Community Forums

saddlesore · 07-27-2017, 12:42 PM

Had the fill neck come un-soldered, Didn't notice it until doing normal maintenance, burner was running but the overflow(puke) tank was still cold and level did not rise to the hot line on the tank.
So went here to get a "no solder filler neck replacement"
RV Hydronic Heater Forum
Did a search for filler neck replacement
Cost for the parts was around $350.. however you would have a difficult time trying to get a torch into the tight space over the tank to re-solder a new neck in place..(radiator shop quoted me $500)
Not all that hard to replace.
After removing the cap end of the filler neck(had to heat the neck with a pencil torch to un-solder the connection)
Then used Emory cloth to clean up all the old solder.
Followed the directions to mount the new"No Solder Filler Neck Replacement" kit.
NOTE...
Fill the tank with boiler fluid or the appropriate anti freeze to the tippy top of the tank neck before slipping the new neck on.(Keeps the tank neck cool when you use the heat gun to heat the shrink tube over the new hose connection) .
I discovered that there was only a small 1/4" glob of solder holding the old neck in place.. looks to be a mfg error..

Spaceball · 07-27-2017, 09:19 PM

I had the same issue with mine last Fall/Winter. It's a very poor design by aqua-hot, the neck fits way too loose in the standpipe for soldering. It should have been brazed, or a smaller diameter standpipe used so that it fit tighter. (I used to build radiators).

I fabbed up some temporary heat shields and re-soldered mine on. It is very tight space to work in with a torch, the heat shields I made worked good at protecting things however. Hope I never have to do it again.... Wish I would have known about that product you mentioned back then LOL

saddlesore · 07-27-2017, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaceball

I had the same issue with mine last Fall/Winter. Wish I would have known about that product you mentioned back then LOL

Yup know what you mean.. The kit only took about 45 minutes and a coupla barley pop breaks to complete .
keep the web address handy as they have the full meal deal on tune up kits and parts.. they also do repairs .
Sent my burner in for a bench test for fuel leaks and a tune up.. got it back in about a week, all spiffy.

Spaceball · 07-28-2017, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

Yup know what you mean.. The kit only took about 45 minutes and a coupla barley pop breaks to complete .
keep the web address handy as they have the full meal deal on tune up kits and parts.. they also do repairs .
Sent my burner in for a bench test for fuel leaks and a tune up.. got it back in about a week, all spiffy.

That's really good to know, will bookmark it, thanks for the info!

Spaceball · 06-26-2018, 09:03 PM

How's this holding up a year later?

I'm getting bloom out of the overflow nipple, and of course it's leaking a little... so am considering buying this kit this year to stop the mess once and for all.

saddlesore · 06-26-2018, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaceball

How's this holding up a year later?

I'm getting bloom out of the overflow nipple, and of course it's leaking a little... so am considering buying this kit this year to stop the mess once and for all.

So far so good, have a bit of a dribble at the base of the shrink hose, think I did not get enough heat to that end of the neck... Will re do if needed..

jonohio · 09-06-2018, 06:59 PM

Hi folks. My filler neck overflow nipple broke off and I’m the proces of trying to repair the cap seat also came off. Instead of spending $350 for the billet aluminum clamp kit I optioned to instead spend $35 and repair it just as well.

Here is what I did:

1. Went to my local radiator repair shop and pick up a used 1 1/4” stand pipe and cap seat and have them solder them together. $15.

2. Ordered a 1 1/2” to 1 1/4” radiator hose straight adapter. $16

3. I hose clamped the standpipe to the hydro hot neck and voila. Repair done.

Hopefully this helps people to save some money on a potentially complicated repair.

Here is where I bought the hose:

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...sp?RecID=11670

jonohio · 09-06-2018, 07:01 PM

Here is what the top of my hydro hot looked like with the cap missing.

jonohio · 09-08-2018, 08:43 PM

So I flushed with distilled water tonight and refilled the system. Things went very smoothly and all tests indicate things are stable and fully functional.

Here is an updated picture of what the final repair looks like. I also ended up replacing the stir pump, a couple hoses and clamps, crimp connectors, as well as flushed and put new camco 30027 fluid in.

I can't seem to get my pictures to show up correctly, not sure why. I've even rotated them, re-saved them, and re-posted with the same end result.

Spaceball · 10-10-2018, 01:12 AM

Jon,

Now that's some good thinking. The only thing that would concern me is the lack of a hose bead on the A/H side of the standpipe (I have the same concern for the shrink tube kit). The hose could potentially slip off when the system builds pressure even with a very snug hose clamp without a bead to stop it. But I think all these units like ours have what 7 pound caps? So maybe it will hold up ok.

Barryc737 · 10-13-2018, 04:14 PM

I have the same issue with my Aquahot 450-DE1 in my 2009 HR Scepter. Did you remove the cover over the back half of the unit to access the tank and filler neck? Mine is riveted on. The electrical half of the box is dry, but I'm concerned with how much fluid might be pooling in the tank area. Did you have any?

BTW, I think the spec on AH radiator caps is 13#.