Is Aquahot worth the $$$ ?

[Ivylog]

I have a sheet metal 90 sweep that I put on the A Hot exhaust if I have a neighbor...hot air rises on its own.

[n2zon]

Our AH is far quieter than a propane furnace. We can hear our the propane ones very clearly from adjacent campsites from inside our coach when our AH burner and fans are both running. If properly adjusted, there isn't much diesel exhaust smell, but what little there is will be going up the Gen-turi as soon as I get the adapter (which will be before we use it again). Also, they use a lot less fuel and have more heating capacity.

Now that we have one, we don't want to go back.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

As far as noise, I've been beside propane RV's that had much louder furnaces / water heaters than my Aqua hot.

The Aquahots that I've heard have not only a roar, but a high-pitched sound on top of the roar, as well.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

The Aquahots that I've heard have not only a roar, but a high-pitched sound on top of the roar, as well.

Yeah, the small motor that expels the exhaust, and drives the fuel pump, spins at a fairly high speed. I thought maybe my bearings were going, but every other AH I have been parked beside, sounds exactly the same.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

The Aquahots that I've heard have not only a roar, but a high-pitched sound on top of the roar, as well.

Must be one of those high frequencies that are no longer in my range of hearing. A lot of high pitch stuff no longer gets passed my ear drums. I don’t mind losing my hearing though - it can actually be pretty convenient - guess this is a case in point.

[153stars]

My AH is defiantly quieter than most LP furnaces no less a pair going. Not much more than a water heater. My experience with tuning industrial boilers , natural gas inert gas generators and metal furnaces is too of lean of burn creates more noise. Can even reverberate and howl.

[Mile Marker 42]

Originally Posted by NC25T

I am looking for a used DP, a older higher end coach. I found a 06 American Tradition which I drove Tuesday, really liked how the coach felt. It’s a 30k mile one owner coach for $98k which I think is a sub $90k coach with some of the work it needs. This coach doesn’t have aquahot

Then looking at RVT/RVTrader there is a 07 Tradition with 70k miles, has aquahot and is just shy off $140k! It’s the same model, 400HP engine as the 06 however $40k more


I am sure there is more to it then just aquahot causing the price increase. However I am still curious if it’s worth even $10k more?

Coach will get used in the winter in Colorado (or other state) due to ski trip

I can't offer any experience other than we don't have aqua hot and I wouldn't want it as I loose a storage bay to house the unit. We are a family of 4 and our 10 gallon hot water heater can provide hot water for all 4 of us to shower back to back to back to back with no problem. That's running on 110V, not propane:-)

[Crasher]

FWIW, On my coach, the AH unit sits in the middle of the rear part of the basement and has storage on both sides of it. You only lose about 1/3 of a narrow compartment.

[jcussen]

Mine also takes less than 1/3 of a bay, like the fact that it burns less that 5 gallons of diesel a day from my 190 gallon fuel tank in cold weather. No need to look for propane every week or so.

[Dutch Star Don]

We have the Oasis Hydronic heating, same as Aqua Hot, but made by a company called ITR. Newmar use to spec them out with a muffler, but discontinued the mufflers sometime after 2014. There isn't a huge difference with or without the muffler, but I added one to or 2019 Dutch Star. It made it a little quieter (took out the drone). Our unit uses 1/4 of a bay, and is placed at the end on the driver's side. I have a 3/4 slide tray in that bay that comes out the passenger side. With that side, Oasis or Aqua Hot typically comes on your larger middle to high end coaches, with plenty of storage space left.

I think just about EVERY person that owns a coach with Aqua Hot or Oasis owned a coach in their earlier days that had a propane heater. So after years of RV's with a gas/electric propane water heaters, I think it's an exaggeration that four people can take a back to back shower, unless it's only a 3-4 minute shower in luke warm water. The hydronic units can heat the coach and can provide unlimited hot water until you run out of water or diesel.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

We have the Oasis Hydronic heating, same as Aqua Hot, but made by a company called ITR. Newmar use to spec them out with a muffler, but discontinued the mufflers sometime after 2014. There isn't a huge difference with or without the muffler, but I added one to or 2019 Dutch Star. It made it a little quieter (took out the drone). Our unit uses 1/4 of a bay, and is placed at the end on the driver's side. I have a 3/4 slide tray in that bay that comes out the passenger side. With that side, Oasis or Aqua Hot typically comes on your larger middle to high end coaches, with plenty of storage space left.

I think just about EVERY person that owns a coach with Aqua Hot or Oasis owned a coach in their earlier days that had a propane heater. So after years of RV's with a gas/electric propane water heaters, I think it's an exaggeration that four people can take a back to back shower, unless it's only a 3-4 minute shower in luke warm water. The hydronic units can heat the coach and can provide unlimited hot water until you run out of water or diesel.

When I’m on full hookups I can shower till I get bored. Even boon docking if my tanks are at the right levels. That’s a nice thing when you’re on the road for extended periods and boon docking and sitting by camp fires and all the other thing that get out kind of grungy when camping. I wouldn’t be without it.

[bhammond1980]

We like the hydronic system in our current coach far better than the traditional style in our previous one. The system takes care of heating the coach and hot water. Our's is a propane fired made by Precision Temp. The exhaust doesn't smell and it runs dead quiet. Inside the coach you only slightly hear the individual fans as the system cycles. Unlimited hot water for showers is awesome. You can also run the hydronic system on electric with outside temperatures down to the 50's, below that you have to run on propane. We have a 35 gallon propane tank and fill it annually. This tank also supplies the outside grill.
These systems get a lot of bad press but our experience is just the opposite.

[TampaDave]

Originally Posted by NC25T

I am looking for a used DP, a older higher end coach.


I am sure there is more to it then just aquahot causing the price increase. However I am still curious if it’s worth even $10k more?

Coach will get used in the winter in Colorado (or other state) due to ski trip

1. I like your style! I bought an older high-end coach and feel like I hit the jackpot. We are gonna be doing Mammoth - Tahoe - Deer Valley - Big Sky this winter.
2. You may be asking the wrong question, price-wise. If you're cutting it so close that the marginal cost of a 12-year-old Aquahot system is the deciding factor, you're probably cutting it too close! You need to buy well below your budget, because you're inevitably going to have to fix something. I bought 40% below my budget and I'm glad I did!
3. Aquahot is the absolute bomb in cold weather. There's not enough propane in the world to keep your rig warm in cold weather, you'll be hassling with external tanks and even then it always runs out at the worst possible moment. Aquahot is a complex system and it can be tricky to troubleshoot, so make sure it works before you drive the rig off the lot. But for camping in Colorado, it ain't even close. Get the Aquahot.
4. Also get a well insulated rig.

We got a 2008 Tiffin Bus, gorgeous rig. Solid wood cabinetry, tile floors, aquahot. We've only had it down to 31 degrees so far but it's well insulated and the Aquahot works like a charm. The electric burner on those older units isn't quite enough, so make sure you have a full tank of diesel when you park, you'll be using it. You can set the thermostat low at night and use an electric blanket, there's a loop in the circuit that will keep your basement warm so the pipes don't freeze. Warms up quickly in the morning.

Yeah, there is no substitute basically. Go for the Aquahot.

[Old Scout]

Only an opinion--a pretty complex and expensive piece of machinery for what it does. Periodic maintenance is mandatory and expensive if you aren't a DIYer. Most owners will never know how their "down-wind neighbors feel about the noise and smell of these systems--especially if they are not well-maintained....If I lived/stayed in northern climes--probably a great option -- I don't, so don't really see the point of having one--IMHO.....