Community Forums

DCTENT · 01-23-2011, 06:13 AM

I Have Coach plugged into 50Amp shore power, Coach is winterized.
Only thing I have had running is My Electric Heat with an portable Heater as well to keep My TV's from Freezing in Minnesota Below Zero weather.
Yesterday I checked & all I was getting from aLL Heat Exchangers was cold air, So I Turned ALL Zones OFF, Even Turned Thermostat OFF, My ZONE 4 & 5 Lights are lit as well as Pumps 1 & 2 Lights Lit On Board, My Fan In Water Bay is Running. Why Are My Zones asking for heat & Why is My Fan Running?.
Any Ideas?

Dr4Film · 01-23-2011, 06:28 AM

DCTENT,

My suggestion to you is to go over to this web site and join the Hydronic Heating Forum moderated by one of the BEST Aqua-Hot technicians in the country, Roger Berke of Sacramento, CA.

He will get you the straight scoop as to what to do.

HydronicRVHeating : Hydronic-RV-Heating

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

cb5300 · 01-23-2011, 12:10 PM

Check and see if yor check valves might be stuck in the closed position. I just had that problem. I was only getting cool air from the back bathroom heat exchanger.

a k · 01-23-2011, 12:17 PM

Heater element isn't going to keep up in below zero weather. If they are wired right the fans only run when the water temp is up to a certain temp.If you have an load meter(AMP) flip the electric switch and see if it draws about 8 to 10 amps AC.

I have to ask. Why would the TV's freeze?

JMonroe · 01-23-2011, 12:30 PM

Firstly, you're wasting energy heating the coach to 'protect the TVs'. You don't want to turn them on when they are so cold, but getting cold over the winter isn't going to hurt them. Just think of all the lcd TVs we northerners own, not to mention the new touch screen audio and GPS systems in our vehicles. Some even have LCD instruments.

Now, as to the fan running when everything is off. The factory is trying to protect your wet bay and has set a temp guage in your wet bay controlled by a thermostat, usually in the Aqua Hot bay. Some, if not most, can be adjusted, just like the house thermostat, once you find it, some can not (Ours can not. A bad design in my opinion. The only way I can shut ours off completely, factory set at 40 degrees by the way, is to cut off the 12 volt power to the rig).

Perhaps other Monaco owners can help you locate the wet bay thermostat control.

Pusherpilot · 01-23-2011, 01:54 PM

As I recall the plasma TVs had an issue with freezing but not the LCDs. The LCDs produce a bit of heat when turned on. If the engine pre-heat function of the AH is on the pumps will run. Also on my system there is one zone, bathroom, whose pump will run most of the time, it serves a "stir" function whether the fan is or or the zone is selected on or off.
Ron

DCTENT · 01-24-2011, 09:27 AM

I Tapped All My Connections on Top of Hydro Unit, It started to heat in all Zones, I have Warm (NOT HOT) Hoses exiting Hydro Unit, I have set Thermo to 68 degrees (ITS about 12 degrees above Outside Right Now) I will see what it does later today as far as bringing temp up to that inside Coach.
One other thing Don't knpw if its a problem or not But seems strange to Me, My Heater in water compartment has (VERY MINIMAL) heat exiting unit when holding hand in front, when holding hand in back of unit, there is MORE air flow however its Cold as opposed to the Small flow coming from Front of Unit, Is it possible fan is running backwards?.

cb5300 · 01-24-2011, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCTENT

I Tapped All My Connections on Top of Hydro Unit, It started to heat in all Zones, I have Warm (NOT HOT) Hoses exiting Hydro Unit, I have set Thermo to 68 degrees (ITS about 12 degrees above Outside Right Now) I will see what it does later today as far as bringing temp up to that inside Coach.
One other thing Don't knpw if its a problem or not But seems strange to Me, My Heater in water compartment has (VERY MINIMAL) heat exiting unit when holding hand in front, when holding hand in back of unit, there is MORE air flow however its Cold as opposed to the Small flow coming from Front of Unit, Is it possible fan is running backwards?.

The service center told me that the fluid in the AH also serves as a lubricant, and that I should "cycle" my heat exchangers ever so often and that should keep my check valves from sticking....

On my Dynasty (2007 Diamond) that I had I had only (1) 110V heating element and it wouldn't keep the coach warm when the temps got down below 40ish, however the Signature (2008 Cambridge) I now own has (2) 110V elements and its keeping the coach at 70* inside even with the temps down in the teens....

DCTENT · 01-24-2011, 03:02 PM

I Have turned Off Heat, not worried about Tv's per Above info, I also will activate My heat every so often to keep lubricated. Thanks for ALL the help.

Mike Canter · 01-25-2011, 08:30 AM

These one way check valves are a pain. The problem is that they are mounted in a vertical orientation so gravity is holding the disc or flapper in the closed position where it seems to stick. I understand that on new Aqua Hots they have changed them to a horizontal orientation to defeat gravity. These check valves are made of brass and bronze so when used with the boiler antifreeze they should not be sticking. Maybe there is something that needs to be changed in the formula for the boiler antifreeze. I am also told that a few years back Monaco used tap water mixed with this boiler anti-freeze vice distilled water and I have wondered if that is a cause of the problem. Aqua Hot say that you never have to change the boiler anti-freeze and let me tell you I had to drain mine out to fix a problem and then rig a pump to put it back in. It is something you do not want to tackle yourself. I did run all the anti-freeze through paint strainer filters before I put it back in and that seems to have helped some. The check valves are cheap but according to Aqua Hot it is a waste of time to change them because it doesn't fix the problem. Running the system on a regular basis to keep things working and tapping the valve LIGHTLY with a small hammer if required seems to be the best solution. If you haven't seen these check valves I have attached an info sheet on them below. I have found them made out of stainless steel but big $$$$$$. The brass ones are less that $10.

pipedream2 · 01-25-2011, 08:52 AM

Mike and all
the check valve shown in Mikes PDF is a swing check and definitely NOT for vertical use...in both vertical up or vertical down it can stick OPEN is the reason.There are specific check valves for vertical lift situations ....that is not one of them.
But on the other hand unless it is sticking open , moving it to a horizontal location would not remedy anything.In fact the head pressure against the disk would slightly increase making it harder for the disk to swing.They can be removed and taking the cap off the top and plug out of the side you can slip out the stainless rod and apply high temp plumbers grease to the rod and reinstall ...done

Mike Canter · 01-25-2011, 09:50 AM

Dennis, the problem is that they stick closed not open because the flow goes up and opens the flapper. I agree that maybe buying just stainless steel rod and disc and opening it up and replacing those parts may fix the problem without replumbing and changing them to a horizontal position. What I would like to do is to take out a stuck valve and take it apart and find out what makes it stick closed.

pipedream2 · 01-26-2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

Dennis, the problem is that they stick closed not open because the flow goes up and opens the flapper. I agree that maybe buying just stainless steel rod and disc and opening it up and replacing those parts may fix the problem without replumbing and changing them to a horizontal position. What I would like to do is to take out a stuck valve and take it apart and find out what makes it stick closed.

Mike
I believe we are saying the same thing...basically
The fact that the check is sticking closed is not because it has head pressure on the disk in the vertical position..although it is not designed for that installation because of water "shock" on closing.
If thats the case moving it to a lower horizontal position would only slightly INCREASE the back pressure head.
What i ment to say is the pin that is in the valves is alwready usually stainless steel and the flapper is brass and will expand and contract at different rates and sometimes stick.High temp.plumbers grease(used for the old hot water tap cartridges will eliminate this from happening.

pipedream2 · 01-26-2011, 09:27 AM

Mike
sorry..should have looked closer at the drawing..i just went to the PDF of the valve again and now see that this particular valve has a brass pin also.....hence your comment on replacing the pin with SS.......replacement is not necessary
The brass pin will also benefit from the grease and run smoother