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Aqua Hot Burn Rate?
I’ve read that the aqua hot burns about .39 gallons of diesel per hour…..is that calculated as if the system is running on for an hour straight? Like all my other units with Aqua Hot it seems to turn on about every 2-3 hours (I’m in Michigan now so it is coooooold) and runs for 10 -15 minutes.
I filled up the bus about 4 weeks ago to the top one block from the pole barn so I know it was full (208 gallons) when I put it in. Over the last 4 weeks I’ve put in an additional 20 gallons just to keep the tank topped off and because the temps have been so cold. I do have 30 amp in the barn but no heat at all so I also put in a ceramic cube heater on the galley sink to help with heating.
We are leaving on the 23rd for our winter trek south and today I turned the key just to see how much fuel was on the guage and it read full? Are these things really that efficient? On my last unit, I had a high and low electric element as well as a diesel burner so I never had to run the diesel even in the winter but this system only has on and off for electric and the heat registers need the diesel burner on to heat the coach. Just curious because I was going to add 10 more gallons of diesel but it doesn’t seem to be consuming that much at all.
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9 Replies
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Jim I would leave the electric one on and the diesel one on just in case the power went out to be safe so water does not freeze ,and tank will stay hot and if the electric can not keep up the diesel one will kick on if it needs to for heat or water , does not hurt it for both to be on …. I do not winterize mine but leave toe kick heaters on in bay and inside and diesel heaters in side set to 50 degrees and diesel one in water bay on …..If power goes out it will drain battery’s in short time so you have to check it …. Hope that helps
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Thanks Peter….I do have the diesel on and the electric on as well as the electric bay heater AND the cube heater inside the coach. The silver leaf is set to turn on the genny if the power goes out but I also have a whole house generator (nat gas) that kicks on in the event of a power failure in my home which the pole barn is attached to……my question was not about what to leave on it was about the burn rate of diesel on the aqua hot. For the next 2 weeks it looks like the highs will be in the mid 20’s and the lows are in the mid single digits to teens at best.
I’ve noted today for instance that the aqua hot unit has kicked on about 5-6 times since 5 a.m. and runs for about 10-15 minutes each time it is on. I can see the exhaust line from the house each time it kicks on and I’ve been watching today. The high here is 15 degrees!
I read that the unit will burn about .39 gallons of diesel per hour….. So today, in my mind, if it turns on 12 times per day…….runs for 15 minutes each time….then that equates to about 3 gallons of diesel burned today to keep the coach warm. Is the system set to turn itself off if there is a half or quarter of a tank of fuel?
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It may burn .39 per hour but it might only be on 5-15 minutes per hour so 6 minutes is 1/10 of an hour so it would burn 39 for that hour,12 minutes is .2 of an hour so it would burn 78 for that hour,they are really efficient and we need to run them.When I pull my bus out I almost always turn on my Webasto to speed up the warm up.
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Jim
In my 97 Bluebird Wanderlodge we had an Aqua Hot, it burned about .39 to .45 gals/hour. Aqua hot is a good system but very costly to replace.
I am not sure if you had the system serviced, the unit needs servicing annually which includes a new fuel filter a nozzle and cleaning of the burner can. I always serviced my Aqua Hot and now I have to service the Webasto burner in our 04 XL2.
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Took this from the Aqua Hot service manual. As you can see it states .5 gallon usage for continuous run. Must be significantly less during intermittant use and quantity used may also be different depending on which exact model is being used.
Diesel-Burner, Fuel Consumption (Continuous Operation) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 0.50 gal/hr
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It really is amazing how efficient these units are…..I did have a complete service done in September so she should be ready to go for the next year. On my last motorhome, it stated that the generator and aqua hot would run until the fuel tank got down to a quarter tank. My buddy insists his unit will run till the tank is half full…I think he is wrong….I’m assuming the prevost also has a cut off when the tank gets down to a quarter. I guess there is no need to add any diesel in the next 2 weeks if the tank is still showing full.
The day before we leave I’m going to put water back in the system, turn on the engine pre heat and start up the bus to make sure everything airs up. We are spending 3-4 nights in the coach while visiting family in southern michigan before we hit the road then it’s on to our first stop in Nashville, a quick overnight in Elko GA. and then on to St. Augustine for 3 months. We will see everyone in Tampa in April. I’m going to arrive at Lazy Days on the first of April and spend the entire week of the rally.
If any of you want to check out St. Augustine, drop me a line and I will help pick you out a site that is easy in and out at Bryn Mawr. Lots of folks with Big Rigs are nervous about going into that campground but the ocean front sites are very easy to get in and out of and are steps from the beach. Merry Christmas!!
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My understanding is that the fuel pick up for the generator and the Webasto or Aqua Hot is set in the fuel tank further from the bottom of the tank so as not to use all the fuel.
I think on my Webasto when it reaches this level, or can not pick up anymore fuel, the unit will try to start a set number of times and then time out.
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The pickup tubes for the Gen and Aqua Hot do not extend to the bottom of the fuel tank. They are normally set to the 1/4 tank level or above.
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the aqua fuel nozzle is rated at 3.9 gallons per hour. That is suppose to be the amount of fuel the gun can push thru the nozzle. Am not sure how exact it is but has to be close or the unit would over fuel
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