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Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Yahoo Message Number: 2719
Hi, wheeler here, thanks for your comments and observations about air leveling. Another question please...

Do you like your coach's Hurricane diesel-fired hydronic heating system? Is it reliable? Quiet? Quickly and powerfully responsive to a cold outdoor temperature shift? No diesel smell in the coach? Is the diesel smell outside very objectionable?

Does Hurricane also provide or add to "endless" domestic hot water? (Another hydronic heating system, Aqua-Hot, does provide endless domestic hot water.) It appears that for 2003 on Intrigue and above, CC uses a separate 10 gallon propane/electric water heater. My question is if you order the garden bath tub option, how can enough hot water be produced to fill the small tub, which must take more than ten gallons? Thank you all. --wheeler

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2751
We LOVE our Hurricane Heater in our 2001 Intrigue Suite of Dreams. We rarely use the heat pumps. The HH is nice and quiet and gives us all the heat we need. Re: enough hot water for a tub...I wouldn't think you needed to worry too much...the hot water heater with the electric only gives us AMPLE water for two LONG showers...remember the water heater in an RV is set for a higher temp than we had at home, so you use less hot water to the cold to get your favorite temp. If you have the propane going too, that's an "assist" to give you a faster recovery rate, so you shouldn't have to worry about the tub not having enough hot water. (It doesn't hold much anyway.)

We've never noticed any diesel smell problems in or out with our HH...but the exhaust is HOT!

BTW, one upgrade we couldn't live without and that has been worth its weight in gold, was the heated tile floors (NuHeat)...would HIGHLY recommend that upgrade. We almost always have them on. It keeps the floors lovely but I think also contributes to keeping the RV less damp when you are in damp areas (like coastal CA where we are now.)

Keep asking the questions and you'll find your perfect RV!

Jan Mcneill

2001 Intrigue 11320

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2752
Hello, Jan, thank you for taking the time to respond. The idea of hydronic heat like Hurricane does sound very comfortable and convenient, esp. since it burns diesel off your "big" tank and not propane off smaller tank. I had done a search of this topic on this forum and I had found so many people writing about problems with Hurricane-- the two predominant ones were that it stopped working entirely or engine coolant was leaking. Anyway, I'm wondering if CC and Hurricane have straightened out these malfunctions and if owners are left with a reliable system. Thanks again for your help! --wheeler

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2768
I am very happy with my HH vs. the propane furnace. I have had this coach for a year and have had no problems (knock wood!) ....... it has run every time I turned it on and have only a VERY slight drip of coolant for a spot I can easily see so I'm leaving that for the factory.
We have been in low 30's temps for the past week and have all the heat we can use! I will tell you that when the outside temp is above 45 or so I use the heat pumps and let the campground electricity heat the coach.
I have never smelled any diesel while using the HH. In my coach, there is a problem with the exhaust/muffler being attached to the HH with a vertical connection which continually comes apart while driving (I'm on the way to the factory for that and a few other things).

Hope this helps with your background research.

Dick May

2002 Intrigue, #11438
Dick May
2002 Intrigue, #11438, towing a
2014 Jeep Gr Cherokee ecoDiesel

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2797
Hi,

I am one of the new Allure owners field trialing the HH system only and so far, it is pretty complicated. Here are some of our initial thoughts. 1. There is no switch for the electrical water heater system. 2. The elec element does not heat much water, not even one shower. 3. Turning on and leaving the HH on just for water makes the system cycle alot, just to keep the water hot. Seems kind of wasteful. We had elec water heat with LP back up and a 10 gal tank, we could take two showers easily or a load of clothes. 4. So far even with the HH on we've only got one shower of hot water, and then we have to wait, and the funny thing is it's the second shower that's hotter than the first. It also had quite a bit of fluid leaking but I think I found the spot and tightened the hose clamp. I cleaned up the spot and it hasn't leaked since. 5. It makes a lot more noise than I would have thought. When the burner goes on it is loud, and late at night it sounds loud. Also when the system shuts down there is a loud squeal like a valve is sticking as it is closed. Anyway we love our new 03 Allure it is the best we've ever had, we've owned a fleetwood, an airstream, two winnebagos including their best Ultimate Freedom, and nothing else even comes close, except the Foretravel, which we loved but couldn't make a deal on.

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2798
I leave the electric elements off by turning off at the breaker(s) in the bedroom. They are useless for heating even a small amount of water. I have found that if I let the hot water run for about 4 or 5 minutes first, then the Hurricane Heater will wake up and perform like it was designed to. At first, the unit appears to cycle too much and will not provide continuous hot water. After letting it run a few minutes, it works great. It has been worked on by the dealer, but still can be aggravating at times. I'm not sure if Country Coach or the dealers really understand the problems with these Hurricane units.

One question also, does your remote LED at the remote switch on the control panel above the door display the same codes as the LED on the control panel at the Hurricane heater? Mine never displays anything except a "red dot" when the heater is firing.

Thanks,

'02 Intrigue - #11480

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2800
Thank you for your comments.

I sincerely hope CC monitors this bb and takes notes.
It appears the person who designs the layout for electric water heater switches is called Murphy and this individual has moved around the industry creating havoc for new rv owners.
On our prior mh (SOB) we spent weeks trying to figure out where the on off switch was. The owners manual had a description and picture but in our coach no sign of the switch in that location. Ultimately we discovered the switch next to the washer drier location (we didn't have a washer drier, however).
When we purchased our used Intrigue we had the same problem. Thanks to the bb we discovered that to switch on the water heater we had to remove the drawer beneath the pantry, reach in and use the switch on the back of the water heater. What a PITA. I do not believe the prior owner ever discovered that switch.
Then someone smarter then I suggested turning the heater on/off by using the breaker in the bedroom and that is how we now operate.
We have the older hurricane plus LP and electric heat and personally like the option of all three.
Have not used our hurricane a great deal as when hooked up to shore power we always use the electric water heat. However, we are about to travel into a colder zone so expect to use it for space heating.
Later in the month we will be in JC for two recall items, one of which is some work on the HH so hopefully the technicians there will check the entire system while performing the recall work.

David and Karen,

2000 Intrigue, 11062.
 

Re: Do you like your Hurricane Heat?

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 2808
Thanks, I wonder if the two circuits in the bedroom were the electric ones. And yes, I went out and checked to make sure the two symbols were the same, and they were. I guess we just have to use it more and get more familiar with it. thanks again for writing.