Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Topic: Rebuilding Aqua Hot (Read 6004 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #50 – March 18, 2020, 11:16:16 am

Quote from: Rudy – March 18, 2020, 10:43:45 am

Larry, The electric element is 120 vac and is not fused. A 20 amp circuit breaker protects that circuit. The circuit breaker is in the 120 vac panel.

A 20 Amp circuit should only carry 1920 Watts @ 120V (80% of breaker size)

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #51 – March 18, 2020, 02:07:47 pm

Thanks for the info. Since I'm not the electrical type, is a 20 amp fuse big enough to handle the larger element? If so, should the wiring be upsized.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #52 – March 18, 2020, 03:15:49 pm

A 20 amp breaker at 120V can handle total of 2,400 watts before it trips and it might take a little while at that wattage before it does trip. So in answer to the question, yes. But, If I was figuring out a circuit to handle a 2,200 watt heater I would take the 2200 watts x 1.25% to come up with a circuit that would be able to handle 2,750 watts. Thus a number 10 wire with a 25 amp fuse or circuit breaker and I would then be able to sleep good at night.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #53 – March 18, 2020, 05:55:52 pm

Thanks for the info Turbojack. Not sure if I will change it out or not. Is there a way to test the old one to see if it is still good?

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #54 – March 18, 2020, 06:13:52 pm

The mastic hardened overnight and it looks really good. Only the first and the last loop came loose and I think that I can get them to size down to the tank. They only came up about 1/8". With all the rest sitting tight I don't think that I will loose much heat, especially if I put a layer of mastic over the top and then the new insulation in the box.

I put the boiler assembly into the main box to begin figuring out how I am going to modify it. I am seeing how to reroute some hoses so that I can put shut off valves on the engine coolant and isolate it if I want to remove again. The valves located on it now will isolate the boiler so that it won't be necessary to drain it to work on it. I'm also going to move the tempering valve assembly further out from under the burner motor. This will allow me to have the connections located on the outside of the box. I will have to do some rework of the hot and cold water lines but I think I can run them further out of the way.

I spent over half of the day running down parts to fabricate a pressure test gauge to make sure that my soldered joints had no leaks. Got the parts and began assembling it an snapped off the gauge. Figures. Back to NAPA , got a new gauge and came home and set up the test. SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No leaks. It has held 100# pressure for over 3 hrs now. I'm feeling confident it is good to go. That is a great big weight off my shoulders.

Tomorrow, the new coating on the outside.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #55 – March 19, 2020, 08:50:42 am

Here's the good news for the morning. The pressure test held for over 16 hrs. I hereby declare victory on onward with the project.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #56 – March 19, 2020, 02:24:12 pm

Gotta cut the day short today, got places to be this evening. Here's the update. Got a layer of mastic covering the outer part of the coils. Went on smooth. It will take at least a day to dry and cure with the high humidity that has set in for today. Calling for heavy showers so I expect that to slow the process. I used less than 1 gallon of the Chemax. I still have an unopened container if someone can use it, PM me.

I went to the muffler shop to pick up the new exhaust. He had a question about length so it wasn't quite done. I told him about not putting on the muffler and he was good with that. Said he had another job that he would use the muffer on, so he wasn't out any money. Total cost for new pipe. bending and flaring, cutting into 2 pieces and flaring so it will fit, 4 clamps and a chrome straight tip $43.00. I was expecting much more. I will recommend him to anybody in need.

When I got back, Prime had delivered my new ceramic insulation. Surprise. It wasn't scheduled to be here till next week. All the better. I can get the insulation on with the cold weather coming tomorrow and begin the actual re-installation process, as soon as the mastic dries.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #57 – March 20, 2020, 03:05:20 pm

Larry,

It sounds like you have a handle on this project, good deal! When you apply the mastic, its easiest to just use rubber gloves and use your hands, it will be a mess, but you will be able to uniformly cover all the copper relatively quickly. I hope you were able to get a heavier grade copper pipe than regular, it will last longer. It is tough to find quality products, but you can if you search for it. Check the insulation to make sure it can be reused without hazard.

Keep us posted!

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #58 – March 20, 2020, 03:06:19 pm

You got it!! funny

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #59 – March 20, 2020, 06:09:35 pm

The mastic set up nicely so today after cutting the new insulation and gluing it in I put the boiler into the box. I bolted it down, something that wasn't there from when I removed. I did some rework on the wires showing deterioration. The front panel was bent in multiple places when I bought it. I looks like someone pried the top corner away trying to get inside. I straightened the panel out a lot. It shows the old crease lines but it looks much better than before, and with some minor adjustments it fits and aligns with the original rivet holes.

Tomorrow I'm getting some more pipe fittings in order to rework the engine coolant lines and the fresh water lines. Once I am satisfied with that, I will rivet the panels back together and finish the insulation around the tank.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #60 – March 20, 2020, 07:12:32 pm

I used the self tap Phillip head screws with the larger flat head to put back together .. Just in case I need to take it apart in the future I wont have to drill the rivits

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #61 – March 20, 2020, 08:45:46 pm

I used stainless self tappers too!! good call.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #62 – March 21, 2020, 09:31:48 pm

Today I began some of the modifications for the hookups. I loosely fitted the plumbing back together to try to make sure that something moved wouldn't be in the way of something else. I want to relocate the diesel fuel filter. It has been moved to laying horizontal in the area where the 3 zone pumps are. It is not easy to get to for changing the filters. The AH manual doesn't show on the schematic where it belongs, but on the side panel there are 2 holes which have the same dimension that the hanging bracket has. I assume someone moved it from there to the inside panel. I've not decided where to relocate it yet.

I disassembled the plumbing and began resoldering the copper lines. I lengthend the lines feeding the tempering valve so that the connections now protrude thru the housing outside the box. I am doing similar extensions for the engine preheat lines. I only had a couple of hours today, probably about the same tomorrow if I'm lucky.

I took the others advice and used self tapping screws instead of rivets to hold the front panel in place. It seems to hold well and the heads will be located in the back still out of sight. I may still use rivets on the other panels just to have a more finished look.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #63 – March 21, 2020, 10:03:13 pm

Our AH fuel filter is in the first bay on the driver's side where the generator blower and access handle is at. Easy to service.
John M.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #64 – March 21, 2020, 10:23:49 pm

I changed out the fuel filter for the aqua hot and put in a small racor knock off. It's easy to access in the aqua hot compartment. It's a little inline filter I removed and threw away. Did that all when I changed out the fuel lines. Think I paid like $50 for it.
Following this thread closely as probably a lot of us are, since I know at some point I will have to do this too. And since I don't want to pay $8,000 to have aqua hot company do it, I plan on doing it myself if I can. Might just do it proactively next year. Since I found a lot of things on this coach not fully up to standard, due to some maintenance issues possibly, or maybe just not being used enough, I'm sure I'm probably have the same issues with the aqua hot too.
Would really appreciate if after you're done you post what it cost you to do this.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #65 – March 21, 2020, 11:39:31 pm

Not sure if your unit is the same as 920431/432. On my 99 U320 there is an inline fuel filter mounted to the right of circulation pumps above burner assembly.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #66 – March 22, 2020, 07:25:28 am

John, I hadn't considered moving it out of the AH bay, which in my case is in the middle of the coach. I have access through my main storage on top of the joey bed. I may look into moving it for easier access. I moved my primary filter for the engine and am very glad I did. After all, I'm not getting any older or more agile

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #67 – March 22, 2020, 07:37:00 am

Bob, do you have a link to the knock off? I would like to see what it is. I hope to have things back in order this week, weather depending, but it could make an interesting modification even after I have thing up and running. Is the new filter a spin on like the main engine?

Yes I can post what expenses I had. Some of which not all will want/need to do I anticipate. Since I come from a maintenance background, I like to see if I can make things more accessible and easier to service going forward. So not everything that I do will be necessary. I also have purchased a few tools to make the job go easier. Some will need fewer tools to purchase, others more so I will try to break things down in a somewhat logical listing.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #68 – March 22, 2020, 07:43:41 am

Chuck, that is exactly where mine is located. I also had 2 holes behind the engine circulation pump which led me to think that someone might have moved it. My new guess is that AH moved it. Thanks for pointing that out. It doesn't show up on the online manual which I down loaded. The thing that I don't like about it besides the locations difficulty to service is that the filter being on its side doesn't ever fully fill up. I've not noticed any fuel starvation issue so it is getting enough fuel to run, but my worry is that only about the bottom 1/3 of the filter is being used. Probably not a problem in reality, but it just didn't seem right in my universe.

The 2 preceding posts have me thinking along a different route though

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #69 – March 22, 2020, 08:40:00 am

NEW Arrival Fuel Filter/water Separator with Center Thread R12T 120AT 15 GPH...

This is what I used.
Some po switched out the original filter for a small inline wix filter that was hard to reach. I like the open bowl water filtering racor type filters.
I'll post a pic when I can of where I mounted it.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #70 – March 22, 2020, 09:02:05 am

Bob, very nice looking unit. I like the looks better than the cheap plastic wix unit I have. I failed to mention that on inspection of my wix filter I found a crack in the lead in tube assembly of the filter. I knew that there had been a minor leak but couldn't locate it till I removed the whole assembly. This unit in a better location would be a nice upgrade.

Thanks for the link and the advice.

Larry

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #71 – March 22, 2020, 09:49:24 am

New filter ordered

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #72 – March 22, 2020, 10:22:16 am

I had a small inline filter inside the Aqua-hot and changed it out for one like Bob used beside the Aqua-hot, easy to get at. I also changed the fuel lines.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #73 – March 22, 2020, 12:24:13 pm

I also replaced the small plastic fuel filter which was located inside the AquaHot unit with a larger cartridge type filter mounted on the overhead outside the AquaHot unit. The AquaHot in my coach is located in the awkward to access area amidship. Since the fuel pick-up for the AquaHot is well above the bottom of the fuel tank, I saw no reason to have a filter with the water separator function.

Re: Rebuilding Aqua Hot

Reply #74 – March 23, 2020, 02:46:00 pm

Richard I'm sure you're correct about the order separator not being needed with the pickup not being at the bottom of the tank. But for that price it's a no-brainer for me. Part of my problem is I come from a sailing background and I tend to think nautical when I replace parts. But I think I paid $50 for that filter with the water separator it's good insurance.

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