AuqaHot replacement with Espar - Who has done it??

[nvrtoofast]

Hey All,

 

I've enjoyed my AuqaHot Unit. The furnace heat is great in cold climates. As the unit is aging I'm entertaining the possibility of swapping the AuqaHot system for the Espar system. The Espar seems smaller overall and the details seem to show the ability to put out enough temperature. I'm curious how it merges with the furnace heat, etc.

I would like to hear any hands on experience for the swap and any possible reasons why not to do it. I'll be doing the swap myself and photos are always welcome.

I look forward to hearing your experience.

[96 EVO]

Dr4Film

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Posted December 15, 2022

Unless you intend on removing the Aqua-Hot unit to rebuild it yourself which will save you tons of money, my suggestion would be to scrap the POS and install an Espar Mobile Comfort Model 16 unit which is more powerful than any of the Aqua-Hot units. The overall size is smaller, 5-gallon boiler tank, easier to service yourself and has hot water on demand. There are many more advantages to the Espar unit versus being stuck with another failure prone Aqua-Hot unit.

Here is the link to where my friend had his installed.

Rixen’s Enterprises, Inc. | MCS16 Furnace System Complete (rixens.com)

Only one I know of!

The pair of 2000W electric elements would be a bonus!

[vito.a]

Competition is always good for the consumer but in this case I'm not sure I see any advantages.  I just spent time and money rebuilding our Aqua Hot but it has been in service for 19 years!  I fully expect to get another 10-20 years from it.

Comparison: The MCS16 is 54,000BTU while the older Aqua hot units are 50,000BTU and most of the newer Aqua Hot units are 60,000BTU. 

The MCS16 is 18.5" W x 10" H x30" L. The Aqua Hot dimensions are 18.5" W x 18.5" H  x 36.75" L.  So you gain 8" in height but you still can't stack anything on it and the footprint is almost identical.   The Aqua Hot 450 systems are smaller but I'm not a fan of those either as they use a very small boiler.  

The fuel burn rates are identical at .5 gal per hour.  

The MCS16 weighs about 90# less (112lbs vs 200lbs).  This worries me for long term usage.  

You are going to easily spend over $10k for the MCS16 plus any other conversion or installation costs.  You can completely rebuild your existing Aqua Hot for half that cost IF you do the labor yourself.  

I'm interested in watching your conversion thread and hope it works out well.  

Edited April 21, 2023 by vito.a

[96 EVO]

4 minutes ago, vito.a said:

   The Aqua Hot 450 systems are smaller but I'm not a fan of those either as they use a very small boiler.  

 

Well, that's what your getting with the Espar unit. Both boiler tanks hold about 5gal, so, frequent cycling in diesel mode!

[nvrtoofast]

Great information. Thank you all.

[Dr4Film]

Bryan,

The person to talk with that has had two installed, one in his 03 Diplomat and one in his now 02 HR Imperial, is Gene Howe.

Send him a message!

gene.howe - Bill D’s Monacoers

[Guest Ray Davis]

There was a Dallas area Doctor on the old Yahoo group who built his own heating system using mostly Espar stuff IIRCC.  He was quite an inventive guy and I wish I had saved his posts about it.

[djlgnd]

Anyone know of a dealer on the West Coast of Canada. want to get rid of the 2003 100-01s unit in my Monaco Camelot

[Dr4Film]

Your closest dealer may be the one in Oregon.

Have you tried to Google any information in regard to possible dealers? Google is your friend.

Or you could call the one in Oregon to see if they know of someone on the west side of Canada that could help you.

[djlgnd]

thank you for the input, going to do it today