Talk to me about hydronic heating

While not the Hydronic system, we have it's brother, AquaHot. If it smokes, it needs servicing. It will smell a bit though. That said, our unit has separate blowers at each of the registers so it's very quiet when it's running. We leave ours on electric most of the time and only need to fire up the unit for showers as DW likes long hot showers in the morning. Heating the rig is just a humming sound. Wouldn't have another coach without it....Dennis

I've had 20 years experience with LP furnaces/water heaters & have no complaints. I'm only in my third year with hydronic but I can say hands down it's my preference. My LP appliances always seemed very inefficient & would guzzle propane. The hydronic system seems to use almost trace amounts of fuel. I would also recommend passing on a gas absorption fridge in favor of a residential if that isn't already standard equipment & be done with LP all together.

Mr.Mark wrote:

The difference between the Espar and Aqua Hot is that I don't have a separate boiler fluid, it uses the same engine antifreeze.

Espar is German (?) made and was originally developed for the trucking industry. Yes, It requires antifreeze, but you can plumb that into one side of a heat exchanger and make hot water.

Performance and your comfort are going to be very dependent on the installation, especially if you are doing in-floor radiant heat (by far the most comfortable). Underfloor insulation is mandatory.

Ducktape, I, too, didn't want propane on board as it was just another fuel to buy and it's not usually all that convenient to find (did that on rentals).

Our first coach had the Aqua Hot system which was excellent. I know that there are different levels of those type systems. Our Aqua Hot heated water and had two electric elements. We could heat the coach electrically thru the Aqua Hot with the two elements activated when the outside temperature was down in the upper 40's, low 50's.

Our system was rather quiet and didn't smoke much. Usually the 'smoky' systems needed service. I would have ours done every two years changing the fuel nozzle, fuel filter and blowing out the chamber. I kept a jug of boiler fluid for topping off the reservoir if needed.

Our new coach (owned 3 yrs. now) has the Espar 83,000 btu system that works very similar to the Aqua Hot. It will heat the antifreeze which runs through the water tank and it will also heat the engine block if I hit the switch to warm the engine.

The difference between the Espar and Aqua Hot is that I don't have a separate boiler fluid, it uses the same engine antifreeze. Our exhaust is located in the engine compartment and radiates out the roof ventilation where the engine exhaust is located.

You will love a diesel fired furnace no matter which brand.

Safe travels,
MM.

My first thought is if you love to boondock, then hydronic is the way to go. Ours has two LP furnace which are quick and efficient, but they go through that 28lb LP tank pretty fast and pull a lot of 12v power.

On the interior our has been much quieter and is relatively quiet or about the same as the other units propane furnace outside .. I have heard some complain of noise outside and diesel smoke on some units .. perhaps they need some tweak ours is relatively quiet outside and we can’t hear the furnace from inside. They do require annual service to keep them happy especially it seems if not used frequently .
Battery use is s little more I would guess because the multiple fans in each or 6 radiators plus the pumps moving the heating fluid would seem to be using a bit more. We boondock a bit and have no problems but then we aren’t in really cold weather.
That said the agua hot is the best system we have ever had. Comfortable heat less moisture in the air ,unlimited hot water. We won’t own another large motorhome without one.

We have the Oasis system on our Dutchstar. I works very good. We have heat pumps, but they do not work well when in gets very cold so that is when we turn on the Oasis.

We also have electric hot water, but again when it gets cold, the Oasis delivers pretty much unlimited hot water.

However, you are wrong regarding being quieter. Ours sounds like a get engine when it is running.

I love the fact that we do not need to carry propane.

Ken