coolant for Hurricane

[Larry Fritz]

On our 98 Patriot, those valves are located under the bed beside the Hurricane coolant tank and the Hurricane overflow tank. The factory manuals for our coach had several errors including the Hurricane system documentation.  

Larry

[Gerald Farris]

Joel,
I agree that the nontoxic boiler fluid would be preferable to use in all hydronic heating systems. However 10 years ago no one used it. Then everyone who installed Aqua Hot or Hurricane systems used ethylene glycol coolant as the heat transfer fluid. The product liability lawyers made everyone see the exposure that they were facing, so everyone switched to nontoxic boiler fluid.

Gerald

[barbhalsell]

Thanks to Tom and Pam for the general idea of where to look for the valves and thank you to Larry for the exact location. The bed is lifted up, side engine access also lifted for the 2 valve location next to an over flow tank. The actual radiator capped tank is under the closet engine access. Turns out the valves were positioned correctly for winter and we are pretty sure they have never been touched since the coach was new. We just needed to add more liquid to the coolant tank to get the registers blowing warm air.
Whoever planned this ridiculously inaccessable set up for the Hurricane should be shot or at least whipped 40 lashes.
The Beaver manual says the valves would be in the Hurricane Bay and also that you use RV antifreeze in the boiler. Who wrote this? I cannot believe the mis- information. I realise not all of our coaches have the same Hurricane systems or setups but there should be some aspects that are consistent, like where components are located. Apparently there are a few coach owners that have never found the valves, no wonder!
So, still not sure which coolant to use. It sounds like a lot of our systems still have the original prestone type coolant in use. On the other hand, do I really want to take a chance of possible cross contamination?
Barb

[Gerald Farris]

Barb,
Your system came with ethylene glycol (green automotive antifreeze). If it still has green coolant in it, and it probably does, just top it off with regular 50/50 automotive coolant. I am still running ethylene glycol (green coolant) in my 2000 Marquis, however if I ever perform a complete fluid change in the system, I will change to nontoxic boiler fluid.  

If you want to change over to nontoxic boiler fluid, you will have to completely flush the system to remove all of the original coolant before installing the boiler fluid.

Gerald

[JimDyer]

Bearing in mind that the heat exchangers are on the inlet to the hot water heater, one would need to be drinking hot water in quite large quantities for it to be an issue.

bluwater, you're forgetting that ethylene glycol will stay in the bloodstream, occupying the spots which oxygen normally uses to go from your lungs to your muscles and brain, etc. for quite a long time, so that you start like an athlete and end up like somebody who needs an oxygen tank arrached to their walker, all without anything wrong with your lungs.

[Paul Schwalen]

Gerald,

My 03 Contessa has a Hydro Hot and about 3 years ago I needed to add coolant.  I asked at the local RV store and was told the fluid to use is the red boiler antifreeze, so that is what I have been adding since then.  I recently had to get a new radiator cap for the Hydro Hot and discovered that the fluid is green. I have added almost the entire gallon of red boiler fluid since and now wonder if I have caused myself a problem.  The system seems to work fine as is.  Any suggestions?

[JimDyer]

the mixed fluid will work fine, but you aren't getting the non-toxic effect if that's what you're looking for. Also, you should take a sample and pop it in the freezer to see if it is up to strength before winter....

[Jeremy Parrett]

 Can my Seaward 5 gallon electric hot water heater be used to heat the water used to supply the coach heaters thus allowing me to heat the coach not using the Hurricane Furnace??

[Joel Weiss]

Thanks to Tom and Pam for the general idea of where to look for the valves and thank you to Larry for the exact location. The bed is lifted up, side engine access also lifted for the 2 valve location next to an over flow tank. The actual radiator capped tank is under the closet engine access. Turns out the valves were positioned correctly for winter and we are pretty sure they have never been touched since the coach was new. We just needed to add more liquid to the coolant tank to get the registers blowing warm air.
Whoever planned this ridiculously inaccessable set up for the Hurricane should be shot or at least whipped 40 lashes.
The Beaver manual says the valves would be in the Hurricane Bay and also that you use RV antifreeze in the boiler. Who wrote this? I cannot believe the mis- information. I realise not all of our coaches have the same Hurricane systems or setups but there should be some aspects that are consistent, like where components are located. Apparently there are a few coach owners that have never found the valves, no wonder!
Barb

Barb:

Thank you for going through all the trouble to find your valves; now I'll know where mine are!  We could access the tanks through the engine compartment but had no idea where the valves were

We have always had ours set for heating and won't change them anyway.   We spent lots of times in the mountains of MT, WY and ID this summer and there have been quite a few times when the temps were down in the 40's and 50's at night.  We believe heat is meant to be used if the temps necessitate it even if it is August.  So I wouldn't want to have to go through all this just to be able to have heat when I want it.  It's easier to leave them alone.

However, after this winter when I get the Hurricane serviced I do intend to replace the coolant with the non-toxic variety.  Since a failure of the system is a "high consequence" event, I would prefer to be safe than sorry.

Joel

[Dick Simonis]

I just took a look at the heat exchangers and they are double wall.

Here is a link to a similiar product that explains it pretty well.

http://www.doucetteindustries.com/pdf/dii_liquid_109.pdf

If yours look like this than it is also a double wall.

[barbhalsell]

Also, the Rixxen site does call for a 3 year change out on coolant as part of their reccomended maintenance on the Hurricane.

[Ron Johnson]

My valves are located on the top side of the engine compartment kind of under the bedroom closet. Lift up the bed, lift up the floor hatch and you should see quite a few heater hoses 2 of which will have a valve - mine are the lever kind. If this is the problem then one of them will be turned 90 degrees from the line of the hose so just turn it parallel and you should have house heat.

I've been using a product called Sierra anti-freeze in the Hurricane which has survived 2 Winters and is environmentally safer than the regular stuff.