Hurricane/Espar Question

[Dick Simonis]

I am starting to like it.  Does it tie into the Hurrican brain box for access to thermostat and circulation pump control??  I assume there is some control to select electric vs diesel or both.

[Gerald Farris]

Dick,
You will have to wire in one relay that turns on the circulation pump when the thermostats call for heat. There are no other changes that are necessary to the Hurricane system. The Comfort Hot heating elements are controlled by breakers or you can wire in a high amperage switch. If you want the diesel burner to run also, you just turn it on just like now.

If the diesel burner and the Comfort Hot elements are both running at the same time, the diesel burner is set to heat to a higher temperature so the Comfort Hot thermostats will cut off the elements unless it is very cold and the extra heating capacity is needed. Basically the Comfort Hot works like an electric hot water heater except that it is keeping a tank of the Hurricane fluid hot instead of fresh water.

Gerald

[Joel Weiss]

Gerald--
Do you have an idea what Rixen's charges for this mod?
Joel

[Gerald Farris]

Joel,
No I do not, but you can call him (800-925-6260) and he will probably know the price from memory because he has installed so many of these units on Beavers, especially Patriots.

Gerald

[Dick Simonis]

I was just visiting my coach in the shop and they happened to have a brochure from Rixen lying on a counter.

Here are the specs:

2.5 gpm min flow
welded Al tank
capacity - 4.8 gallons
4000 W @32 Amps
14,000 btu
12.75 H X 21" L X 6.35" D.
Wt. 10 lbs

There are 4 mounting tabs, 2 on each side top and bottom so it look likes it's intended to be mounted on a vertical surface.

I'm certainly going to visit them when we're in OR for the summer.  It gets cold enough here and often enough that this would be a boon while parked alongside the house.  I've already gone through a significant amount of diesel and I'm installing a 50 RV outlet next week.

[Joel Weiss]

It is probably worth noting that with a 32A draw at 120V the system output is 3840 watts which is 13,100 BTU/hr.  The Hurriance's oil burner I believe is rated at 45,000 BTU/hr with a probable efficiency of ~70% which would give an effective heating capacity of ~31,500 BTU/hr.  The efficiency of the electrically heated system can be assumed to be 100% because the heating elements are immersed in the fluid.

I'm not criticizing but that does mean that the electric system, on its own, is roughly 41% of the heating capacity of the Hurricane.  In ~50 degree weather this should be sufficient, but I doubt it can replace the oil burner entirely at temps much below that.  For us in south TX, I expect we could reduce our fuel usage by at least 50% since are temps are largely in the 40-50 range at night.  

[Gerald Farris]

Joel,
The Comfort Hot unit does not replace the Hurricane in really cold weather, however on 50 amps (both elements running) I have been in temperatures in the low 30s at night where it keep my coach comfortable (high 60s) without the diesel burner on. When on 30 amp service (only one element running) the unit will keep you comfortable down to the 45 to 50 degree range. I think that one difference between the Comfort Hot system and the diesel burner is that the elements in the Comfort Hot unit stay on continuously when the you are heating the coach in cold weather and the diesel burner cycles because the burner can produce more heat than the system can deliver into the coach.

In temperatures down into the mid 20s and lower, the diesel burner will have to be running to maintain a comfortable temperature in the coach. But if you are just interested in freeze protection, I think that the Comfort Hot system on 50 amp service will provide that down to zero or slightly below. One thing to note is that the temperatures that I am using are without high winds. High winds make the coach harder to heat so the outside temperatures will need to be higher to get the same results.

Gerald

Gerald      

[Joel Weiss]

I think that, since I already own a pair of Vornado heaters, a lot cheaper solution is to feed a heavy duty extension cord through the driver's window and connect it directly to the campground utility pedestal.  I already have an Ethernet cable coming through the window for my DSL and I used some packing tape to make the slightly open window weather-tight.  One 1800 watt heater would do a lot to reduce diesel fuel consumption and not having to worry about tripping breakers in the coach would eliminate nuisance issues.  The heaters are small enough that one would easily fit under the dash on the driver's side.  Because the Vornado's have such a low temperature output they are safer to use in small spaces than are many other types.

[Michael Kauffman]

[size=14]Well I finally bit the bullet and bought a Comfort Hot.  I had to put in the in-line model.  I used the bay wall next the the Hurricane.  I ran the out hose on the pump to the in port on the Comfort Hot tank and tied the out port back to the line that used to go the the pump.  I tied into the transfer switch box for power.  The only other thing that you do is hook a relay set-up to the Hurricane box.  It works great!!  It was 27 here last night.  I set the heater stats to 60 in the coach.  When I went out this morn it was 60 in the coach.  It works great!  Yea!![/size]

[Mike.Way]

Has anyone used the Espar system as a replacement for an Aqua-Hot?  According to BCS the cost to replace my trashed unit with a rebuilt is close to 10k. I would be happy to find a 2k replacement. I would be even happier to have hot water and heat.  It's chilly here in Bend.

Mike

[Michael Kauffman]

[size=14]Hey Mike, I think that the Espar starts around $5K.  Call Jim Rixen.

http://www.rixens.com/   [/size]