I have a Newmar Mountain Aire Class A RV that uses an Oasis Hydronic System for heating water and heating the coach. A friend who had just gotten a similar coach asked me about the operation of the heating system. He was in Montana and the weather had turned cold. I realized that I did not fully understand the workings of the system myself. Since I do a lot of my own maintenance, I thought it would be beneficial to do some research to try and understand the system better. Here is what I found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oasis Heating system uses a diesel burner controlled\nby a multi-function controller as a primary source to heat a coolant fluid (anti-freeze\nand water). It also uses two 1500-watt AC immersion elements as secondary heat sources.\nThe system heats the fluid which can then be circulated to meet all heating\nneeds. This includes hot water demand as well as coach heating.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Oasis System accomplishes this in multiple ways depending\non the specific demands to the system. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I stated, the Oasis system heats a coolant that is circulated to meet all hydronic heating needs. It accomplishes this with the use of a heating module and a distribution module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The heating Module contains an 8.2-gallon stainless steel coolant tank that is insulated to minimize heat loss. It is this coolant in the tank that is the source of heated fluid. When combined with the Distribution Module and its integrated pumps, the Heating Module is able to circulate the coolant fluid to all spaces that heating is needed. Using the integrated heat exchanger in the Distribution Module, the Heating Module can also provide a supply of hot water for showers and sinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Distribution Module, as the name suggests, handles the distribution of the coolant fluid to where it is needed. It does this with three distribution pumps, a heat exchanger for heating multiple zones, engine heat function and domestic hot water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operation of the system depends upon the heat source\nselected and the demands required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Different RV\u2019s will have different remote control panels,\nbut they will all have the ability to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Burner is considered the Primary source for heat, it is perfectly acceptable to use one or both of the AC elements instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating the system in the Summer months with full hookup\navailable offers a few choices. Since heat demands will probably be limited to\nhot water requirements, the choice of heat source can be minimal. As long as\nthere is any heat source active, the Distribution Module will respond to a call\nfor hot water. You could select the burner, or one AC element or two AC\nelements or all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Use of the Burner requires the use of the coach\u2019s\nfuel supply. Remember to watch the fuel levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: The use of the Burner will provide continuous hot\nwater, where use of the AC elements may provide limited hot water. (I have\nnever had an issue with running out of hot water using just the AC elements.)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating the system in the Summer months while boondocking can\nlimit your choices. If you are going to be running your generator the whole\ntime, you can operate the same as above. If you plan to stay on the batteries\nas much as possible, you would need to use the burner. Since the AC immersion elements require 110\nvolts, you would not be able to use them. The load demands on the immersion\nelements would be too high for an inverter in most RV\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Use of the Burner requires the use of the coach\u2019s\nfuel supply. Remember to watch the fuel levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Oasis system makes use of a Summer loop and a Winter\nloop. In the Summer loop only the water for the showers and sinks is being\nheated. In the Winter loop, coolant is being circulated to the various heat exchangers\nin the coach\u2019s cabin zones that require heating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This \u201cWinter loop\u201d is activated by turning on the Heat at the\nthermostats. This will allow for the coolant to start circulating through the\nheat exchangers for the different cabin zones. Raising the setpoint temperature\nfor a specific zone causes the fan for that zone to start blowing air across\nthe heat exchanger. There is an aquastat\nthat will prevent the fan from blowing cold air into the cabin. Once the temperature\nin the cabin zone has reached the called for temperature, the fan will stop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, even if the setpoint temperature is lower than the\noutside air, the coolant will still circulate through the heat exchangers,\nwhich will allow for heat to build up in the coach. Make sure to turn off the\nHeat when not needed. This will place the system back in the \u201cSummer loop\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Determining which heat source to use will depend on different\nfactors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be able to satisfy your requirements with one of the\nsources, or you may need to use all three sources. Either way is acceptable to\nthe system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Use of the Burner requires the use of the coach\u2019s\nfuel supply. Remember to watch the fuel levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Operation of the system is basically the same as above with\nthe exception of power requirements. Again, if you plan to run the generator\nthe majority of the time, then your options are the same. If you plan on being\non the batteries as much as possible, then you are limited to burner operation.\nDepending on the factors I mentioned above, this will take some management. For\nexample, you would probably not want to try and shower at the same time you are\ntrying to get the coach warmed up. Or you may need to find a happy medium for\ngenerator on and off times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Use of the Burner requires the use of the coach\u2019s\nfuel supply. Remember to watch the fuel levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some common problems with the systems as outlined in the\noperating manual are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Owner maintenance on the system is pretty basic. It consists\nof:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any mechanical system, the Oasis System can have\nproblems. I have read most about pumps failing from time to time. I read of one\ncoach owner that had a bad weld on the coolant tank. Most say that the Oasis\ntends to be better than others on the market. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The use of the burner is considered the primary heat source according to the manufacturer. Many coach owners do not use the burner when the weather is mild and there is full hookup available. It is perfectly acceptable to use any of the heat sources in the system separately or together.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Oasis Heating system uses a diesel burner controlled by a multi-function controller as a primary source to heat a coolant fluid (anti-freeze and water). It also uses two 1500-watt AC immersion elements as secondary heat sources. The system heats the fluid which can then be circulated to meet all heating needs. This includes hot water demand as well as coach heating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":42,"label":"RV Camping"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Michael Ivey","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/m-ivey\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":42,"name":"RV Camping","slug":"rv-camping","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":42,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":24,"count":41,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":42,"category_count":41,"category_description":"","cat_name":"RV Camping","category_nicename":"rv-camping","category_parent":24}],"tag_info":false,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10325,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/10325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} The system explained <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Heating Module<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Distribution Module<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Operation of the system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Operation in Summer with Full Hookup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Operation in Summer while Boondocking without Hookups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Operation in Winter with full hookup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Operation in Winter while Boondocking with no Hookups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Oasis System Problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Oasis Hydronic System Maintenance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Related Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is the Oasis Heating System problematic?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When should you use the burner?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n