Are Webasto/Espar/AquaHots Really Worth It?

[luvrbus]

Opus, not if they plan on running the things I park away from those also, Mark never ran mine much in AZ but did in Idaho and I had a electric hot water on the AquaHot system I hated firing the AquaHot to take a shower and when I bought the bus it was plumbed for hot water only with the AquaHot 1 of the dumbest things Vogue did to save a few bucks lol

[Sean]

... made that mistake once when I forgot and parked next to Sean at the Caverns  ...

Sheesh, apparently some things you can never live down ...

FWIW, our Webasto is right under our bedroom, so it is louder and smellier for us than for any of our neighbors and we hardly notice it.  Of course, it's all what you're used to -- let it make a different noise for five minutes, like the bearings starting to go out, and we'll both be bolt upright in bed.  And also FWIW, when a rig with a propane furnace parks next to us, we hear that, too.

BTW, we don't have nearly the fuel consumption that has been postulated elsewhere in this thread.  Unless we are heating the hot tub, we use about a gallon in six hours (0.35 gph, with around 50% duty cycle) when we have the system on, and typically we only have it on for a couple hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening, so maybe a gallon a day, two tops.  I don't think we could burn 5 gallons a day in it if we tried.  The hot tub increases the duty cycle to 100% for three hours when it first starts up, so it takes a gallon of diesel to take 300 gallons of 65° water to 101°.  A price we are willing to pay for hot tubbing

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[luvrbus]

I didn't make the fuel usage up Sean that is from AquaHot not me and when we installed the flowscans on Coles bus it was a little over fwiw

[robertglines1]

For my few trips to cold weather; not plannned for now. It seems to have it's draw backs.  What is initial investment?   Bob

[artvonne]

  I know things change, and some stuff works much better today than it did 40 years ago, but I see the aquahot like a diesel version of an old Stewart Warner gas heater. They were an awesome heater when they worked. In a VW in -10*F weather, they were about the only heat available. The three heaters I had more often blew cold air and frustrated me to no end. As these aquahots are such a common discussion, its something I will likely avoid for the foreseeable future. Like the SW heaters of old, there are a lot of parts that can fail, pumps, ignitors, circuit boards, nozzles. If I have to burn half a gallon of diesel an hour it seems more sense to run the generator?

  I plan to tie the Generator into the Bus cooling system, and as I'm keeping the OTR heat I should be okay unless I mistakenly get into extreme weather, which I intend to avoid at all costs. I'm also planning to run a loop around an electric hot water heater. Then the water heater can be used for heat when shore power is available??

  A side benefit I realized when thinking this out, is the remote radiator for the generator could be used to shed main engine heat if required.

[Jriddle]

I am not sure about fuel usage. We have just been weekend warriors for now and a couple of long trips. I like the ability to heat my water and my engine as needed. I fine a little preheat on the engine in the summer will reduce the start up smoke. I would recommend backup heat but like the webasto on my conversion.

John

[morefire]

I dry camped for 5 days with a family of 4, and between the AquaHot and the Onan 7500 Gen, my fuel guage hardly even moved.  I can't say for sure how many gallons was used, but it wasn't anything worth talking about.  Everything is tapped into the main coach fuel tank.

[robertglines1]

How much from scratch??

[morefire]

How much from scratch??

Depends on which model.  If you are talking about the large 600D with everything needed from the main unit, heat exchangers, plumbing, antifreeze etc... for a 40-45' full sized coach, you are looking at $12,000.

[robertglines1]

Thanks: will consider even used/rebuilt at 7or 8 grand in decision making.  Bob

[luvrbus]

Lenny, installed the 675-d 240 volts for 5 zones with engine pre heat in his H-45 everything he was at 15,483.00,they draw 13 amp + on DC depending on what size exchangers.

Bob AquaHot has always been straight forward about the fuel usage how these guys burn less I have no idea but I can tell you if I spend big bucks for a unit I am going to stay warm

Ours would use 5 gals + a day at freezing temps in a well insulated coach then we had generator time check out the Aquahot site they love to use these little things when it come to fuel usage * for cold weather ** for extreme cold weather lol  

Owning one I don't buy into the low fuel usage because we have used FlowScans on the things before to check the fuel usage and know exactly how much fuel one will use in freezing weather to keep a bus @ 72 degrees.

You don't have to be married to AquaHot there are other brands  on the market just as good if not better than AquaHot fwiw or build your own 

good luck  

[robertglines1]

Was just curious: Is quiet a large investment. Would depend on ones life style. Rite now I'm more in the swow bird class.  Just was trying to do the math.   Bob

[morefire]

Lenny, installed the 675-d 240 volts for 5 zones with engine pre heat in his H-45 everything he was at 15,483.00,they draw 13 amp + on DC depending on what size exchangers.

Bob AquaHot has always been straight forward about the fuel usage how these guys burn less I have no idea but I can tell you if I spend big bucks for a unit I am going to stay warm

Ours would use 5 gals + a day at freezing temps in a well insulated coach then we had generator time check out the Aquahot site they love to use these little things when it come to fuel usage * for cold weather ** for extreme cold weather lol  

Owning one I don't buy into the low fuel usage because we have used FlowScans on the things before to check the fuel usage and know exactly how much fuel one will use in freezing weather to keep a bus @ 72 degrees.

You don't have to be married to AquaHot there are other brands  on the market just as good if not better than AquaHot fwiw or build your own 

good luck  

That price must have included installation?  the 600 and 675 is really the same system, except for the 120volt vs 240volt electric element.

[luvrbus]

Yep out the door in Lupton in a stripped shell the exchangers were not installed but came with the unit,you can buy a Rixen the same unit for almost 1/2 of the 12 grand you paid,

The Oasis is cheaper also and is as good it is based on a ProHeat burner you see more Oasis in boats than the AquaHot very few AquaHots in boats in fact I never saw one

[gus]

I live in the mild winters mid-south so my heating needs at home are not severe.

I have an engine coolant loop in my water heater for when I travel. Parked with power I have an electric water heating coil. If no power I can heat the water with the genset in about an hour.

I have a block heater for the engine.

When the water heater is hot it heats all the water tanks in one insulated compartment plus the bathroom floor (No heating loop in the floor).

I have two small LP furnaces, either of which heats the bus in moderately cold weather.

Except for the spiders next of hoses for the water heater loop this is a very simple, effective system. One reason for the spider's nest is the old hoses for the removed Webasto which I will eventually remove.

When underway the original bus heating system is far more than enough to heat the whole bus.

I bought a Proheat from Bruce Knee but finally realized I didn't need it!!