We had 20 degrees this morning here in Alabama and the first time we have been living in the coach with this cold of temperature, at home I blow all the water lines out and put antifreeze in the traps and toilet but we are living in it so I prepared for this unusual weather by disconnecting from water and sewer and closing off any hole going under the coach. I am not up to speed on the heating of the water and aquahot bays and have a few questions. We have a thermostat in the aqua hot bay and a water to air heat exchanger with a fan on it but it doesn't seem to be working. Where does this heat exchanger get its fluid from and what pump is used for it? On the water bay side I have a thermostat that is controlled by pressure bulb type system and a electric looking heater just above the tank, I can turn this on with the thermostat but it either is a very low temp output or its defective. Does this unit put out hot air or just warm air? Is there any heat exchangers in the fresh water tank?
Jack in our '98 the Aquahot kept the water bay above freezing. We'd always keep the water tank full and after a while that was a large heat sink keeping the bay warm.
IIRC the heater with hoses works from the Aquahot, don't remember which pump circulates that fluid but a quick call to Rudy and he'll explain it all much better than I can remember. 713-eight 1 8=three 2 3 four
Thanks Forest, I did top off the water tank with that in mind.
There is a thermostat in the Aquahot bay and one in the water bay that controls a cube heater in the top of each bay. The thermostat in the Aquahot bay works the heater in the water bay and vice versa, at least in #458.
Thank you so much for that info its making sense to me now. I turned on the thermostat in the aqua hot bay and heard a noise but it wasn't coming from the one in the agua hot bay then wondered why the one in the water bay didn't turn off and on by that thermostat. When it warms up I will go and figure out the operation first hand.
Jack,
I don't remember where you put your LiFEPO4 batteries, but they should also be heating (or not charging) at that temperature outside I imagine if you have in any of your bays without heat.
I got reminded of this when I went out to my coach last weekend here in Phoenix and noticed that my batteries were not charging. I did not have the heaters on for my batteries so my BMS kicked off charging as that is what I had programmed until it warmed up a bit.
Thats what that BMS is for sounds like you have a good one with low temp cut off. I don't have lithium in my coach yet I do have 31kw in my house and considered putting them in the coach but these AGM that came with the coach are not very old and working perfectly so I'll use them till they die and replace them with lifep04. I also have 10kw in Surprise AZ but shipping them home is a pain so we are going to take a trip there this spring.
Jack,
It has been 15 deg F here and will stay that way for a while. I am running the Aquahot on electric to make sure the coach stays unfrozen. I set the thermostats for about 53 degrees to be sure.
In order to monitor the temps I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0834S...UTF8&psc=1
though there is a newer model I have in the houses:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNPH...UTF8&psc=1
The work with WiFi and/or Bluetooth. I can check the temps, see trends and have warnings sent to me wherever I am, provided I have an internet connection to the coach. When I am parked at home, I have easy access to wifi.
So far...2 days of 15 deg temps the lowest temps i have had in the Bays and in the coach is 51.9 (that's measured in the salon about 8 feet from the windshield which I have covered with mylar bubble foil.)
So far, over 3 years and 3 winters.. all is well! Bear in mind I only have 1 working Aquahot heating element, the 4600 Watt 220V one.
My 2 cents worth.
On 567, your results may vary, the thermostat on the DS controls the water to air exchanger on the PS and when closed starts the middle pump. The stat on the PS controls the electric heater on the DS. Anytime the burner is on, the middle pumps runs as well.
I’m at Newell now and upon arriving, it was near zero. The water was frozen Monday morning. It was the suction to the pumps, not enough heat down near floor level on the DS.
Thanks for that description I knew one of the pumps would have to come on in order for the heat exchanger to work. Not trying to reinvent the wheel but why didn't they duck air down low in the water bay where the pumps are located, hot air rises so that would seem to be better than the electric unit over the top of the tank. If you had your water tank topped off and had a way to heat the water tank to 60-65 degrees you wouldn't any heat at all.
Gordon how did your Lithiums hold out in that cold weather?