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12-16-2017, 01:54 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Where ever we park it
Posts: 1,294
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'Twas the weekend before Xmas.......
And the Aqua-Hot Grinch has come to town. The burner blower has quit. You can hear it grind and the exhaust is black. It's Saturday and no service is open for two days. I hope the cheesy 120 volt electric element can keep up. So you could hear me mutter as I turned out the "burner" light, "Merry ----ing Xmas to Aqua-Hot, thanks for all the cold showers and cold nights." Hope the heat pumps work at 40 degrees.
__________________
Robert & Holly - "Fulltimers" 8+ years
Schnauzers Augie Doggie and Monty Puppy
2014 Anthem 44B Rad Copper ----- SOLD
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12-16-2017, 02:35 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South of Houston Tx.
Posts: 395
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Just had one of those “ cold showers “ Floor heat is on electric. I turned off burner earlier in the day. I learned.
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2018 Entegra Anthem 44B Victory Blue..
2016 F150 4x4 Platinum and 2014 Jeep Rubicon X
M&G brake on both. Using hydralift for 2014 HD CVO Limited
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12-16-2017, 03:06 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SW FL
Posts: 31,569
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Robert, do you happen to carry a spare fuel nozzle? A call to Darin 574-612-4826 might get you up and running. He is pretty good at over the phone repairs and very supportive of those on this forum. There might be a trick for the blower, not sure.
__________________
Chuck in SW FL
Digital 2021 Cornerstone "B"
A "Digital" 2019 Cornerstone "B" Traded
A "Classic" 2014 Anthem 42 RBQ---Sold
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12-16-2017, 04:38 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Where ever we park it
Posts: 1,294
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brobox
Robert, do you happen to carry a spare fuel nozzle? A call to Darin 574-612-4826 might get you up and running. He is pretty good at over the phone repairs and very supportive of those on this forum. There might be a trick for the blower, not sure.
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Thanks but not to worry. I was venting because of frustration. We have a Aqua-Hot service center 25 miles from us in Foley, AL. Just need to get through to Monday and give them a call. They can't mobile to Florida but we are mobile. The electric is actually giving us hot water. Good weather forecast for the next 5 days, highs in the 70's, low in the 60's.
Honest, we about ready to give up. Tired of stuff breaking.
__________________
Robert & Holly - "Fulltimers" 8+ years
Schnauzers Augie Doggie and Monty Puppy
2014 Anthem 44B Rad Copper ----- SOLD
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12-16-2017, 07:09 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Montgomery, TX (Home Sweet Home)
Posts: 2,501
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Robert, I’m sorry to hear of your AH issues.
I also know how it feels to be at the end of your rope with constant issues.
I guess I’m getting accustomed to working on issues really hard for a while, and then going for a while without issues.
Sometimes I try to imagine life without our coach and visualize vacations via air travel and staying in hotels. Typically my attitude improves after that mental image.
Regarding the AH service interval, our AH made it 10 months of fairly heavy part time use before it quit. I just serviced it almost exactly 6 months since then and it was almost as bad as our first service.
My conclusion is the AH really needs service far more often than suggested by the manufacturer. I plan to service it every 6 months from now on.
Merry Christmas,
-Matt
__________________
Currently Motorhomeless
2017 Entegra Aspire 44R (bunks) towing 2019 F-350 LB (Sold)
2012 Tiffin Phaeton 40QKH (Our Phaeton was so nice, we bought it twice)
2016 Open Range RF376FBH (Sold)
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12-16-2017, 07:42 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Where ever we park it
Posts: 1,294
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt D
Robert, I’m sorry to hear of your AH issues.
I also know how it feels to be at the end of your rope with constant issues.
I guess I’m getting accustomed to working on issues really hard for a while, and then going for a while without issues.
Sometimes I try to imagine life without our coach and visualize vacations via air travel and staying in hotels. Typically my attitude improves after that mental image.
Regarding the AH service interval, our AH made it 10 months of fairly heavy part time use before it quit. I just serviced it almost exactly 6 months since then and it was almost as bad as our first service.
My conclusion is the AH really needs service far more often than suggested by the manufacturer. I plan to service it every 6 months from now on.
Merry Christmas,
-Matt
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Thanks. We are full timing so we are dealing with our house. The systems in our unit are stressed far more than the occasional user. For what we are paying for this luxury MH we could have a very nice S&B. Don't get me wrong we love having the freedom and willing to pay but sometimes it just gets a little much is all. Tomorrow will be a brighter day..........................
__________________
Robert & Holly - "Fulltimers" 8+ years
Schnauzers Augie Doggie and Monty Puppy
2014 Anthem 44B Rad Copper ----- SOLD
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12-16-2017, 07:54 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Montgomery, TX (Home Sweet Home)
Posts: 2,501
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I hear that.
-Matt
__________________
Currently Motorhomeless
2017 Entegra Aspire 44R (bunks) towing 2019 F-350 LB (Sold)
2012 Tiffin Phaeton 40QKH (Our Phaeton was so nice, we bought it twice)
2016 Open Range RF376FBH (Sold)
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12-17-2017, 05:09 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Polk City, FL
Posts: 3,368
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Doggie
I just had the AH guy from Cherokee Farms, the one I think you wrote about in Foley do annual service on my AH last week in Orange Beach AL. Those guys are great. Should have you running in no time.
__________________
Dave & Debbie
2021 Newmar DutchStar 4369
2016 Ford Edge&2019 Ford F-150 toads
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12-17-2017, 06:53 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SW FL
Posts: 31,569
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DoggieDaddy
Honest, we about ready to give up. Tired of stuff breaking.
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I hear your frustration, but coming home to a S&B after a hurricane is not much better. I am still finding small things that were damaged, the other day missing board off of the back side of the boat lift. Dirt blew in everywhere with 100 MPH wet winds. Pressure washing took severely days.
It doesn't get any easier if you park it. At least you're mobile and can out run any weather conditions or go for repairs. We are on a 6 month waiting list for one repair, no contractors available.
No matter what we do, the problems will still follow us.
__________________
Chuck in SW FL
Digital 2021 Cornerstone "B"
A "Digital" 2019 Cornerstone "B" Traded
A "Classic" 2014 Anthem 42 RBQ---Sold
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12-17-2017, 07:23 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 11,530
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Matt
What specific problem are you having with the AH demanding service? The combustion chamber should need a thorough wire brushing every year, but over 3 years, my nozzle has looked pristine. It’s routinely changed but it looks clean. Is the problem the nozzle?
Now don’t take this wrong, but maybe it is time to have a real pro service the AH.... penny wise, pound foolish? There are problems that a pro sees and can correct that is not obvious to the DIY owner. I always have a pro do mine (Lloyd DeGerald) and my AH burns without smoke or dust on the ground. He says that there are often cracks in the combustion chamber that merit the combustion chamber be replaced and he always has them with him just in case. Just any “tech” would not be my choice.... also, the whole control module sometimes is defective and needs replaced. He can see that just from the symptoms observed. I’d find a way to have one of the big guys service it like Lloyd DeGerald, John Carillo, Roger Burke..... those guys really know what they are doing and know what to look for beyond routine service items.
Just a suggestion. You problems seem to be in operation, and since that seems atypical, I would argue that there is another problem that is not routine.
Gary
__________________
Gary and Dee, Zowie and Bowie (traveling cat sibs)
2019 Cornerstone 45B, X15-605hp, Imperial, Spartan K3,
2013 Honda CR-V toad, Demco Excali-Bar II,
Demco Baseplate, Demco Toad Light system, 73 de W5FI
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12-17-2017, 07:37 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Milford, Michigan
Posts: 1,115
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If you hear grinding it is not likely a "yearly service" type item. It sounds like the bearings on the inducer fan shaft have failed and the inducer fan (that moves the combustion air thru the aquahot burner) is rubbing on the housing. If you are in a handy mood you can pull the burner assembly out just like a regular service but then continue to take it apart....... Print out an aquahot manual for guidance. The dissassembly of the Wabco heating unit is a bit tedious but doable with common tools. mark all the joints for alignment to enable you to quickly reassemble it correctly the first time. Several pieces require simple alignment or indexing of holes to go back together right.
When I had your problem I disassembled and removed the inducer fan by taking the nut off the end of the shaft. I just slips apart and you will find the two chintzy ball bearing sets the shaft rides on. You can pry the seals out of the bearings and repack with some heavy grease to help them live a bit longer. As the bearing starts to fail it develops some end play which allows the fins on the inducer fan to rub the housing. That is what you hear and the black smoke comes from an overly rich mixture since the fan is dragging and slowing down and not moving enough air.
I reassembled my unit with the greased failed bearing and used a couple of small washers to add some shaft length to keep the fan from rubbing. It ran fine for a week after that. Plenty of time or order a bearing kit and/or get service. Bit noisy but of the whiny type noise not scraping. The combustion worked fine.
After first dissassembling the unit on the bench I ran the motor with the failed bearing and it seemed to be fine. No hint anything was wrong at all. I needs to be installed and have load on it to show problems. So the failure is a bit deceiving.
If you are mechanically inclined this is doable but it takes a little time and patience. I would give it a difficulty rating of 6. Once you have had it apart it is actually pretty simple. I put the new bearing set in in less than an hour......but I had "practice" . It took about 3 hours the first go around to deduce the problem and take the burner apart and then reassemble three or four times since i forgot to mark the alignments of the pieces........
__________________
2013 ANTHEM RBQ
AL and Sally and Ava and Ivy
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12-17-2017, 09:08 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Where ever we park it
Posts: 1,294
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Al, your description of the problem matches the situation exact. I used to be somewhat mechanically inclined meaning I could overhaul a car engine. Not anymore. We are here in the sand on Perdido Key not the best place to start tearing things apart. I'll let the pros at Cherokee Farms handle it as soon as we can get it in. However I'll be able to give them a better description of the problem because of your post. Thanks. It's warm here this week, no worries.
__________________
Robert & Holly - "Fulltimers" 8+ years
Schnauzers Augie Doggie and Monty Puppy
2014 Anthem 44B Rad Copper ----- SOLD
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12-17-2017, 09:39 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,903
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As an fyi ... Bobby (Cherokee Farms) did my AH yearly maintenance 2 weeks ago and found our nozzle wasn't put back on correctly from the Entegra PDI maintenance I had done last year. No real harm, just the chamber was totally black and it did puff out black smoke. CF is really good with AH's ... so I'm sure Bobby will have you in hot water and heat quickly. Lynn
__________________
Lynn & (Dan in spirit ) Fur kids Carl & Alvin
Full time - home base is Myakka River Motorcoach Resort in Port Charlotte, FL
2015 Entegra Anthem 44B with HWH Active Air
2021 Grand Cherokee Summit
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12-17-2017, 01:07 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Where ever we park it
Posts: 1,294
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Bobby at Cherokee did ours on 11/27. It burned good until yesterday.
__________________
Robert & Holly - "Fulltimers" 8+ years
Schnauzers Augie Doggie and Monty Puppy
2014 Anthem 44B Rad Copper ----- SOLD
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