[pairodice]

I filled the tank up with a gallon of 50/50 antifreeze and the guage is still showing 'LO'.  
Help!  Do I need to 'reset' it somehow???  Cold showers in the morning I guess :-(  

[rheavn]

Adrian,
Nobody likes a cold shower, but I'm confused by your posting. Did you put the coolant in the expansion tank and it is still showing "LO"? Or did you put the coolant directly into the AH tank via the radiator cap? If so what gauge is showing "LO"? Where is it located? What is the gauge supposed to be measuring? Was it showing "LO" before you added the coolant?

The only gauge that my AquaHot has is a temperature gauge and it has never showed "LO".

A picture is worth a 1,000 words.............................

[pairodice]

Sorry, the guage is in the kitchen - Newell replaced the original with an after-market guage to show the temperature. I added coolant into the radiator cap directly and it took about a full gallon so it was definitely low. I noticed the guage still said LO so I decided maybe it meant the temp was low and not the antifreeze (which makes sense now). I turned on the Diesel AH and the temp came up quickly and the LO signal went away. So apparently the LO was in reference to the coolant temps. The Electric AH was not working because the A/C was on! Doh! i know that but didn't think about it... it only took about 10 minutes and the AH was up to 160degrees - I decided to turn it off since we were not using it and will turn it on when we need a hot shower. Thanks for the quick response!

[rheavn]

There is a learning curve to a new coach. Glad you won't have to suffer through a cold shower.

[Trainer]

Adrian,

The diesel burner will bring the 16 gallon coolant tank up to temp from ambient and cycle off in 20 to 30 minutes.  The diesel burner needs to be used at least once per month to keep fresh diesel on the nozzle.  If left sitting unused for weeks or months on end, the diesel on the nozzle will congeal ruining the fine mist spray pattern creating the need for service.  You will see smoke from the exhaust pipe and the smell will increase.  You may not get the smell with the exhaust above the roof.

You have two (2) electric elements in the heater coolant tank.  One is 120 vac 1650 watt and the other is 240 vac 4500 watt.  The relay that turns them ON is above the heater on the wall toward the front of the coach.  It has a grey cover.  There is a 240 vac high limit thermostat in the heater above the burner.  One or more of the above failing plus a bad connection could cause the electric not to work.  Don't forget to check the circuit breakers are ON, two 20 amp.

The 16 gallon coolant tank in the heater should be fully flooded to the neck of the radiator cap with 50/50 antifreeze.  The 13 pound cap and the over flow hose to the overflow tank should be air tight, not brittle and no cracks.  There should be no pin hole leaks in the solder joint of the radiator cap neck to the tank pipe.  The straw in the over flow tank that is under where the over flow hose is attached must be in place.  Remove over flow tank cap and stick your finger in to feel the straw.  If it has fallen into tank, remove tank, get the straw and stick it back into the over flow hose connection.

I and other Factory Authorized Service Centers scattered across the country can fix any of the above.  If you wish to take on the task, order the parts from the Aqua Hot Forum parts banner.  There is a modest discount and no shipping charge.  Roger Berke, the owner of the forum, has every AH part known to man and then some including the 240 vac high limit thermostat and grey relay. Roger will answer questions on the AH forum or I will here.  If you come to me, I have a full hook up site for you where I stay or I will go to any RV park in Southeast Texas.  Here is a link to the parts website --http://www.parts.rvhydronicheaterrepair.com

If you have the unlikely pin hole leak in the solder joint, Roger Berke has a unique part to fix that.  No soldering is required and can be done easily in less than an hour.  Brittle cracked overflow pipe and/or old radiator cap are the number one culprits causing low coolant level in the heater tank.

Lastly, with the AH turned OFF, do not let it sit in freezing conditions unless you have winterized the fresh water system with pink RV fresh water antifreeze.  You can not drain or blow all the water out of the fresh water coils in the heater.  If you freeze the fresh water coils, a new heater will be the result.  They sure are nice but it is a $$$$$ event.  I replace 4 this past heating season, two that were allowed to freeze.

Drop lights or portable electric heaters in the AH bay will keep it above freezing unless the temps are really frigid or you loose grid power for hours on end.

I also might suggest you check the high limit thermostat to see if it is tripped. It is on the heater tank above the burner behind the removable panel. Just push oh the red reset button. Turn inside electric switch OFF to de-energize the AC wires going to the thermostats.

Hope this helps.

[pairodice]

Rudy you just earned a customer! Wow, thanks for AH 101 - this should be a sticky!
We are from Spring TX but are in IA now for a project. Will come visit if they ever let me go home lol

[Trainer]

Adrian, Thank you Sir. Let me know when you get down here.

[pairodice]

Ha! the cooler it gets here to more antsy I get to drive South! I'm on a two month contract for a cement company up here in IL that is now in its 5th month... can't complain though... Wifey thinks it would be 'wonderful' if it would snow, me, not so much... I get to work on the frozen pipes/hoses outside while she sits inside and watches lol

[pairodice]

The Aqua-Hot has been performing fairly well and we are waiting for some warmer weather before replacing any parts just in case I can't get it back together. How can I tell for sure that the 240v/110v heater elements are working? Will the 'turbine' noise still happen (blower)? I need to replace my old heat exchangers for some newer ones - which should I get?

[bikestuff]

Adrian,

Let me jump in here till Rudy can set us straight.

No you will not hear anything with the AH running on electric only. If you watch your ammeter gauges above the driver you will see a jump up when running on electric. If the jump when you turn it from AC to HEAT is around 20 amps, it is probably working correctly. Alternatively, Rudy can tell you how to test each element using a clamp on ammeter.
It involves removing an access panel and clamping on the feed wires to the elements.

One other thing. That LO indication is not a fluid level meter. It is a temperature indicator and is saying that the AH is below operating temperature.

Hope this helps!
bill