Aquatech Dynamic X8 Review

At Powrhouse, we believe Aquatech’s Dynamic X8 (previously called “Hydrotherm”) is the best value heat pump hot water unit on the market. In our review of the Aquatech Dynamic X8, we set out the things we like, and don’t like about this heat pump hot water unit.

In our article and video “How to Choose a Heat Pump Hot Water Unit“, we set out a framework of four key factors in analysing heat pump hot water units:

Cost
Reliability/Warranty
Refrigerant
Maintenance

Below, we run the Dynamic X8 through our framework.

Hydrotherm Dynamic X8 — A Powrhouse installation in Camberwell in February 2024

1. Aquatech Dynamic X8 Cost

A Dynamic X8 through Powrhouse costs around $2,000 fully installed (assuming customers are eligible for the Solar Victoria rebate). This price includes a plumber to disconnect and remove the existing unit, an electrician to wire the unit to the switchboard and Powrhouse to coordinate the installation and claim rebates and incentives on your behalf. Installation may cost higher if the unit will be in a new location, if wiring costs extra or if there is no more room on the switchboard.

We’d describe this price as mid range. It’s at the lower end of the more affordable units (eg: iStore, Apricus, Haier, Rinnai) and considerably lower than the premium units (eg: Sanden, Reclaim). It’s more expensive than what we think are poorer quality units like Emerald, Ecogenica, Enviroheat.

2. Reliability and Warranty

When analysing reliability, we recommend people research reviews and online forums. It’s one thing to take our word, or a plumber’s word, but a multitude of reviews are very helpful. We also place greater value on reviews of units that have been operating for a long time. Reviews of units that have been operating for 5 years are more valuable than reviews of units that have been operating for 5 months. We like Product Review and the Facebook Group My Electric Efficient Home.

The Dynamic X8 currently rates as 4.7 on Product Review from hundreds reviews. That’s an impressive result. You can’t please everyone and things will go wrong. The Reclaim Unit is widely considered as the Rolls Royce of heat pump hot water units and receives 4.8. There are other units that are reviewed slightly better, but they either fall down on cost or refrigerant.

The Dynamic X8 used to have a 6 year warranty, but disappointingly this has been reduced to a 5 year warranty on the tank and 2 year warranty on labour. This is probably the only negative of Aquatech units. We’d like to see the warranty period increased. Aquatech and other manufacturers suggest the units should last 10 to 15 years – we’d like to see them back up those claims with a longer warranty. One positive is that Aquatech has been around for a long time, with its first unit in market in 2011, so that’s a good sign the company will be around for a long time to back up any warranty claims.

3. Refrigerant

The Dynamic X8 uses Propane (R290) as a refrigerant. Propane has a Global Warming Potential (GWPs) of 3 and is only bettered by Carbon Dioxide as a refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential of 1.

Unfortunately, the bulk of the market uses terrible refrigerants with astronomically high GWPs. Powrhouse will never deal in these units. Manufacturers claim that units will be disposed of correctly and there are incentives for people to capture these refrigerants, but Powrhouse takes a more realistic view: people will be people. Some trades will take the easiest and cheapest method of disposal, meaning these gases can and will escape with terrible consequences for the environment.

The Australian government has banned the import and manufacture of refrigerants with a GWP of higher than 700. From 1 July 2024, many other units in the mid range price point will need to use new refrigerants. This will likely lead to performance and reliability issues as new inputs are used in manufacturing. We will continue recommending units that have been operating in the market for a suitable length of time.

4. Maintenance

Aquatech’s heat pump hot water units are very easy to maintain. Owners are required to open the PTR valve and check the unit every six months, as well as a major service every five years. This is consistent with the better quality units on the market. Some poorer quality units even require a plumber to maintain the unit every six months, which is a pain and will drive up running costs over the long run.

At the risk of being too technical, one of the reasons why Aquatech’s units are so easy to maintain is they use an impressed current anode to protect the tank. Most units on the market use a sacrificial anode – a long rod of magnesium or other reactive metal that sacrifices itself instead of the tank. These are effective but they degrade, leading to a build up of residue which needs to be flushed, and they need to be checked and replaced. An impressed current anode on the other hand uses an electric current to protect the tank, resulting in less maintenance for owners.

Other Factors

A review of the Aquatech Dynamic X8 should also consider other factors:

Noise – the unit operates at 43dB, at the lower end of the market
Tank Recovery time – at around 270 mins (or 4.5 hours), this is consistent with the rest of the market.
Place of Manufacture – the units are manufactured in China, which is arguably another drawback. This has occasionally led to stock issues as we await deliveries to Australia. We would prefer to support local manufacturing. Unfortunately there only appears to be one or two units fully manufactured in Australia (Rheem and Rinnai), but they fall down in terms of reliability and refrigerant.