Aqua Hot leaking water only when turned on

[steve zannella]

My Aqua Hot is dripping water from the bottom of the side access cover. This leak only occurs when the Aqua Hot is in diesel or electric operation. It does not leak when I turn off the unit so it does not appear to be water pressure related.  Any ideas as to where to begin looking?

[Gerald Farris]

Steve,
Are you sure that the leak is fresh water? If it is coolant (boiler fluid), the most probable reason for the leak is the hose that runs between the Aqua Hot filler (radiator cap on top) and the overflow tank (plastic bottle where you add coolant.

Gerald

[David T. Richelderfer]

Assuming the problem is leaking coolant, I had the same problem.  I noticed the drip only when the AquaHot was hot.  It did not drip when cold.  The drip increased over a several week period of time.  The problem was the rubber O-ring on the seal of the electric element.  Read my complete list of repairs here:

http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,3069.msg29012.html#msg29012

[steve zannella]

Gerald
I will try and check that hose. I placed a bucket under the Aqua Hot and captured some of the fluid it didn't look pink it looked more like clear water.

Is my assumption correct that water pressure is constant in the Aqua Hot regardless if its running or not and if there is a water leak it should be leaking as long as water pressure is applied.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Steve,
The only pressure source would be water pressure from the park water or from your internal coach demand water pump. That being the case it should leak regardless of whether the AQ is on or off. There are 2 recirc pumps in the front of the AQ but they are for pumping antifreeze to the coach heat exchangers. If possible pull the covers off the AQ and see if you can locate the leak. The input and output should be on the front of the unit above the recirc pumps. Another likely candidate is the blend valve on the back of the unit. It adds cold water to the boiler heated water to yield a reasonable "Hot"max temp.
Steve