Aqua-Hot

[Gordy]

Anyone know where you get pricing on an Aqua-Hot 450-DE? Been all over the web and can't find anything. The builders offer this at about $12,000 and I was just wondering....Also, what is your read on putting one of these in a conversion?

[Dragonslayer140]

Gordy, I have looked into these for the conversion I am planning. I really like the capabilities of these systems. One heating unit to provide both hot water and heating for the coach, can be powered by diesel or propane, and with some additional plumbing it can use the engine heat while you are driving to heat the water in the boiler, while parked the boiler can return heat to the engine to keep it warm for easy starting on cold mornings. They have quite a few different fan forced heating coils that will fit in toe kicks and other tight spaces, and or you can run in floor heat tubing. best part is no ducting to run. I have heated floors in my house, and am thinking they would be great in a coach too. I have not yet got around to pricing a system out yet, but when i get back in my office on Monday I will check with the RV wholesaler we deal with at work and see if he can get me a price on the model you are looking at. Not sure if they deal with aqua hot, but might be worth a shot. sometimes we get some good prices.

Dave

[bushpilot]

have you tried contacting some of their service centers to see if you can get pricing
from a few of them ?? Service Locations - Aqua-Hot

they dont list a dealer network - but certainly you may want to call aquahot and ask them for a LIST of dealers (not builders)...im also seeing that CUMMINS dealers or service centers may be authorized dealers too.

[Gordy]

I have hydronic heating in my house floors too-pretty nice heat. I don't think I would put infloor heating in a coach though, even liteweight concrete to encase the pex tubing is going to be heavy and the cracking issue would bother me. I'll give R&R @ Liberty Lake Wash a call tomorrow for a price. Thanks for the help.

[Dragonslayer140]

I have seen radiant heat done in a mobile unit without the concrete. strips of 5/8 plywood about 5" wide laid over the subfloor with gaps between them for 3/8" PEX tubing 6" on center. Then a hardwood floor can be laid directly over. 1/4" hardi board can be used for any tile areas with a flexible thin set. need a 3/8" plywood over if going to use sheet vinyl or carpet. Provided the under side of the floor is well insulated this will keep the unit warm on all but the coldest nights. when used in conjunction with some fan forced hydronic coils then it makes a four season rig. I for one like getting out of bed onto a warm floor, I find i can keep the overall temp of the interior a little lower because everything inside is warm. I plan on having hardwood floors with throw rugs in my next RV to make it easy to sweep out.

[#90-GTSC]

Do you put anything in around the pex? Or leave it loose between the boards. I presume at the end of the run you radius the boards so that the pex can make the bends. Great idea. I suppose you can retrofit an existing house this way. Thanks for sharing.

[Dragonslayer140]

The 3/8" Pex is 1/2" o.d. and the 1/2" is 5/8", when not embedding in concrete, the pipe is just fit into a matching size groove with a min 6" radius at the ends. there are companies that sell pre grooved plywood. They make a 1-1/8" thick plywood that can be nailed directly to the joists and you just drop in the pipe (perfect for new construction) there are also some that are thinner and are designed to go over an existing sub-floor. Most of these panels have an aluminum coating on the bottom to reflect the heat upward. A third option is to install the piping from below the floor between the joists, then push foil face insulation up against it. This option is good for homes with existing flooring, but requires a higher source temperature in the boiler than if above floor. If possible it is always best to embed in lightweight concrete as the mass of the concrete will absorb the heat and distribute it more evenly (like a cast iron skillet vs a stamped metal pan). A side effect is that the more mass that has to be heated the more slowly the system will react to a change in the thermostat. While there are some new concrete based materials that are very flexible, it is still too much weight for practical use in an RV. with everything except for hardwood you will want a cover board over the pipe. (just remember to mark where the pipes are so you do not come back later and put a nail or screw through the pipe. (This can be a real challange to find the leak ...and yes I found out the hard way..lol) Nice thing with hydronic is that it is completely silent, and there is no cold drafts that you get when a forced air system starts up. plus on a RV the boiler can be fueled with diesel, and provides almost unlimited hot water for showers/laundry etc.

Dave