Aqua hot

[Gary Merrifield]

What type of antifreeze do you put in the aqua hot system

[Karl Welhart]

Depends on the model.  Most likely, special boiler antifreeze.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Gary,
Yours takes boiler antifreeze. Some of the older units could use a regular 50/50 mix of Prestone (green stuff) but the units made since about 03 or so require boiler antifreeze. You can get it at https://www.parts.rvhydronicheaterrepair.com/Coolant_c5.htm  or Camping World has the concentrate.
Here is a good post on the topic;  http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,539.0.html
Steve

[Gary Merrifield]

Thank you

[Fred Cook]

Mine uses the standard green antifreeze. I believe after 2002 or 2003 Aqua Hot designed their systems to use boiler antifreeze.

[Joel Ashley]

The Camco Boiler -100 Antifreeze, if hard to locate, is often available at True Value stores or they can order it in from their warehouses.  I’ve seen it in stock more often at rural TV stores than at more urban ones.  Follow the dilution recommendation on the jug or in your AquaHot manual, filling the surge tank according to whether the unit is cold or hot.

Joel

[Fred Brooks]

Greetings Guys,
  Just a little information why Aqua hot switched over to the Boiler solution in 03 is the toxic nature of conventional anti freeze. The fresh water system is the source of your continuous hot water thru out the coach. If the heat exchanger inside the aqua hot ever became compromised, you would have anti freeze mixed with your hot water. If you like to brush your teeth in the shower it could put the hurt on your liver.

Blessings & Joy, Fred

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Fred,
My understanding from reading Aqua Hot info and Ed Buker's posts is that the tankless coil heat exchanger is a continuous copper coil wrapped on the outside of the steel boiler. If the boiler leaked you would know it long before the copper coil was compromised, same with the coil leaking. Both the coil and boiler would have to fail to get a cross contamination issue and in that case the pressure in the copper coil water side is well above the boiler pressure. Thus cross contamination seems to be a non issue.
Steve

[Fred Brooks]

Steve, I was talking about the original aqua hots that had the copper coils submerged inside the tank of coolant. Fred

[William Jordan]

My 03 was rebuilt outside Palm Springs early this year. It’s one of the older ones that uses regular anti freeze and distilled water  and the coils are wrapped and insulated on the outside of the boiler barrel.  No chance for contamination . I saw it as it came out ( helped remove it) and the rebuilt hand wrapped copper water lines as we exchanged pumps etc. according to the tech , it’s the newer design that moved the coils inside the boiler tank immersed in coolant that caused the changeover to non toxic boiler fluid because contamination is possible on the newer ones. That wasn’t possible with the older design. The older design worked because it was designed that way and a design change in the boiler caused the modifications in coolant. I haven’t actually seen a newer current model but that was what was explained to me.