06:14 PM

Happy NEW YEAR to All you Alpiners!!

I need Info on Hydro Hot on My 2006 Apex, As I live in Minnesota & CANNOT use My Coach as I cannot reach Inside Temperature of over 57 degrees, However I just spoke to a Gentlemen that repairs Hydro Hot units, He advise Me that If I set the Temp to 90 DEGREES I should reach 90 degrees Inside Coach. Has anyone had any Heating issues or could this Guy be Right, WRV TELLS Me They Do Not Build Coaches for Minnesota Climate.
Any Feed back appreciated!.
Thanks
Dave & Connie
COLD In MInnesota!!!!

DCTENT · 01-09-2007, 06:14 PM

Happy NEW YEAR to All you Alpiners!!

I need Info on Hydro Hot on My 2006 Apex, As I live in Minnesota & CANNOT use My Coach as I cannot reach Inside Temperature of over 57 degrees, However I just spoke to a Gentlemen that repairs Hydro Hot units, He advise Me that If I set the Temp to 90 DEGREES I should reach 90 degrees Inside Coach. Has anyone had any Heating issues or could this Guy be Right, WRV TELLS Me They Do Not Build Coaches for Minnesota Climate.
Any Feed back appreciated!.
Thanks
Dave & Connie
COLD In MInnesota!!!!

hrhuggie · 01-09-2007, 09:06 PM

Happy New Year to you too Dave!!!

not sure I can compare to Minnesota temps, we were recently in 28 degree weather and the hydro-hot kept us nice and warm. I set it for 70 and it did quite well in front and rear of coach. I ran it on the diesel since the electrical doesnt seem to do quite as well, but I am still new at this and maybe someone else can fill you in better

Good luck

Gary Krieg · 01-10-2007, 03:55 PM

Dave I agree with Hugh, we have a HydroHot and have no trouble getting the interior as warm as we want. A couple of questions come to mind. Is the diesel switch turned on, the electric element only will not handle the coach at those temperatures? Do you feel warm air coming from all the heat exchangers. How about the fluid level in the HydroHot tank?

EngineerMike · 01-10-2007, 04:08 PM

Also, is the HHot unit smoking white when the diesel burns? Parked near an Alfa in Reno whose burner needed service badly. Folks who parked adjacent moved to another spot as it ran most of the time in that inefficent state in September and smoked them out (temps maybe in the low 60's at night?). That's great in a crowded park where you want privacy, but in a Minnie winter, a malfunctioning burner would fail to keep up.

skyguy62 · 01-10-2007, 08:24 PM

In addition to previous suggestions; On my coach the flexible ducting under the bed had 7 feet of extra hose doubled up (restricting air flow. The duct that went to the toliet area is run through compartment that the HH is in. My duct was crushed in two places by plastic ties little heat got to the compartment. And finally the unit under the sofa had the duct disconnected from the blower unit. I am in temps as low as 26 degrees and set my heat at 68 and am comfortable. Obviously whoever you talked to at WRV has never owned a coach or worked in sales.

Wingding · 01-15-2007, 03:07 PM

Dave,
two more things to add.
Does the front and rear thermostats run independently of each other? Are they when asked,{SET} blowing a steady stream of warm air?

2. Does the front thermostat operate the front blowers and the second thermostat operate the rear blowers in the bedroom?
The reason I ask is there was a number of coaches that had the blowers connected with the wrong thermostat{Reversed} A example would be as the the antifreeze heats up the register of the bedroom the front coach blowers come on and when the front coach register's would be warming up the rear bedroom blowers would run.

Although the Blowers are operating the wrong registers, it is possible to get a "luke warm" feeling in the coach.Maybe thats 57 degrees.I have a similiar problem up here in the U.P of Michigan.

The other possibilty is that the nozzle is partially blocked. But that would explain what Engineer Mike is looking for. Black Smoke. That says you are not getting proper mixture. If the smoke is greyish/white then things are more normal.A black choking smog is a sign of something wrong with the electronic combustion /fuel air mixture
My wiring was reversed amoung other Hydrohot headaches.Maybe you have a similar problem?

Basil Shannon · 01-16-2007, 06:38 AM

Greetings from Welton, AZ,

Back in Georgia in November (COLD), the Hydro-Hot on our 2006 Apex quit on us: Blowing cold air and ocassionally emitting clouds of white smoke.

The ignitor was sooted up. They cleaned it and also put in a new nozzle and fuel filter. These are normal once a year (or more often) maintenance items and I now carry spare parts.

Vehicle Systems tech support is very good. Good luck.

Cookie Jar · 01-20-2007, 04:08 AM

Dave,
I had a 2005 coach and had to have it rewired and then had no trouble keeping warm to 10 degrees, even though the zones were reversed. I took delivery of a 2007 in September at the factory and it took them 3 days to get my hydrohot working correctly and am in 20 degree weather as I write and very warm. Good luck.

Chet Yancey · 01-20-2007, 08:17 AM

With the exception of the combustion chamber having a hole burned thru it due to bad parts from the Aqua Hot manufacturer I have had very few problems with this $9000.00+ option. For those of you who have reported problems ( crossed wires, miss-wired, crushed ducts, disconnected ducts, excessive length ducting )with your Aqua Hot coach heating system I am wondering how your coach was released from the factory in those conditions. For the gentleman that was told by WRV "We don't make coaches for Minnesota weather" I'm wondering if WRV mentioned that to him before he bought it?? Should WRV be up front and notify prospective buyers that the coach is built for fair weather, not cold weather??
Another challenge for the new owners of WRV.

Ted III · 01-21-2007, 06:03 AM

In reading the problems that people have had with the HH excluding Chet's chamber which was just poor manufacturing procedures and worse quality control. The balance of the problems very prominently point right at WRV. As you pointed out Chet, this is another item that the new owners could address. I am certain being a business owner and consultant for a few others a lot of paper work has to be addressed in a buy-out, but most of those bugs are ironed out before the final signatures (I would certainly hope they were). Question is, what has happened since the finale of the buyout? Being in PA. I would really like to know where I am supposed to get my motorhome serviced. Most of the dealers out here make it very clear that when they finish with there regular customers they will set a date for me. That leaves a great deal to be desired. I have stoped adding the little goodies to my coach until I see a future in WRV. I don't like putting good money after bad.

DCTENT · 01-23-2007, 01:46 PM

Thanks To ALL of you that responded to my Heating Problem, To Hugh & Gary, I have tried with Both Electric & Disesl at same time, I have tried Electric & Disel by themselves, Meanwhile adding fluid to the boiler 2&1/2 Gallons in Three week period. To EngineerMike, The Unit smokes White (NOT EXCESSIVLY), To Skyguy, I have Not looked at Heating lines myself although I would think that of all the Places I have had the Coach they might have, I will contact them to see if they did in fact check that out, Sounds like that could be the probelm, To Winging, My Coach WAS wired wrong I switched wires around back in December of 2005, To Basil I have NOT been able to use our Coach as it spent 179 days of 2006 in One of Five repair Centers for the above problems as well as other problems. I have even ADDED TWO Heat Vents as well as ONE Cold Air intake, (NO HELP), I took possession of My Coach Dec 19th 2005 & froze on the way home (WE STAYED IN MOTELS) as the HH was not heating already at that time, I have had NO LESS than Four different RV repair centers work on the HH as well as Cummins Coach Care ( COACH CARE People do not impress Me) I recently had My Silver Leaf Unit sent in to be Updated, I thought surely this would remedy ALL My problems, BUT I was wrong as I still cannot get Heat, There is a MINIMAL amount of heat coming from vents which WRV informed that is normal as Coach was not built for cold climates.I cannot hear the fans run, Im wondering if maybe I have crushed lines as Skyguy had. I have sincerly entertained the Idea of trading or Selling the Coach (HOWEVER I WOULD NOT WISH THIS COACH ON MY ANYONE).
Thanks again for the the Help!
I have made an appointment with the Hdyro Hot People in April, Until then I guess We will be at Home instead of enjoying warm weather somewhere, Of course ther is always Motels.
Would have Loved to been at the rally, BUT!!!
Thanks again
Dave & Connie (COLD IN MINNESOTA)

Buddy and Beverly · 01-24-2007, 03:29 PM

Dave and Connie,

I sympathize with you for all your problems. We have an 06 that was in the shop part of the time when we wanted to be taking trips, but nothing of the time you have missed. Hopefully, the heating system will be fixed in April. As you can see from Audrey and John's post under "camping in the snow, etc.," you should be comfortable when temps. are low.

Good luck!

Beverly

DCTENT · 01-24-2007, 09:36 PM

Thanks for responding, I assume You also have an Apex, I surely hope you can enjoy it, We have not been able to use our Coach at all, We Did make One trip Last March to Las Vegas Nascar Race, We had nothing but problems , I had OVER $300.00, YES THREE HUNDRED dollar Cell phone bill just to WRV on that trip alone, We again attemted One more trip just this past Novemeber To Branson, That was a Fiasco, We had oppurtunity to travel with Four other RVers to Baja, But of course we could not because we just cannot trust to take this Coach out of our Shed at home.
Thanks for listening!
Dave & Connie