I'm going to review the AquaHot system. Once my brother got the AH working properly it does it's job of heating the coach very well. Water heating is not so impressive. I'll get to that in a moment. The AquaHot system in my 1997 model coach is more "old school" than the newer systems. The newer ones have more electronic controls from what I can tell. It is a complicated system and somewhat difficult to work on. Parts are expensive. Although my brother Scott likes how it works and what it does he does not like working on it as you usually have to be lying down to get at things. Scott has experience in diesel-fired pressure-washer repairs and currently works in burner technology for the oil industry. He also was schooled in industrial electronics and had his own business repairing mostly automotive test equipment like scopes, wheel balancers, emissions test equipment,etc. This is extremely fortunate because the diesel burner operations are pretty much the same. His skill and expertise also saved me a bunch of money. For example, that blower motor we had to replace near the end was anywhere from 500 to 800 dollars on line. However, Scott realized it was the exact same part used in a different application in the oil business and I was able to buy one right here in Calgary for 275.00. The newest updated motor to boot.
CANADIANS TAKE NOTE OF THIS NEXT INFO. AquaHot systems are NOT CSA APPROVED and therefore are even more difficult to get repaired in Canada. I have asked several local RV dealers about AquaHot repairs and they don't have anything to do with them and don't know who to recommend for service. Canadians buying a coach in the U.S. like I did should definately confirm it's proper operation before bringing it into Canada. I have told my brother he should do this as a sideline now that he has experience (lol) and so far he is not that interested. I'm toying with the idea of learning from him but mechanical/electrical repairs are really not my bag. If my brother didn't have the knowledge and skills that he has I would have been in a bad situation with my malfunctioning AquaHot. At the very least it would have cost me a lot more money than it did.
Regarding the AquaHot water heating system. Unless there is something wrong with mine still (which is possible) I am not that impressed. Sure it will give you unlimited hot water--once you are past what is called "the cold sandwich". When you first turn on the shower the water is hot but gets luke-warm after about 20 seconds. Then, if you keep running the water long enough ( 90 seconds?) the burner will turn on and starting heating the water as you use it and the water will get hot again. Meanwhile there is alot of water going down the drain. In a boondocking situation like I am in this is not good. That is one of the reasons I will continue to shower at work after my water system is repaired. If you are in an RV park hooked up to a water supply this would not be an issue of course.
I generally have had the electrical heating side of the AH turned on but I have been turning it off while heating with the heat tunnel as it does suck power. Not constantly-it cycles on and off but it seems like it's on more than it's off. Check out the following pictures of my power consumption gauges with and without the AH electrical heater on. I have seen it use more than this actually. It seems to vary.





One day a couple of months ago I noticed that the contents of my kitchen drawers above the AH heat output register were quite warm. I also checked the air flow from that register and it was weak. I took the drawers out and found a large gap between the front of the heat exchanger and the back of the register. I plugged that gap with a strip of pink insulation to cure that problem. Now I have much better air flow out that register.



The bedroom one is kind of weak as well but I am having trouble accessing it without disassembling an add-on shoe rack somebody put in the closet floor area.
After the above comments it would be easy to think I may have been better off with a big fifth wheel and the usual propane heating system. Not so fast. A) I would be going through a large amount of propane because of it's lower BTU's. Having a large tank beside the RV wouldn't be that feasible because a propane truck wouldn't be able to get in here in the winter to refill it. Therefore I would have been hauling in propane tanks all the time. B) Using propane for heat creates a large amount of humidity in an RV in winter. This is not good at all and can create multiple problems. I have almost zero evidence of any humidity/condensation in my coach. I say almost because I have one living room window that often has minor condensation fogging on it and I'm not sure why.
The lack of humidity/condensation in winter is a huge plus for the AquaHot system in my opinion.
Like everything else in the RV world the AquaHot system has it's pluses and minuses.