Water heater wows

[Chris Bend OR]

Any idea which brand of hydronic heater is the most reliable out there? experience is more than welcome. Thanks everyone

[rockbender]

Hey Chris, I sent you a text before your number disappeared assuming it was a cell. Just let me know here if you didn't get it.

Another thing I was thinking of was how important is the diesel engine to you? It certainly has its pro's and con's (discussed in much detail around here - just do a search and you'll read for days), but as mentioned you will be paying a premium for the 7.3 PSD.

The most common hydronic heater will be the Espar. It is a great route, but don't expect it to be cheap - especially if you are farming out the install.

[1der]

Re: Hydronic for space heating: Espar is one of the manufacturers for hydronic heating. They are good.

We looked at heating design extensively. A factory rear heat/AC unit is really effective at handling environmental conditions while driving. It really does not take up much usable space, we kept ours.

The Espar D5 (hydronic) is a great unit - for heating water but it sounds like a jet engine even with the optional muffler. This noise issue along with the electrical draw of both wter pump, fan to circulate heat and complexity of design scratched the D5 in favor of an Espar D4 Airtronic for our build.

How do you you see yourselves using/needing hot water ?

[Vindisl]

I'm in sort-of a similar situation and here's how I'm planning to tackle it. My SMB original water heater is 15 years old, rarely used, is still functional - but rusting. So rather than replacing, I'm planning to remove it altogether and gain some storage space under the sink. For occasional hot water needs I'll use a butane stove. The stove can also cook, is cheaper, less complex and less maintenance. The money saved by not doing the water heater, could go towards installing ( which I did ) an Espar D2 cabin heater.