For those of you with the Hurricane system, you might find this accessory to be beneficial....I sure have.
The Comfort Hot is an add-on water tank with two 2,000 watt electric heating elements, thermostat, and over temp protection. Each element is control by a switch so you can run one (30A service) or two (50A service) Jim added the switch in the closet right around the corner for the AC breaker panel. Power comes from the AC breaker so each switch actually selects either Heat or AC.
The Comfort Hot tank went into the engine room between the inlet air box/hose and a sidewall behind the air inlet....really nice fit and only the front cover protrudes for access to the electrics. There is no connection between the Comfort Hot and the Hurricane Brain Box so installation was relatively straight forward.
Inside the Hurricane control panel, Jim installs a diode pac that allows the circulation pump to run as soon as any zone calls for heat. In our case we opted to not include the HW heater as one of the zones. This bypasses the Hurricane remote on/off switch inside the coach. NOTE: There is a downside to this installation though. Whenever a thermostat call for heat, the circulation pump runs whether of not the Comfort Hot is energized. This could be a problem if you store the coach and leave the thermostat in the heat position...including the bay heater. The circulation pump will come on and run forever. I'm thinking about a couple of voltage sensing relays tied to the diode pack power in lead to help compensate for a "senior moment".
When we arrive on Sunday after 7 feathers a 50A power cord and parking behind the shop was provided...a bit hard to find the shop but OK. The installation was completed by early PM on Monday and we were on our way. While in Deer Park, WA the weather turned nasty with ran and low temp into the 30's so we had ample opportunity to use the new installation. It is wonderful and coupled with our retrofitted digital thermostat have keep the coach withing 1 degree of the set point and that's with the air handlers at low speed.
Underway, the thermostats still control the temp using the engine heat exchanger but without having to use the preheat switch and going through SW Montana last week it was cold outside but inside it was like never having left the RV park.
For heating hot water, we truly have endless hot water as long as the system is running...I tried real hard to run out and never had to even adjust the mixture control. In some circumstance you might have to "fool" the unit by leaving one of the zone fan switch in the "off" position to the zone continues to call for heat.
Regular Hurricane operation is not affected except that with both on, the burner does not run very much since the fluid is already heater to ~160F or so by the electric elements so using both in very cold weather is quite efficient.
Another thing I noted is that the circulation pump becomes the heart of the system and will get a lot of running time. Mine had an intermittent running problem in Deer Park (probably brushes) that caused some anxiety so I ordered a new on from Jim. I will overhaul the old one and keep it for a spare. FYI, the motor unbolts form the liquid end so it's not to tough to change out.
Overall, while not perfect due to a lack of interlocks, it's a great unit and well worth the cost. I will be using mine while parked alongside the house during the AZ cold snaps into the 20's. Last year I burned 1/2 tank of fuel keeping coach above freezing.
If I knew how to post pics, I would do so.
Dick
Dick
2002 43' DP Beaver Marquis Emerald Cat C-12 505 HP, 1600 Tq
2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland ---toad
