[Chester Stone]

I recently replaced my original living area thermostat with a new one supplied by Newell, and wired it according to their instructions. The A/C operates correctly, but when in heater mode, only the fan works, but no heat. Question: does the "diesel aqua-hot" switch above the range need to be on for the heater to work?

[RussWhite]

Chester,

The short answer is the water must be hot in the Aqua-Hot system and there are three ways to make that happen. One of them is the swtich you mention which fires the diesel burner and heats the water. Another is the neighboring switch that heats the water electrically. Using the electric option disables the air conditioners in my coach. The third way is to drive the coach and the water is heated from the waste heat of the diesel engine.

A properly working thermostat will start the circulation fan as well as the circulation pump for the zone calling for heat. I have a temperature indicator that shows the temperature of the water in the Aqua-Hot system. If that indicator is it its normal range of 190 to 205 you should get heat when the thermostat calls for it. Hope this helps. Russ

[Chester Stone]

Russ, let me confirm what I understand. First, merely turning the thermostat to heat will not start the Aqua-Hot if the diesel Aqua-Hot switch is in the off position (A/C switch on), but will start the fan. I normally turn on the diesel switch only when we need hot shower or dish water. Perhaps I should leave it on all of the time or turn it on before I run the heater. Thanks for the information.

[RussWhite]

No, sorry for any confusion. The thermostat alone should start the circulating pump and air circulation fan regardless of the position of any other switches. I was just pointing out you won't get any heat unless the water is hot and described the way to do that. Clearer now?

[encantotom]

hi russ,

so....i think i have the understanding of the aquahot. but...

like when we were on our trip this summer and it was hot enough to run the air conditioning virtually all the time. if we wanted hot water or to take a shower, we would just turn on the diesel boiler side of the aquahot for ten minutes and it would heat up and we would take a shower or whatever.

then i would turn it off.

since i was plugged in to 50 amps alot, i still couldnt keep the electric side of the aquahot on because as you have said, it would shut the air conditioners off, (which we didnt want).

if we were plugged in and it was not necessary to run the air conditioners, then i could keep the electric side of the heater on. to be honest, i am not even sure i have tried the electric element side. i know i have turned it on and it for sure shuts the air conditioners off.

we also noticed that if we had been driving for some time and stopped for the night, that in the morning there was enough hot water for showers. not lots of showers for a long time but plenty for a quick shower.

i also sure wish my thermostats displayed the room temperature rather than ONLY the setpoint temperature. i have to imagine there is a setting to do that but for the life of me i have not found it yet.

the aquahot heating sure works good i think. have not tried it in the cold weather, but when we had it cool in the coach on our trip, i went in the mid bath and it was blistering hot in there. our grandson had turned on the thermostat while we were driving and it heated up for some time in there.....

i must say, i have learned alot from russ and steve bare on the aquahot system. as well as roger the aquahot repair guy.

thanks

tom

[RussWhite]

Tom,

Well said. Those must have been quick morning showers. AquaHot only gets to about 185 or so with diesel engine heat from driving. Some of that will be lost overnight, so good job on water conservation.

There is one more thing that may be interesting to document here. The AquaHots that Newell ordered, if not unique, are certainly unusual. They were ordered with two electric heater elements. One is a 115vac heater, the other 220vac. That allows one to heat water even when plugged into a 30A post. When plugged into 220vac both heaters function and it really heats the water up much more quickly than most other AquaHots with only one element. I love balancing all my loads to get the most from the power I use which happens not to be metered at my summer site and save my diesel fuel. I know you could appreciate this - Ha!

[Richard]

Two more AH comments.

One, we have camped at 15 F with no chilly toes. Toasty and the bays didn't freeze.

Two, boondock with the AH going and you better have some killer batteries. All those pumps and fan motors suck some amps.

[Express1]

One added feature Newell has added is Heated floors, I've used them in Cannon's coach and they can heat the bathrooms, and kitchen area just fine...

[encantotom]

i was disappointed when i found out my 2002 does not have heated floors. i really like them as well.

but to be honest. we dont go where it is cold at least for now. we are usually trying to get away from where it is hot.

tom

[rheavn]

One more thing on the incredible AquaHot system that Newell uses. Newell does not advise winterizing the unit if 50 amp power is available. The first winter I didn't winterize I had a lot of worry, even though I knew that my coach had been built for the cold weather of Michigan. I set the thermostats at 50 degrees until we get down to 20 degrees and then I turn it up to 55 degrees. That AquaHot unit keeps everything, including the basement, right on temperature. Like Tom I wanted heated floors in my Newell, but after living in my Newell in some cold weather I don't feel the need--still the want, just not the need.