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hmitchmd · 11-15-2021, 07:14 AM

I will be traveling somewhere cold over Thanksgiving and have a question about heating my tanks. There is a rheostat in my wet bay and it is labeled AquaHot. There is no on/off switch, so I am assuming that any time the AquaHot is turned on, the bay will be heated, based on where the rheostat is set. The range is from 19 F to 63 F. I’m assuming that these represent temps like a thermostat, the desired temperature to be achieved or some approximation. Do I need to do anything to activate this thing other than turn on the AquaHot from my inside control panel? I don’t see anything that says bay heat. Also, does this run off the diesel or electric side of the AquaHot? Do I need to have the diesel component turned on in order for it to work? Thank you!

alank · 11-15-2021, 08:31 AM

You are correct in your assumptions. just set it to a temperature, and if you are running your aquahot diesel or electric, it will heat the basement area. The copper line is the temperature sensor, so wherever the end of it is located is where the temperature measurement is taken, not the location of the dial.

Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of heat needed. If running on electric, AquaHots have a sing or double heating element. If you have a single element, it's about 1500 watts, or 5000 btu. That's the limit on 120V. All electric heaters are in this range for their max heat. If you need heat in the living area and basement, 5000 btu won't be enough. You will have to run the AquaHot on diesel, which produces about 50,000+ btus of heat, depending on the model you have.

Running your AquaHot on electric only is good for providing hot water. If you need heat for living and basement space, you need to run on diesel.