Second day working on the Aqua Hot. Removed all of the 4 pumps. Cleaned, replaced pump seals, checked impellers, checked motor brushes, bench tested motors. Three house zone pumps were chowing signs of leaking. The diesel preheat pump was ok but we still changed the seal and cleaned the pump and motor on the outside. The three zone pumps above were leaking over the preheat pump. We are waiting for the fuel filter and burner nozzle to maintenace our fuel system, burner and chamber.
Foretravel made a bad decision putting the Aqua Hot in the middle. The batteries should have been in the middle instead of the Aqua Hot. For something that should be serviced frequently, it is in a bad spot. A big PITA.
I learned a lot from the job. The pumps are driven by a magnetic driven impeller (see picture). The motor never touches the impeller. With that in mind, if you accidentally leave your preheat pump on with the engine running it will not hurt the pump.
I'm curious as to how much this job would have cost if I didn't do the job myself. It might make me feel better after all the pain and suffering in the bay of hell. Remove, rebuild, replace 4 pumps, service burner, replace nozzle, replace filter, clean chamber and cleaned Aquat Hot pan and bay from dried up up Antifreeze build up.
It's been a learning process,
John M.
Quite likely the aqua hots location was part of the weight balance for the coach. Batteries, aqua hot and propane tank are across the front compartment if memory serves me
John,
Camping World in Ft. Myers, Florida is running a special starting today (March 1st);
Remove, rebuild, replace 4 pumps, service burner, replace nozzle, replace filter, clean chamber and cleaned Aquat Hot pan and bay from dried up Antifreeze build up...........$29.95.
I got it done last year, but I had a CW 10% discount coupon, so it was about $27. ;D ;D
Nice job, John. Don't go to CW in spite of what the BSers suggest. Rudy's help comes from real world experience and is almost always free (except for parts you may need). If you are not sure about something it is worth a call to him. Lots of other opinions and guesses out there to choose from as well for what they are worth.
I have spent time crawling into the basement to work on mine too. A wee bit cramped for a tall person with not so good knees and hips but it can be done. The alternative in later years to put batteries in that space seems much worse to me. Almost 500 lbs of batteries in a dark hole. Hooking up cables and all. I like mine the way it is. Of course if you are paying someone else to do your work then whatever.
Roger,
Yes, they must love using CW. I know better. It's coming along. Yes, I did call Rudy for insight and he was more than helpful. Carmen couldn't believe how much time he spent with me on the phone giving me advice. Great guy with a lot of great info. The project is coming along, just taking our time to get it done right.
Thanks for the help,
John M.
Sense of humor? Checking your tire pressures cost more than $29.95 at CW.
Pretty sure John knew it was tongue in cheek.
My coaches original owner ordered it without a slide out tray. Much easier to service the aqua hot
John, hopefully the check valves behind pumps are ok as they can cause heating/circulating problems if they are leaking back at all.
I do not have Aquahot but have installed a unit and done servicing on them for friends. Actually fairly simple system mechanically.
Still like our propane heating though.
JohnH
Pumps are in, primed, running great and no leaks. I need to come up with some type of support for the engine preheat pump to take stress off of the elbow going into the Aqua Hot that has been a problem with some Aqua Hot Owners.
A big THANKS to the helpful advice from Rudy Legett on this project. Big project, but a great learning experience. Now off to change the fuel filter, nozzle and clean out the combustion chamber.
John M.
John, I think I know what your talking about on the support for that pipe. I posted on the same problem and did a very rudimentary fix for supporting that pipe. Doesn't have to be high tech, just has to do the job. Looks like you are doing a great job!
John
Glad everything went well. The pain from working in that space is worth it when everything works out well.
Jason
Last night I ran the Aqua Hot and cycled the pumps for a long time then shut it down for the night. Today I peaked inside and found a drip. See attached picture. It looks like a bad solder joint. I can't disassemble the pipes so I'm going to seal it with a plumbers epoxy putty, Blue Magic Copper Epoxy Putty. Will report the results later.
John M
Well the putty worked on the above leak but I found another leak on the upper elbow off off the preheat pump. I tried the putty with no luck. The elbow is too close to the aqua hot wall. We are taking the preheat pump out and we are going to remove the elbow assembly up to the wall. At that time we will determine if we are going to solder a new elbow, use Shark Bite or use a hose with clamps. It has been a long and challenging project. If no luck with any of the above connections we will bypass the preheat pump and move on. We will keep you informed.
John, I used a shark bite fitting for our eng preheat tubing and has worked out fine. Much easier than trying to solder.
Richard,
Were you able to get a torch in there to remove the old connection? Did you have to remove all of the old solder to install the shark bite?
John, yes, and yes. I tried to solder a new fitting but it was too difficult for me to do so I went with the shark bite. Pretty sure I posted pictures about it. My leak was on the elbow after the circulating pump and after the Union. Close to the floor.
One positive with having your AH in the center..
On ours yes the AH is in an outside bay next to and partially under the drvrs side fuel tank extension.
You must first run the fuel tank down to nearly empty, remove the extension tank before you can remove the cover over the boiler side ..
And all the return lines for the engine,Genset and AH go to that fuel tank extension..royal PITA.
Thanks for the positive note.
Well the painfull job is over. The Aqua Hot was leaking in multiple places. The pumps needed new seals and then the dreadful leak on the engine preheat pump. Most people have problems with the lower elbow fitting cracking and leaking due to vibration of the pump because it has no support. My problem was on the upper elbow. I tried the epoxy putty with no luck. The leak would not stop. After an hour of waiting I was able to remove the putty before the putty was rock solid.
I removed the engine preheat pump all the way to the union and discovered the S shaped copper line going into the Aqua Hot was very loose. The elbow was not fused to the line going into the Aqua Hot allowing me to wiggle the connection. I was able to heat up the elbow and removed it from the line. I also removed both pump stand sections and the union fitting on the right side of the pump. This made the entire assembly shorter by almost 6 inches allowing me to shift the pump to the left and connecting it directly to the bulkhead fitting. This shift put the pump directly in front on the upper pumps support bar allowing me to band the pump to the bar for support. The copper S section was cut and resoldered on the fitting close to the pump. The shift allowed me enough room to put a section of heater hose to the tube at the Aqua Hot wall and the tube on the pump.
Problem solved and no leaks so far
That looks like a great fix.
Great work a round John! Where there's a will, there's a ways1
I bookmarked this one as I will be servicing my AH in the next couple of weeks. May do preventative maintenance and modify like yours. I am only 4 build numbers away.
Those pump stand connectors are so that you can remove the pump without re plumbing the thing each time. The pictures indicate that the fittings will have to be cut if you want the pump out. They dont appear to have enough room to spin/ unscrew without hitting the floor panel . Is that correct?
Every time the pumps starts and stops it torques the fittings. Maybe add another strap on the other side of the pump to help reduce the movement?
The union in figure 17 is what needs to be loosen to disconnect the pump assembly from the Aqua Hot line. Then you still need to remove the bulkhead fitting to get the pump assembly out. In my assembly I have to remove the hose from the right side of the pump and then remove the bulkhead fitting directly attached to the pump and the support clamp. We have a much shorter assembly and easier to get in and out and nothing to cut.
Well last night in Florida it got down to 46 degrees so I let the Aqua Hot run all night with all zones and the engine preheat running all night. Praise God it was dry and no leaks. I was going to leave the Aqua Hot cover off as Rudy suggested but I replaced the cover and found that it reduced the noise level from the Aqua Hot inside the coach big time.
I want to thank all of you and your thoughtful ideas, even the the comedians in the very beginning of my post. All comments were welcomed and appreciated. Hopefully this post will encourage someone to fix their Aqua Hot themselves. I went into the job with fear of the unknown and I came out filled with new knowledge and confidence. Anyone having specific questions feel free to message me. Now on to the next job.
I put my cover back on as well. It makes for a tidy space and less noise.
Every job you do, thought through, with a helping hand as needed and done in a methodical way builds skills and confidence. That is the best part of doing what you can yourself. Great job, John!
Thanks Roger.