Aqua Hot leak

[Mike Collins]

The Aqua Hot is losing what appears to be boiler fluid. It is dripping onto the storage floor from the hole in the cabinet where the exhaust pipe vents. I called Aqua Hot. They said they no longer rebuild the units. If the boiler is cracked we will have to buy a new Aqua Hot.

Any suggestions?

Mike

[Stan Simpson]

Mike,

I just took our coach to Budget Truck & Auto in Janesville, WI for a service on my Hydro Hot. The certified tech there let me watch as he changed the nozzle, and cleaned the burner tube, etc. We discussed the no-repair issue in the event of a problem like yours. He said he has successfully repaired the cracked coils for a customer. It has been three years with no problems. Their shop rate was $76.00 per hour, so even though its time consuming, it might be something that would be cost effective.

I have seen another thread on here in the past regarding a BAC member in Michigan who figured out a way to do the repair himself. As I recall he posted detailed information. Its probably a year or more since that thread. I would try to search for it, but I have no luck getting any search queries to come back with results.

Stan

[Edward Buker]

Mike,

There are multiple locations that these units can leak. If it is antifreeze it is from the main boiler system or one of the related pipes or fittings. It is not all that likely that the boiler itself is cracked. The good news is that more than likely the leak site is repairable. You can buy an led lighted mirror on a rod at Lowes or Home Depot. I would remove the stainless front cover and search for the source with the unit heated and under pressure. You would need to remove the radiator cap and check that the fluid was within 3 or 4 inches of the cap before you heat the solution. If it was lower than that you need to add fluid before the test. The five leaks that I have had involved the overflow tube to the expansion tank, the radiator cap, the solder joint between the steel boiler pipe and the brass radiator cap receiver, a cracked brass fitting on a pex tube coming from a zone into a zone pump, and the drain valve. As you can see there are many possibilities. I am about to work on my cap receiver to the steel boiler pipe for a second time. The coupling method of an unflanged steel to brass solder joint is a design flaw in these units, so look closely around that solder joint.

Later Ed

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike,
In addition to Ed's suggestions, pull the back cover off to expose the plumbing connections on the rear of the unit. There are a number of possibilities for leaks there also.
Steve

[Larry Fisk]

Mine did the same thing. The leak in mine was from the drain pipe for the aqua hot located at the bottom of the tank. It was made of plastic. Replaced with steel pipe and drain valve.

[Larry Fisk]

Also, naturally you have to drain the tank to do this repair.

[Roy Warren Co-Admin]

Mike,
You might call Orman or Mike Flowerday from Bend.  He normally comes south and is at Indio.  I don't know when he will come south, but he might be able to help.
Roy

[Edward Buker]

Steve,

This is an Aqua Hot and there are no plumbing connections that I know of on the back.

Mike.

If you can cross paths with Orman that would be great. The folks that work on these units a lot, are good at finding these leaks, if the source is not
obvious to you. Roger Berke is another possible person to contact. I do not know where your location is but both Orman and Roger travel by RV so there
is a chance that you may cross paths with one or the other.

Later Ed

[Orman Claxton]

where are you now  Mike?
Call me if you wish.

[Larry Fisk]

While were on this subject we are in Indio at present. I had Howards RV service our unit at our lot. He said that he does repair aqua hot units and will also warranty his work. I'm talking about a major repair involving replacing the unit from Aqua Hot IE: repairing the coil or some other problem that the factory will not repair and says the unit has to be replaced. He will remove the unit from your RV and do the repair in his shop. Again this repair will not be covered by aqua hot but he will warranty it himself. He is also an Aqua Hot certified Tech. This is just an FYI item. I have had him do repairs on my unit and I'm a satisfied customer. Not cheap but never have had any issues with his work.

[Don and Kathy DuCharme]

Mike,  we just had ours repaired at a certified AquaHot center in Grand Rapids, Mi.  The leak was the solder joint where the cold water line enters the boiler (the rear of the unit). It was necessary to remove the unit to accomplish the repair and the cost was north of $1000.00 including replacement of the boiler antifreeze. Unfortunately, it was not covered by our Acc extended warranty, because the warranty does not cover cracked solder or weld joints. Nevertheless, the repair was substantially less than replacing the unit.  We will keep our fingers crossed that the repair is long lasting.