Community Forums

hawgguy · 02-05-2016, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rotis

The Aquahot is working perfectly, no shade issues, no leaks and no radiator problems.

Tempting fate are we? <evil grin>

brobox · 02-05-2016, 02:47 PM

If I lead anyone to believe that everyone is having a problem with their AH, that is not the case. There are only and handful of us that have had continuous problems and probably why not much is being done. We are a minority and not the majority I am sure.

seeg · 02-05-2016, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoggieDaddy

Had the system shut down again this morning with both lights on. Called Aqua Hot and they are going to send a replacement for pump #3. I was told that the new pump will look different because they have changed manufacturers. They were having too many issues with the other manufacturer. I had all four pumps replaced last April (second time for pump#3) and they are good on the warranty.

Just to add, we are full timing in our Entegra 1 1/2 years now and still loving the coach.

I just replaced all 4 of my pumps with new round ones. I assume (and hope) your replacements have been the square pumps. You should get a round one as the latest replacement. If I'm incorrect please let me know.

gizmo123316 · 02-05-2016, 03:37 PM

The temperature of the water is getting cooler by the end of my shower, so I turn off the water for a minute, then back on and finish with warmer water. Is that an indication that the stir pump isn't working? I have plenty of transfer fluid in the tank and no red lights.

brobox · 02-05-2016, 03:45 PM

Yes, that is an indication the stir pump has gone out if you are on burner. With the burner on you should have unlimited hot water if everything is working.

I also do not have any red lights on the panel, but I also do not have heat in the floor or zone one.

hawgguy · 02-05-2016, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gizmo123316

The temperature of the water is getting cooler by the end of my shower, so I turn off the water for a minute, then back on and finish with warmer water. Is that an indication that the stir pump isn't working? I have plenty of transfer fluid in the tank and no red lights.

In my case it was. Check for red lights on the basement status panel while the hot water is running.

Marcosdad · 02-05-2016, 03:59 PM

The red lights on the panel are very difficult to see in daylight. I had to remove the cover panel to see that my red light was on. Unfortunately the "qualified" AH tech that had looked at it previously did not do that and I was charged for a service call because "nothing was wrong".

In their defense, AH did reimburse me after I 'splained it to them.

Rotis · 02-05-2016, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawgguy

Tempting fate are we? <evil grin>

I'm not that crazy, I knocked on wood, lol.

gizmo123316 · 02-05-2016, 05:12 PM

Chuck, that was a problem with my coach also about a year ago, and the problem turned out to be that a pex line was plugged with electrical debris and the fluid couldn't circulate. We fixed it by taking apart the pipes above the drivers front wheel (pex shoved into 5/8 heater hose) and blowing in reverse direction from the Aquahot. Couldn't get liquid to flow thru the pipe towards Aquahot, so blew backwards on it and cleared it.
There is also a booster pump in the compartment above the water/sewer tanks on the curbside and I don't see anywhere that Aquahot is replacing any of those. Maybe they are only on the RBQ model, but I doubt it. To get at the pump, you have to remove the shelving built in that compartment.

brobox · 02-05-2016, 05:36 PM

Thank you Bob!!! That is what I have been trying to tell them.....there is a blockage somewhere, but nobody wants to listen. None of the powers that be want to look at it. To be honest, I didn't pay what I paid for this coach to have that big of a do it yourself kit. I have done nothing but repair work on this coach since I purchased it. This one, on the AH (the second time) is someone else's turn.

I have had the panel off and checked the boost pump. I have hot fluid, 120* in and 120* out, but it stops there. At the kitchen register..... ambient temperature.

gizmo123316 · 02-05-2016, 09:42 PM

Chuck, the next thing to try is to disconnect the pipes above the drivers wheel and check the flow that far. Probably the easiest way is to turn on the floor heat for a few seconds with the pipes disconnected (catch the fluid in a bucket). If there is flow that far, then check from that point to the Aquahot by reconnecting it at the drivers wheel and disconnect at the Aquahot. Turn on the floor heat for a few seconds again to see if there is return flow. You will need some pipe for extensions so it can be aimed at the pail. On mine, it was plugged between the driver's wheel and the Aquahot, which is the floor heat loop, so we blew it back towards the wheel from the Aquahot. Instead of running the Aquahot, the tech used an RV water pump with 35 psi cutoff.
It would be interesting to see if the blockage on yours is also electrical debris.
You might want to 'watch' the techs working on your coach and suggest that they try the tests that I described above. The tech that was working on mine was going to permanently bypass the floor loop because he tried to blow it towards the Aquahot. I suggested that they blow it backwards, and luckily, it cleared the blockage.

voltdoc · 02-06-2016, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

Thank you Bob!!! That is what I have been trying to tell them.....there is a blockage somewhere, but nobody wants to listen. None of the powers that be want to look at it. To be honest, I didn't pay what I paid for this coach to have that big of a do it yourself kit. I have done nothing but repair work on this coach since I purchased it. This one, on the AH (the second time) is someone else's turn.

I have had the panel off and checked the boost pump. I have hot fluid, 120* in and 120* out, but it stops there. At the kitchen register..... ambient temperature.

Chuck, don't know the entire history here but assume you've done the obvious and rapped on the check valves? Mine have stuck a few times and the symptom is the same as a blockage or kinked hose which is as you described. Mine were tough to get at, had to cut a hole in the bulkhead to get at the access panel (we have the 375LP model).

Early on we had a blockage due to kinked PEX. I was able to identify it by bypassing the loops to identify which one had the blockage, then snaking it and measuring the distance to the blockage. Then it took Ted Cook and an inspection camera to nail down the exact location of the kink. Root cause were pipe clamps at a radius bend too tight or mis-positioned not allowing expansion/contraction. Hidden PEX kinks are extremely rare, so if you haven't tried it yet give those check valves a good whack!

Also FYI I had "Aquahot" work on my unit at the Tampa show, he was not an AH employee, just a local authorized tech.

brobox · 02-06-2016, 05:28 AM

Thanks Bob, I have printed your instructions out and I will give that a try this week.

Rob, thanks for that information. Jacob from Entegra and I went over my coach last year at the Tampa Rally looking for kinks. We removed the panel at the boost pump, removed drawers, the kitchen cabinet floor and followed the hose all the way to the first register. We didn't find any kinks, but the fluid was cold to that point. AH had the motor changed after that, but left me with an air lock. Once the air lock bled off, everything worked until the next time we needed heat.

After AH as accused me of contaminating my own fluid and I had to purchase a fluid test to prove I didn't, I won't do anything outside of checking for the blockage that Bob mentioned without an AH witness there. If I touched a valve, I would be accused of shorting it out or damaging it.

Thanks for the info on the tech at Tampa. All I knew is what Joyce told me that AH would be at Tampa. She did not say in what capacity just that they would be there. That is when I offered to have one of my pumps removed for examination to see if the the sludge problem in the fluid might be caused by the impellers.

DoggieDaddy · 02-06-2016, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gizmo123316

The temperature of the water is getting cooler by the end of my shower, so I turn off the water for a minute, then back on and finish with warmer water. Is that an indication that the stir pump isn't working? I have plenty of transfer fluid in the tank and no red lights.

Your tempering valve may also be stuck. Mine was at one time and we had the same issue. You'll need to crawl into the back compartment from the passenger side and take off the partition behind the AH unit to reach the Tempering Valve. Make note of where it is set. Turn the valve to break it loose and work it back and forth then try and get it back to where it was. You can test the water temperature at the sink and adjust the valve according to your temperature taste. I believe the tempering valve will adjust based on the temperature of the water coming out of the boiler. Some one can correct me if they know different. Good Luck.