Author Topic: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing  (Read 13246 times)

Thayden Waltonen

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #15 on: February 25, 2021, 01:38:50 PM »
Hi Thayden,
      That 3rd terminal/fan on my coach is behind the passenger side basement door, in front of the rear axle.  Behind that door is a carpeted wall/board that looks inaccessible but just unscrew ~6 screws to remove.  The fan/sensor will be near & a lot of the Hurrican tubing will be further back going every which way, if my memory is right?  This 3rd fan vents into both this bay & the next bay forward, high above the water control access door.  So, it should keep our tanks warm & safe from freezing especially with the hotter Hurricane heat running vs the Comfort Hot.

So, that is the area where I hear the fan noise. But the carpeted plywood panel separating the 'carpeted basement' from the waste tank area doesn't have any obvious screws and has the onboard water pressure pump and the generator to shore power relay switch mounted on it so it wouldn't be too easy to take off. or do you mean the panel that is at the back of this compartment that runs parallell to the bus? I didn't see any obvious screws but maybe i didn't look closely enough. yes i see that there is an opening between the area over the waste tanks and the 'carpeted basement' that would allow heated air to circulate to both.

BTW, what is comfort hot? is that taking heat off the electric domestic in reverse via the heat exchanger or . . . ?

and glad to hear that shark bites come through in a pinch. good retention of pex is a must if they are a long term solution. at my real job i use the veiga (or generic equivalent) pureflo press fittings for pex and likewise the propress style for copper. Those tools cost some money but then save on fittings. If I was in texas i'd just come over and help out but the smallest state is a bit of ride from the largest [continental] one. as weather improves and you get back on your rig let us know what you find with the hurricane.

Fred Brooks

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1617
  • Thanked: 749 times
  • RVIA Certified Luxury Technician 49 years, Retired
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2021, 02:35:12 PM »
    Thayden,
It is the carpeted panel that is parallel to the coach. The screws may be buried in the nap of the carpet but should be approx 1" off the corners. Tip: If you have a strong magnet move it around the corners and it will latch onto the screw heads.
   If you read my previous post in this topic, it explains a "comfort hot" . Hope this helps, Fred
Fred & Cindy Brooks
2000 Marquis, Jasper
C-12 Wild Cat (U of A)
2014 Honda CRV
Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
The following users thanked this post: Eric Maclean

Eric Maclean

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1184
  • Thanked: 442 times
  • Karen and I would like to wish you all happy trail
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2021, 03:33:24 PM »
Thayden
I think the panel they are referring to is on the opposite side of the coach from the wet bay the rear most cargo bay on passenger side ahead of the rear axle.
That panel should have six philips head screws with trim rings holding it in place but once in there what you should find is the back end of the gray and black water tanks  a d on my coach the toilet drop is accessed from there as well as the black tank saniflush on my coach the actual bay heat unit and thermostat is located behind the wet bay plumbing wall which means removal of the wet wall ( with all the valves and e!ectrical hookup) to access it ( not a small job but doable.
the water pump and transfer relay are mounted on the forward facing wall in the cargo bay baked up to the wet bay .
Hope this helps
Eric

1997 Patriot Yorktown
3126-B
2009 Chevy HHR
Roadmaster falcon tow bar
Demco Air Force one tow brake.

Thayden Waltonen

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #18 on: February 25, 2021, 04:16:14 PM »
    Thayden,
It is the carpeted panel that is parallel to the coach. The screws may be buried in the nap of the carpet but should be approx 1" off the corners. Tip: If you have a strong magnet move it around the corners and it will latch onto the screw heads.
   If you read my previous post in this topic, it explains a "comfort hot" . Hope this helps, Fred

are you sure it was this topic. i think i've search all your posts and i see mentions of comfort hot, but not with explanation of what it is. maybe i'm looking right at it and not seeing it.

and how does it relate to "Engine heat" which i'm assuming is the different option for which there is a switch on the kitchen cabinets which turns on the circulator pump alone and if the engine is running would take heat from the heat exchanger from the engine coolant circuit . . . which brings me back to the other question I had in my earlier novel about how to heat the engine with the hurricane as I don't find an electric pump in that circuit that can circulate the hurricane heat to the engine but rather strictly the mechanically operated water pump on the engine.

thanks

Eric Maclean

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1184
  • Thanked: 442 times
  • Karen and I would like to wish you all happy trail
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #19 on: February 25, 2021, 04:38:24 PM »
Thayden
Many of the earlier coaches didn't have a circulation pump to pump heat back to the engine for engine heating .
They relied on the engine water pump to circulate hot water from the engine to heat the Aquahot or Hurricane to provide cabin heat while on the road.
Eric
1997 Patriot Yorktown
3126-B
2009 Chevy HHR
Roadmaster falcon tow bar
Demco Air Force one tow brake.

Eric Maclean

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1184
  • Thanked: 442 times
  • Karen and I would like to wish you all happy trail
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #20 on: February 25, 2021, 05:20:07 PM »
Thayden
Maybe i can help explain the comfort hot
The coach uses a hurricane system which in essence is a diesel boiler which heats a tank of coolant to a temperature of approx 180 degrees from this tank the system uses circulation pumps to pump the hot coolant to heat exchangers in the coach where fans blow the heat into the coach to satisfy the heating demand.
As the hurricane has no means to heat the coolant other than the diesel burner or engine heat source the comfort hot was added on in line with the hurricane to heat the coolant electrically the comfort hot consists of a 5 gallon tank with two electric heating elements of approx 2000 watts each one on L 1 and the other on L2 of the 50 amp incoming power to heat the coolant it allows the choose of heating with electric power instead of diesel fuel and usually has two switches to allow the use of one element ( for on 30 amp shore power or two elements on 50 amp shore power)
It should be mentioned that not all the Beaver coaches had the comfort hot as some of the early Patriots had Hurricane heaters and not Comfort hot .
And like my coach has an Aquahot which has an electric element in it and hence was not built with the Comfort hot add on.
Hope this helps
Eric
« Last Edit: February 25, 2021, 10:00:39 PM by Eric Maclean »
1997 Patriot Yorktown
3126-B
2009 Chevy HHR
Roadmaster falcon tow bar
Demco Air Force one tow brake.

Fred Brooks

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1617
  • Thanked: 749 times
  • RVIA Certified Luxury Technician 49 years, Retired
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #21 on: February 25, 2021, 06:43:57 PM »
    Thayden, Reply #7 on page 1 of this original thread, Fred
Fred & Cindy Brooks
2000 Marquis, Jasper
C-12 Wild Cat (U of A)
2014 Honda CRV
Proverbs 3: 5 & 6

Jim Gillespie

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #22 on: February 25, 2021, 11:10:25 PM »
Hi Thayden,
       Re "Preheating Engine", I think I saw in a Patriot schematic a circulation pump located in the front area of the coach that, I presume, would be plumbed into the coolant hoses from the engine to the defroster/heater.  That's the only thing that would make sense to be able to preheat the engine.  I have a '98 Contessa & have not looked for that pump & am not at home to look. 
        It's neat how they designed the tank to heat the Hurricane coolant with hot engine coolant:  a pipe running through the middle of a bit larger tank that keeps each system independent.
        Is Rhode Island your state?  I hope I'm done with the plumbing, with the Sharkbite/Pex being a permanent fix?  As much as Sharkbite fittings cost, they should be permanent.

Steve Huber Co-Admin

  • Administrator Group
  • *
  • Posts: 3503
  • Thanked: 2689 times
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #23 on: February 26, 2021, 01:58:05 AM »
Thayden,
Check the version # of the Hurricane PC board,. If it is a version 12 it is not set up to support the engine pre-heat function. If so. let me know and I'll tell you what wiring changes have to be made to re-enable the pre-heat function.
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp

Thayden Waltonen

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #24 on: February 27, 2021, 12:26:35 PM »
   Thayden, Comfort Hot was an add on system that International Thermal Research (ITR) 800-993-4402 sold to Beavers as a supplemental 120 volt electric heat with 2 heating elements. I am not sure if it is activated by the existing room thermostat or not. I don't know what kind or year your coach is. Hope this helps, Fred

Got it.

The only thing besides the Hurricane in the loop is an electric DHW heater with a heat exchanger so that it can run on its internal electric elements or with the hurricane. The hurricane runs through it all the time. If you were plugged in, I assume the heat exchanger would work in the opposite direction so this should supply some cabin heat if the hurricane were down but you turned on the engine heat switch which runs the circulator pushing system fluid through the hurricane and DHW to the fan coil heaters.

I'm not sure if this is the comfort hot or aqua hot or neither if those are additional electric heat backups but not the DHW.

I imagine that both the set temp and theoretical BTUs of the DHW are not as high as the hurricane so you wouldn't get as much heat but maybe better than none.

Sorry this is 1998 Patriot. I put that coach info in when I signed up, but maybe it doesn't automatically show up in my public profile.

thanks


Thayden Waltonen

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #25 on: February 27, 2021, 12:39:53 PM »
Thayden,
Check the version # of the Hurricane PC board,. If it is a version 12 it is not set up to support the engine pre-heat function. If so. let me know and I'll tell you what wiring changes have to be made to re-enable the pre-heat function.
Steve

i'll check tomorrow on the version#. If it is set up to heat the engine I assume I would find wires out to a second pump on the hurricane board somewhere. Others have suggested that coachs of this age (1998 patriot) might not have this option. If I wanted to add, would be great to have the wiring plan and the preferred location to add a circulator. Can't really tell if the hoses from engine tee off the run to the defroster, i.e. parallel configuration, or the heat exchanger is in series with the defroster. Just thinking about priorities and whether if I added a pump in the heater compartment to the engine coolant circuit whether that would add head/restriction when not running against the normal operation of the defroster and the heat exhanger to cabin heat. If I was a glutton for punishment I could probably valve it so its out of the loop under normal operation. Just seems like a great option but might be more complication than its worth to completely retrofit vs. a more standard block heater if i really go in for cold weather cruising.Thanks

Steve Huber Co-Admin

  • Administrator Group
  • *
  • Posts: 3503
  • Thanked: 2689 times
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #26 on: February 27, 2021, 04:26:45 PM »
Adding components sounds like a lot of work for something that will probably be used very little.
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp

Carl Boger

  • BAC Member
  • *
  • Posts: 433
  • Thanked: 132 times
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #27 on: February 28, 2021, 01:09:13 AM »
Steve you are probably right about it being a lot of work, for limited return.  I do have to admit though that after hearing about the comfort hot I kind of want one on my Patriot!  Notice I said want, not need !

I am following this anyway.  I would rather use the campgrounds electricity than my Diesel fuel.
Carl

98 Beaver Patriot Savannah
330 hp Cat 3126

Jim Gillespie

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #28 on: February 28, 2021, 09:53:00 AM »
Carl,
       I think it was the Forum Moderator / Hurricane expert, Mr. Farris, who in a post months/years back that detailed the temps that the Comfort Hot (CH) would be effective, definitely not as effective as the Hurricane.  If I recall right, the CH was iffy at below freezing temps; satisfactory at ~40 degrees.  Recently, on 8 to 30 degree days, my limping CH (only 1 of 2 elements working) barely kept the coach temp above freezing.  On our 1 (& only) sub-freezing holiday trip years back, we stayed warm using radiator style space heaters as I had no handle on the workings of the Hurricane or CH.

Thayden Waltonen

  • Guest
Re: Hurricane heater main fuse blowing
« Reply #29 on: February 28, 2021, 04:48:42 PM »
Adding components sounds like a lot of work for something that will probably be used very little.
Steve

can't disagree, although since i have no block heater, i kind of think one way or the other might be smart. Even if the engine will start in the cold I have this instinct that it is nicer to the engine/oil pump and lube circulationwise to warm it first and easier on the starter. So for the price of a pump, even if it were independent of the hurricane control and i just turned the hurricane on and turned the pump on separately and put the hurricane on short loop if i wasn't heating the cabin at the same time wouldn't be a big over indulgence in retentiveness.

so i'm going to my vocational side HVAC forum to ask about drop across nonoperating pumps but if anyone knows if the heat exchanger (I have the tube style, the  diagram in the hurricane book illustrates a second plate heater) is in parallel or series with the defroster heater i would know how far to chase that. thanks,