Basement water tank heat for freeze protection

[Al Lewis]

My 2002 Monterey came with hydro hot heating. I believe there is heat supplied to the basement water compartment in freezing weather. The area is well enclosed and I do not find a thermostat. I have never frozen anything but this is texas. Anyone know more detail about what I have or where to find info. I hope it never fails.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Al,
If you pull the panel to access the tanks (is on pass side behind 3rd large access door on 00 and 01 coaches) you should see a heat exchanger from the Hydro hot.
Steve

[Mike Groves]

Steve,

Is your heat exchanger in that compartment?  Mine is inside the water panel.  What I mean is if you remove or take the water control panel off in your water bay, its behind that.  Mine is a '99 so I am just curious.  My '99 also has a "Heat Tape" switch nearer the other side where you're saying the heat exchanger is.  So, perhaps I am supposed to turn that on in the winter time as well as the hydronic heat.

Thanks,
Mike

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike,
On my coach (s) that bay runs all the way across so you can access it from either side. On mine it is a lot easier to remove the 6 screws holding the panel on passenger side.
Steve

[Mike Groves]

Steve,

Mine has a similar orientation, but when I remove that panel, all I see is the tank.  The heat exchanger is on the other side of the coach behind the water service.  Can you see and access your heat exchanger after opening that passenger side compartment with the 6 screws?

Thanks,
Mike

[Karl Welhart]

Al,

I do not believe there is a separate thermostat for the basement on a 2002 Monterey.  The heat is supplied via the bathroom vent either under the sink or under the shower.  The bedroom zone must be on to keep the heat supplied to the basement in cold weather.

Karl

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike,
I could access it in the Contessa. Don't think so with the Marquis. There is a button thermostat in the water bay that controls the heater/fan for it, as long as the Hydro/Aqua Hot is on. See this thread for a good discussion of this.  http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,3934.msg30330.html#msg30330
Steve

[Al Lewis]

I tend to believe Karl to be correct. I don't even see any access to see the tanks. I suppose I could put together a thermocouple to poke back in that area to monitor temperature. But I will chose to go with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  Thanks for the inputs.

[Joel Ashley]

I don't know about the 2002 coach, but will proffer the configuration of our '06, Al.  It's been mentioned here before by myself and others: 

You said you can't see the waste tanks, but ours are easily found behind a hinged panel immediately forward of the curbside wheels.  The door has no handle, but fastens underneath with two strap latches along its bottom edge.  Many owners aren't aware of the access since it looks like a fixed body panel.  Below is a photo I had on file of the view inside that bay, although it isn't as wide an angle to be as representative as it could be for your purposes.

Our coach has an aqua hot heat outlet in there along with its own thermosensor that turns it on around 40 degrees as I recall.  It is relatively independent of the two heating zones in the living area.  The water pump "cabinet" intrudes into the compartment via an adjacent wall so it is exposed to heating.  The water tank is more forward in essentially the same bay as the HydroHot, and by sheer proximity to it stays above freezing.

-Joel
Addendum:  a little curiosity led me to the following video tonight, and it confirms to me that your coach has the same access panel I referred to above that mine has, so check it out Al. 
                     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYCjdSAcEjA

[Al Lewis]

Thanks Joel. Interesting!   I do have a body panel in front of the curbside rear wheels. It is secured by two bolts on the bottom side. Hinged at the top but easily lifts (or falls) off. Behind it is sealed with an insulating panel with about a dozen screws and glue. I won't open that unless I have a problem but I am glad to know this information. I have only had this coach 11 years and maybe I will know all of it in another 50 years or so.    Al