Aqua-Hot Radiant Heat ? Too Expensive

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Actually, just as easy as turning off on-board tank, disconnecting and connecting big external with adapter.  This is what we do each summer. 
 
Actually Propane is probably the cheapest fuel out there right now, due to a glut in the country.  However, propane does not produce near the BTU's that diesel does, so I don't know how it would stack up gallon to gallon. 
 
SargeW said:
Actually Propane is probably the cheapest fuel out there right now, due to a glut in the country.  However, propane does not produce near the BTU's that diesel does, so I don't know how it would stack up gallon to gallon.
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It may be cheap some places but not around here.  Last time I checked it was $3.00 a gallon.  :(
 
We love our Aqua Hot.  Better heating and just a better system all around!  ;D  We figure it takes 1/2 gallon of diesel per hour.  When we're hooked up we use the electric heat function and only turn on the diesel for faster heating when we take showers for example.  We were down to 22 degrees a few times recently and it worked very well.  We turned off the front furnace and put on the back furnace so the bedroom was comfortable.

ArdraF
 
Wow Tom that is a lot of sipping.  If you go a couple of hundred miles west it is a bit warmer.  The Valley of the Sun seems to be getting colder and wetter every year...in the winter.
 
We are in Quartzsite, 120 miles west of Phoenix. It is 44 degrees this morning. The high for today is supposed to be 59 degrees. 59 deegrees looks like the high for the next 4 days with the low going down to 28 degrees starting Monday night.
 
We are paying ?<$3.60/g for diesel so with the BTU difference diesel wins hands down.  Unfortunately Newmar would not put an Aqua-hot in a Dutch Star.  Still thinking, waiting for the lottery, to install a Espar heating system.
 
The true thing here is that he is guessing on his costs.  Yes, with the aqua-hot it is harder to get the true cost of your heating.  He could be way off with guessing how much fuel was used for travel and how much for heat.  The true way to get the actual cost of your heat would be to fuel up as close to your CG as possible and then refuel right when you leave.  Here, he is using the SWAG method which could be way off.
 
mercoupe50 said:
Wow Tom that is a lot of sipping.  If you go a couple of hundred miles west it is a bit warmer.  The Valley of the Sun seems to be getting colder and wetter every year...in the winter.
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David, I now refer to AZ as "Little Alaska".  :)
 
Spudnut81 said:
The true thing here is that he is guessing on his costs.  Yes, with the aqua-hot it is harder to get the true cost of your heating.  He could be way off with guessing how much fuel was used for travel and how much for heat.  The true way to get the actual cost of your heat would be to fuel up as close to your CG as possible and then refuel right when you leave.  Here, he is using the SWAG method which could be way off.
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This is so true.  With my MH which I got in July, my first few tanks were at 5 mpg.  I was boondocking a lot running the generator for the AC.  A friend of mine helped me check out all the systems, which were found to be running well, yet 5 mpg  seemed low, even for a big MH.  So he suggested I fill up right before I got to my farm, then again when I left.  I couldn't believe I burned over 10 gallons of fuel over just a few days, just one mile per 2.5 gallons of gas!  So when I took the MH on a long drive, with no generator use I got up to 8 mpg. 

I thought about putting in a separate tank for the Generator, as I like to keep up with costs down to the penny, but then I got the MH more for the Home than the Motor.  So...It cost what it cost...Enjoy the journey.
 
I have calculated our average fuel costs of just moving the coach from point A to point B at about $0.50 a mile,  Running our coach isn't cheap but seeking an inexpensive means of travel was not the priority when we bought it.  Figuring the total cost of ownership would be quite the exercise not to mention a bit scary when the final numbers rolled in  :eek:.

Insurance is expensive, we probably spend an average of a few hundred dollars a year plus on maintenance and upgrades, RV parks maybe average out at $20-25 a day for six months a year that we're on the road, then the aforementioned fuel costs, our Hughesnet satellite Internet, whoa, I'm getting depressed here.

But it's okay, I like the lifestyle  8).
 
John Canfield said:
I have calculated our average fuel costs of just moving the coach from point A to point B at about $0.50 a mile,  Running our coach isn't cheap but seeking an inexpensive means of travel was not the priority when we bought it.  Figuring the total cost of ownership would be quite the exercise not to mention a bit scary when the final numbers rolled in  :eek:.

Insurance is expensive, we probably spend an average of a few hundred dollars a year plus on maintenance and upgrades, RV parks maybe average out at $20-25 a day for six months a year that we're on the road, then the aforementioned fuel costs, our Hughesnet satellite Internet, whoa, I'm getting depressed here.

But it's okay, I like the lifestyle  8).
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I certainly agree with your RV lifestyle point, John.  Motorhomes are aggravating and expensive, but look at all the fun you would miss, all the great people you would not meet or interesting places you would not experience if you just stayed home and saved the money.
 
We average about $30/day for cost of 90 days boondocking in the Arizona desert. This is every thing except food driving from North Dakota. If we drove the car and stayed in motels and apartments it would be two to three times more.
 
The government at www.afdc.energy.gov/pdfs/afv_info.pdf says propane contains 84,950 btu per gallon. Diesel 128,450 btu per gallon and electricity 3414 btu per KW.

Using $4.05 per gallon for diesel the cost is .00315 per btu. (all figures truncated at 5 digits) (Gas buddy advises diesel is available for as low as $3.79 in Tucson. The 29th station on the list is $4.05 per gallon)
Using the average of the five propane costs available on a google search in the Tucson area, $3.29 per gallon, the cost of propane is .00387 per btu
Electricity is a tough one because of variable pricing based on provider and the park markup or as one park says "the maximum charge allowed by law" I'll give a couple examples and you can plug in your own numbers if you know them. At .10 (ten cents) per KW the cost is .00290 per btu, at 12.7 cents per KW the cost is .00371 per btu.

Of course there are many variables, efficiency of one heater over another, cost of delivery of propane, etc may change these rough estimates.

My guess is that your RV is going to use energy to heat it and the costs can vary on a daily basis. But, by looking at these numbers it's hard to condem the AquaHot as an energy hog.

Ken
 
John Canfield said:
But it's okay, I like the lifestyle  8).
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And I agree. You know John, it's not about counting penny's, it's about the lifestyle.  I figure you only go around once, and there is no "do over's".  Enjoy it as it comes by, because some day down the road you may not have the option to make up for lost time.
 
bucks2 said:
The government at www.afdc.energy.gov/pdfs/afv_info.pdf says propane contains 84,950 btu per gallon. Diesel 128,450 btu per gallon and electricity 3414 btu per KW.

Using $4.05 per gallon for diesel the cost is .00315 per btu. (all figures truncated at 5 digits) (Gas buddy advises diesel is available for as low as $3.79 in Tucson. The 29th station on the list is $4.05 per gallon)
Using the average of the five propane costs available on a google search in the Tucson area, $3.29 per gallon, the cost of propane is .00387 per btu
Electricity is a tough one because of variable pricing based on provider and the park markup or as one park says "the maximum charge allowed by law" I'll give a couple examples and you can plug in your own numbers if you know them. At .10 (ten cents) per KW the cost is .00290 per btu, at 12.7 cents per KW the cost is .00371 per btu.

Of course there are many variables, efficiency of one heater over another, cost of delivery of propane, etc may change these rough estimates.

My guess is that your RV is going to use energy to heat it and the costs can vary on a daily basis. But, by looking at these numbers it's hard to condem the AquaHot as an energy hog.

Ken
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Great info, Ken.  I suspect some of the "sticker shock" from my diesel bill was that I never notice Aqua-Hot fuel usage based only on producing hot water.  Hot air production seems to trump hot water production from a cost standpoint in the Aqua-Hot system.

Regarding the cost of diesel, on the trip down from Mesa, I never saw a price less than $4.05/gallon advertised.  We are headed back to NC in about 5 weeks, 2300 miles plus or minus, I would like to find $3.79/gallon as we travel I-10, it would make a difference.
 
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