M380 Hurricane Heater

[cmillsap]

I’m still working out some of the little items that need attention on my coach. I bought this M380 last April so I have owned it for only a few months and I’m still learning about it. I think I’m on to the last item that needs to be brought back to proper operation.

One of the items that I reserved to do last (because I’m unfamiliar with it) is getting the Hurricane Heating system to provide heat throughout all the registers in the coach. Presently only the two front registers blow warm air. That would be the one under the right side of the dash and the one under the L desk behind the passenger’s seat. These are in zone 1 along with another register located behind the dinette table. So 2 registers blow warm in zone one and 1 register blows cold.

The only register I’ve found in zone 2 is under the bed and it blows cold and both small registers in the bath blow cold.

All the controls are set as described below:

Both upper and lower switches are on at the unit in the bay

Hydronic Heat switch is on at dash. Hurricane heater switch in door under kitchen cabinet is on. Main thermostat (Aquahot) set to furnace on both zones 1 & 2 and set 10*s above room ambient temp. Bath thermostat is on and set all the way up.

This Hurricane only has 300 hours of operation on it. Nice clean exhaust from the diesel burner. Hurricane is cycling properly as determined on the readout but only the 2 front registers blow warm, all others blow cold.

All the heater hoses feel nice & warm exiting from the unit as far as I could trace them towards the registers.

I'm kinda at a loss at this point. I think I have all the controls set properly but maybe not? It just appears that the heated coolant (ha! an oxy moron) is not circulating through all the registers. I do not see any valves that could be turned off and preventing full circulation in all three zones. I guess it's possible that the hoses are kinked somewhere or the registers are plugged?

Anyone have any ideas on what the problem may be? Any suggestions would be appreciated..........

[davidbrady]

Chuck,

Maybe stuck check valves? This would mesh with lack of use.

[cmillsap]

(02-19-2013 19:30)davidmbrady Wrote:  Chuck,

Maybe stuck check valves? This would mesh with lack of use.

David,

The 2 circulating lines are PEX I believe and they (2 lines) leave the unit and go directly up into the coach in curb side bay just below the L desk behind the passenger seat. One line may be the delivery line and one may be the return? Anyway, I haven't found any other return lines yet. It may be that the line tees off there and feeds the 2 front registers which are blowing warm and the teed line back to the 3rd register and back to the rear of the coach is blocked. There may be check valves at that location. There is a raceway cover running along the bottom of the wall back to the frig enclosure. I'm in the process of removing that cover for an inspection to see if the lines run through it to the rear of the coach and if any check valves are located there.

[pgchin]

(02-19-2013 19:05)cmillsap Wrote:  I’m still working out some of the little items that need attention on my coach. I bought this M380 last April so I have owned it for only a few months and I’m still learning about it. I think I’m on to the last item that needs to be brought back to proper operation.

One of the items that I reserved to do last (because I’m unfamiliar with it) is getting the Hurricane Heating system to provide heat throughout all the registers in the coach. Presently only the two front registers blow warm air. That would be the one under the right side of the dash and the one under the L desk behind the passenger’s seat. These are in zone 1 along with another register located behind the dinette table. So 2 registers blow warm in zone one and 1 register blows cold.

The only register I’ve found in zone 2 is under the bed and it blows cold and both small registers in the bath blow cold.

All the controls are set as described below:

Both upper and lower switches are on at the unit in the bay

Hydronic Heat switch is on at dash. Hurricane heater switch in door under kitchen cabinet is on. Main thermostat (Aquahot) set to furnace on both zones 1 & 2 and set 10*s above room ambient temp. Bath thermostat is on and set all the way up.

This Hurricane only has 300 hours of operation on it. Nice clean exhaust from the diesel burner. Hurricane is cycling properly as determined on the readout but only the 2 front registers blow warm, all others blow cold.

All the heater hoses feel nice & warm exiting from the unit as far as I could trace them towards the registers.

I'm kinda at a loss at this point. I think I have all the controls set properly but maybe not? It just appears that the heated coolant (ha! an oxy moron) is not circulating through all the registers. I do not see any valves that could be turned off and preventing full circulation in all three zones. I guess it's possible that the hoses are kinked somewhere or the registers are plugged?

Anyone have any ideas on what the problem may be? Any suggestions would be appreciated..........

Chuck,
If I understand you correctly, when you set both thermostats to call for heat, all the registers fans that move air go on, but the small radiators in zone1 blow hot and zone 2 blow cold? "Bo don't know diddly" about Hurricane so this is just a SWAG but I agree with David, a stuck check valve or the basement thermostat is somehow off, in loop2, and somehow shutting loop 2 down?????? If you had a hurricane shop or install manual to post, I could look at it and give ya better SWAG.......sorry....

[cmillsap]

(02-20-2013 12:15)pgchin Wrote:  

(02-19-2013 19:05)cmillsap Wrote:  I’m still working out some of the little items that need attention on my coach. I bought this M380 last April so I have owned it for only a few months and I’m still learning about it. I think I’m on to the last item that needs to be brought back to proper operation.

One of the items that I reserved to do last (because I’m unfamiliar with it) is getting the Hurricane Heating system to provide heat throughout all the registers in the coach. Presently only the two front registers blow warm air. That would be the one under the right side of the dash and the one under the L desk behind the passenger’s seat. These are in zone 1 along with another register located behind the dinette table. So 2 registers blow warm in zone one and 1 register blows cold.

The only register I’ve found in zone 2 is under the bed and it blows cold and both small registers in the bath blow cold.

All the controls are set as described below:

Both upper and lower switches are on at the unit in the bay

Hydronic Heat switch is on at dash. Hurricane heater switch in door under kitchen cabinet is on. Main thermostat (Aquahot) set to furnace on both zones 1 & 2 and set 10*s above room ambient temp. Bath thermostat is on and set all the way up.

This Hurricane only has 300 hours of operation on it. Nice clean exhaust from the diesel burner. Hurricane is cycling properly as determined on the readout but only the 2 front registers blow warm, all others blow cold.

All the heater hoses feel nice & warm exiting from the unit as far as I could trace them towards the registers.

I'm kinda at a loss at this point. I think I have all the controls set properly but maybe not? It just appears that the heated coolant (ha! an oxy moron) is not circulating through all the registers. I do not see any valves that could be turned off and preventing full circulation in all three zones. I guess it's possible that the hoses are kinked somewhere or the registers are plugged?

Anyone have any ideas on what the problem may be? Any suggestions would be appreciated..........

Chuck,
If I understand you correctly, when you set both thermostats to call for heat, all the registers fans that move air go on, but the small radiators in zone1 blow hot and zone 2 blow cold? "Bo don't know diddly" about Hurricane so this is just a SWAG but I agree with David, a stuck check valve or the basement thermostat is somehow off, in loop2, and somehow shutting loop 2 down?????? If you had a hurricane shop or install manual to post, I could look at it and give ya better SWAG.......sorry....

Thank you, Pete,
Thats correct, one of the two register circuits is not returning the heated fluid. Both outbound lines from the unit are hot but only one return is warm, the other is stone cold. Actually, there is only one circuit out and returns to & from the unit to all the registers, The way we get two seperate circuits is that the lines tee off to two circuits outside the Huricane unit. One supplies the front and the other supplies the rear. The return line is teed in the same manner, one of the return lines to the tee is warm the other is cold.

The 2 basement heaters on a M380 are electric element heaters. The problem is finding the blockage if it is a check valve or a kink. I may just have to take it to a Hurricane service center and hope that they can find it.

[cmillsap]

I guess I can't leave it alone (Ha). I spoke to George Morris a little while ago. He said there are no check valves in the lines. He believes the problem probably is an air blockage in one of the registers. There are bleeder screws on each register but the big problem is accessing the registers to bleed the air. I try again tomorrow to get any air blockages out of the rear circuit.

[pgchin]

Thanks Chuck,
Rich is on to something if the Hurricane is like the Aquahot and zone 2 has its own circulation pump, great idea Rich! Thanks for the explanation Chuck. George has a great point as air is an issue with all of bird systems! Since the Tee out gets hot from zone2 but the return line is cold for zone 2 another SWAG may be a bad return tee valve on line 2. It may show "open" but in reality something might have broken off inside the line and it is somehow blocked. If its the kind that has the plastic handle and sits in the lines that was used on other vintages, then that could be a possibility. The only other way around bleeding the system that I know of other than what you described above is to get a submersible pump, a 5 gallon bucket and some extra heater hose and antifreeze. Break the supply and return line from the system for zone 2 and put them in the bucket with the pump attached to the supply line. Fill the bucket with the system antifreeze and let it push the air out and just let it run a while........sloppy and more $$$$$ but that is the only other idea I have for bleeding that I got out of the Aquahot "install" manual! In effect you are creating a zone 2 system with its own dedicated circulating pump and supply. Gosh, gotta love a challenge eh!

[cmillsap]

(02-21-2013 11:25)Bird Owner Wrote:  Does each zone have a separate circulator pump?

Thanks,Rich,

No, The Huricane has one circulating pump providing fluid to the registers in both circuits. The supply and return lines are split outside the unit with tees in both lines.
There is another small pump inside the unit used in another separate circuit for preheating the engine. This pump is controlled by a engine preheat switch on thee dash.

---

(02-21-2013 11:42)pgchin Wrote:  Thanks Chuck,
Rich is on to something if the Hurricane is like the Aquahot and zone 2 has its own circulation pump, great idea Rich! Thanks for the explanation Chuck. George has a great point as air is an issue with all of bird systems! Since the Tee out gets hot from zone2 but the return line is cold for zone 2 another SWAG may be a bad return tee valve on line 2. It may show "open" but in reality something might have broken off inside the line and it is somehow blocked. If its the kind that has the plastic handle and sits in the lines that was used on other vintages, then that could be a possibility. The only other way around bleeding the system that I know of other than what you described above is to get a submersible pump, a 5 gallon bucket and some extra heater hose and antifreeze. Break the supply and return line from the system for zone 2 and put them in the bucket with the pump attached to the supply line. Fill the bucket with the system antifreeze and let it push the air out and just let it run a while........sloppy and more $$$$$ but that is the only other idea I have for bleeding that I got out of the Aquahot "install" manual! In effect you are creating a zone 2 system with its own dedicated circulating pump and supply. Gosh, gotta love a challenge eh!

Thank, Peter,

The tees are plain old 1" brass and have no valve mechanism. I am not anxious to try to bleed the system through the bleeder screws on the registers. I agree with you and believe the best way to remove the blockage wheather it is air or debris is to backflush the system with water and replace the fluid. There are fittings available on the system to do this as shown in the pic below. You can see there are two hose bibs and a shutoff valve inbetween the two hose bibs. This is installed on the return line between the the tee and the HH unit.

I'm a little concerned to backflush the system first (through the left hose bib) as the reverse flowing fluid will flow back through the expansion tank in the unit before exiting the unit and the right hose bib. This because if it is debris blocking the flow, I may contaminate the expansion tank. So I think I will try pushing the fluid through the unit first (as it normally flows) and therefore push any debris out the left hose bib into the bucket.

I swear, owning Wanderlodge is full of challenges............

[Arcticdude]

Sure am glad I've got an AquaHot!

[pgchin]

Thanks Chuck, I hear ya!: But if we did not have a challenge to work, our brain would turn to mush!!!!!!;)hahahahaha, but yes sometimes they can be a pain and a BIG pain!!!! I also agree about flushing and direction. Hey, what if you close zone 1 and force all through zone 2.......easy enough to try without too much work, no?????????? This way the circulation pump it dedicated to zone 2 only to force the air out, if there is any???????