Community Forums

Taxguy · 12-26-2010, 08:47 PM

I have an intermitent leak of boiler fluid that appears to be from the rear of the aqua-hot. I seem to remember a comment that there was a way to access the connections at the rear of the unit. But have been unable to find it.

I've already had the Aqua-Hot Tech at TennasseeRV test it for 3 hr and they found no leak. 300 miles down the road and the leaks back

I hope to have Orman work on it at DRR, if I can wait that long.

dshogman · 12-27-2010, 07:38 AM

On my 40 ft mid-door, you can access the back of the AH unit through the compartment right in front of the right rear tires. A year or so ago, I had a leak on the back side and the techs had to find the skinniest tech in the shop, then had to remove the inverter cover and feed him into the compartment. There are plastic fittings on the back and he found two that were leaking. They passed tools and new fittings into him and all were replaced. They they had to drag him out of the compartment. I didn't see this all as I was in the waiting room but I gather they all had a good laugh over the poor guy's helplessness while in the compartment.
So, there is a way, at least with my model coach.

Wayne R · 12-27-2010, 08:14 AM

The rear of the HH on my 05 is easy to get to. I removed the false wall the first time I need to access it and never reinstalled it.

dgerstel · 12-27-2010, 09:10 AM

On SE and Apex coaches, the Aqua-Hot units faces the holding tanks. There should be a "cut out" in the basement floor between the A-H and the holding tanks. It is covered by a very strong black material on the bottom of the floor. You should be able to feel the area that is open by pushing up on the bottom of the floor in that area. Where the hole is the covering will have some flex. I used a sharp box cutter to open the hole and then made a cover that I screw on to seal the hole after use. The opening is not very large, so only certain work can be performed thru it. I used mine when installing a new holding tank sensor.

Basil Shannon · 12-27-2010, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxguy

I have an intermitent leak of boiler fluid that appears to be from the rear of the aqua-hot. I seem to remember a comment that there was a way to access the connections at the rear of the unit. But have been unable to find it.

I too had a leak at the badk of the HH on our 06 40' FDQS Apex. Wayne, I wish the 40' FDQS had a false panel like the mid-door. The rear of the HH is butted up very close to the holding tanks. What I did, as did several others, is cut an opening in the floor with a jig saw to access the back of HH. You actually cut the HH sheet metal bottom panel which doesn't hurt anything. You must be VERY CAREFUL not to cut any of the tubes and hoses. I fabricated a steel cover plate with a drain hole to cover the hole when I was done.The steel angle supporting the rear of the HH was in the way so I cut the weld at the forward end and reattached it with an angle when I was finished. Now, God forbid I have to get in there again, I have access no thanks to WRV.

The HH rear view picture was taken at the parking lot at Guaranty of a wrecked Alpine with the whole passenger side opened up and holding tanks removed. Who's coach was that?

Wayne R · 12-27-2010, 10:13 AM

Basil,
My Hydro Hot is in the rear bay. The front of the HH is accessed from the drivers side rear bay door and the rear from the passengers side rear bay door. WRV put a felt cloth covered piece of plywood in the bay to keep junk put in the bay from damaging the HH. Good Idea but not practical for service.

I sit in my camp chair to perform service. I have worked on several HH's for friends and mine is the easiest to work on that I have seen. Good job WRV.

Taxguy · 12-27-2010, 01:27 PM

Thanks Guys, I figured Dale would have the answer. I hope mine is as he described. But what Basil posterd is what I remembered seeing before.

But now that the Dash A/C is nolonger working, I wondering if the pinkish/brownish fluid is something else instead of the boilder fluid.

From the posts I seen the Dash A/C problem could be a real pain. Now I have to do some more checking.

Renipladlo · 12-28-2010, 11:44 PM

On our 40 MDTS - we had to remove the HH unit from the coach to replace the mixing valve. We did this in Florida at a Signature Resort, using myself and a Master Certified HH Technician who was recommended by HH. There is no removable panel in my coach, nor did I want to cut a hole in the floor to gain access. It took 3 hours or so to remove the unit and 2 or so to reinstall. Now we have Hot water. I believe WRV should have followed AQ/HH's recommendation to make access front and rear, but then WRV never followed anyone’s advice as far as I can tell. I know because I attended AQ/HH service Technician School and passed. The tech teaching the class said WRV’s are one of the worst installs around.

Monaco's have the best installation since they left front and rear access open for you to get to most of the stuff. There is a sliding panel aft of the unit to gain more room to do a service. Additionally they installed a fresh water plumbing manifold so various plumbing could be shut off via a valve in the manifold. Not to say they are perfect.

Alpines in my opinion are the worst installs, sans, Tiffin’s in some cases. I have not seen them in Foretravel, or other highline coaches. And although not part of this post, the cozy air handlers for the hot air to be delivered were the worst install of the whole thing. Some owners report no hot air coming from them because WRV used "dryer type hose" for those heat delivery lines. AQ/HH school recommends no more than 270 degrees of bends in the air delivery lines, and every hill & valley of that hose is considered a bend. By the time it goes 1 foot, the air is almost dead for flow. I have replaced all the ones in our coach except the front one (under dash) & shower-WC, now we have such good heat from those we have to turn down the thermostat. I am still working on a solution for the one in the bathroom and front.

Wayne R · 12-29-2010, 07:36 AM

Old Rver
I disagree with you some Alpines have the HH in a very serviceable location.

jerry davis · 12-29-2010, 09:54 AM

My 05 36' is also easily serviceable with access to all sides without removing anything.

Renipladlo · 12-29-2010, 01:07 PM

Must just be the 40's and mid door. We have noticed some coaches have more room in the living room area, even with not having the two slides up front. We like the mid door for a lot of reasons, and dont for some other reasons. I will talk to everyone at QZ and maybe I will cut out the hole, and gain access from below so if I have leaks, etc, I can gain access and not have to take it out.

Wayne R · 12-29-2010, 01:34 PM

Renipladlo, I have a 05 40 FDQS. It appears to me the Apex was not thought out throughly and rushed to market. Don't get me wrong I wish mine was an Apex. I like to tinker with things and it seems to be on the top of the list as Alpines go.

EngineerMike · 12-29-2010, 07:00 PM

Monty- the Apex & Se's are the ones w/poor OEM access. I think it would have worked out fine (within limits of access to anything ordinarily jambed into an RV or Boat) if WRV had pre-installed the access Basil post-installed. Once you have that, it takes work from under the coach but at least you can get to it. Without that it violates the first two P's of the old PPPPPP maxim, Prior Planning Prevents Pxxx Poor Performance. Oops, I misspelled a word. And now that I think of it, maybe it violates 3 or 4 of the other P's also...

Renipladlo · 12-29-2010, 09:43 PM

EM you are correct. Not about violating the PPPP's, but the "rush to market approach taken", now with that said, there are a lot of things I like about all those do-dads included with the apex. But it's taken me 2 years to get 99% of them working correctly. Now with that said #2 - I ran into a fellow who purchased a brand new Pace Arrow in 07, and one year later he had enough and traded it in on a 06 HR Scepter, and again has had problems with it, slide roof leaked, formed mold, now that slide roof needs replacing. Other problems as well. No MH is imune from issues, but APEX's have more than their fair share in my opinion. But once I got it working correctly, sitting in my easy chair and leveling the coach, putting out the slides, starting the generator, enabeling the inverter & charger is wonderful. And the security of a motorhome cannot be overstated. You don't have to go outside when overnighting if the area is not a good one. But then again, I don't stay in places where I might have a personal safety issue.