Aquahot heating in M2 power requirements

[Invisibleman]

I've been told by dealers and others that the Aquahot heating system in the DX3 and XL needs shore power or generator to run. Possibly because it needs 240v or because of a high 120v demand. I've talked to other owners of other manufacturers that say their hot water heating systems work fine on inverter. So, can the Dynamax Aquahot furnace work off the inverter, or not?

[MAC D]

The Aquahot and generator were life savers last year in the Texas freeze. I filled the fuel and water tanks before parking. The power was out, water spigots frozen, no propane available and we were comfortable other than the miserable weather outside. No propane runs needed if you're setting up for a couple months in the winter. Love it!

The Aquahot has a 120 VAC breaker for a heating element that is not powered by the inverter. The systems operate on 12VDC, not sure where the breaker is but I should know. The manual says it uses the chassis batteries but I'm not sure. Again I should know. If you're not plugged in or the temp is to cold, it uses diesel to heat with 12VDC systems operation.

Here's a link to the manual on the Dynamax Owners website. Look at page 6.

https://forestriverinc.help/#/dynama...ltiple-1309838

[Invisibleman]

Mac, thanks for that info and the link. One of the better done product manuals I've seen. The only thing I didn't see therein, was the per/hr fuel consumption of the diesel burner. But it sure did answer my #1 question, as it seems it certainly will operate without shore power or generator, by using the diesel burner.

[KRedburn]

The AquaHot's primary energy source is either diesel or propane. The electric is secondary.
the electric will run on shore power or genny power. 120Vac. It can be used for light hot water/heating needs.
the control circuitry and pumps are 12Vdc and run off the batteries.

If it really cold or you want a long hot shower, then you, while connected to shore power, can run with both the electric and burner turned on. This will put the AquaHot into its maximum heating mode.

[Invisibleman]

I didn't see the propane option in the manual. Just electric or diesel. My main reason for asking in the first place is that I do a fair amount of boondocking, but prefer not to run the generator, 1) because it's noisy, which I don't care for if avoidable, and 2) at 1/2 gal/hr diesel for the generator, it adds up all too quickly. But if a small diesel burner can be run, seemingly easily on inverter power, that's a new ball game for me. A propane powered aquahot furnace would be even more fitting in more ways the one since I prefer a propane cooktop, also for boondocking purposes.

I did find this.
https://aquahot.com/products/rv/400P.aspx
I've heated my homes for many years with #2 fuel oil, and have had my fair share of clogged nozzles, filter clogs, exhaust odor. But a propane Aquahot sounds extremely interesting. Dynamax may have been looking to eliminate the on-board propane tank altogether. But a 20gal tank, to power a propane Aquahot, and separate propane on-demand demestic water would be a nice combination. IMHO.

[Webefine]

The diesel generator isn’t as bad on fuel as you think since the engine only runs as hard as needed for the power being used. We did 5 days of boondocking in Tennessee in August, we ran the generator and air conditioning almost non stop for five days and used less than a 1/4 tank of diesel. Along with the ac was 2 refrigerators, microwave, tv, electric hot water ect. so not too bad in my opinion.

[MAC D]

Aquahot diesel usage:

- Max Fuel Usage .41 GPH
- AVG Fuel Usage /Day Dry Camping 1-4 Gallons
- AVG Fuel Usage/Day Shore Power 1-2 Gallons

This comes from Aquahot Spec Sheet at:

https://aquahot.com/products/RV/450D.aspx

I used it occasionally for heat and hot water when outside temps were under 45 for a few months and I don't think I used more than 10 gallons. I guess the bottom line is it uses .41 GPH when cycling. It just doesn't cycle that much in mild weather.

[Vansteenburg]

The specs for the 400P, propane version, is 0.72 gal/hour.

So depending on your hot water or heating needs, you can run less fuel per hour.

[CyberShanks]

Just another tidbit of info, I've had our Aquahot 450D turned on to keep wetbay above freezing temp as well as tanks and the interior above 40 degrees. We camped for first time in our new rig last weekend and de-winterized the water system for it. The Aquahot pulls 1600-1700 watts for the electric burner and the coach keeps it at the safe temperature by running only ~ 5 minutes every hour. Very happy with the built-in safety factor there and the non-requirement of burning diesel. For those interested, I'm using a sense.com device that feeds our 30A service to the storage shed and it has picked up/logged usage for the RV.


Jim

[MAC D]

If it hasn't been done yet, it would be nice to have a sticker in the Wet Bay that briefly describes the Wet Bay heat. For the life of me I cannot see the settings on the thermostat. I finally took a picture and expanded it to be able to understand it and I will likely not remember the settings. At least I know to take another pic!

It's a great system kind of hiding.

[CyberShanks]

I believe it’s just another aquahot zone with a super simple thermostat in the wet bay. The copper probe with coiled wire is the thermometer too.

Jim

[MAC D]

Originally Posted by CyberShanks

I believe it’s just another aquahot zone with a super simple thermostat in the wet bay.

Jim you are correct. What I'm saying is that there should be a decal by the thermostat saying "FOLKS DYNAMAX HAS PROVIDED THIS FIRST CLASS FEATURE OF A DEDICATED HEAT SOURCE FOR YOUR WET BAY. ALL THE WAY CW IS XX°. ALL THE WAY CCW IS XX°. MID WAY IS XX°"

It's a (almost) hidden gem for cold weather campers.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by Invisibleman

I've been told by dealers and others that the Aquahot heating system in the DX3 and XL needs shore power or generator to run. Possibly because it needs 240v or because of a high 120v demand. I've talked to other owners of other manufacturers that say their hot water heating systems work fine on inverter. So, can the Dynamax Aquahot furnace work off the inverter, or not?

I'm not sure what dealers and "others" are saying this (as you have already found that it is inaccurate). It seems to be coming from people that don't have it, don't understand it, or just are flat out making things up.

As for the LP side. The Aqua-Hot comes in either LP, or diesel versions. We used to use an LP version, but we stopped for two reasons.

#1: LP just does not have the same BTU's per gallon that diesel does. The LP version just did not keep up in extreme cold weather. LP burns cleaner and for most it would be fine...but we wanted it to be more than enough, not "barely enough".

#2: Removing LP as a mandatory fuel is just one more thing not to worry about. You can get diesel anywhere and we already had 100 gallon tank. LP required another onboard tank and it was not as convenient to get...so just one more resource you have to manage. By going diesel it just made it easier on our customer. The option for all electric (NO LP), is well above 50% uptake now.

[CyberShanks]

I'm unsure why there would be a 19 degree setting on the aquahot wet bay?
I just set ours in the middle, 41 degree, and called it a day.


Agree Brian on the all electric, even though I really like my blackstone griddle, I'll just carry some 1 pounders for it though.


Jim