BAC Forum
General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Jerry Carr on September 26, 2014, 12:20:50 AM
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I have a new problem that will not keep us from rolling down the road, I have a small drip of water 1 drop every 2-3 seconds dripping below the Auqa Hot?? Its not red fluid but I am not able to see any lines on the front of the unit that look wet?
I did have service on the unit recently but I don't think that could be a water leak
I will be at the Kerrville rally if any one has an idealet me know.
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Jerry,
I would check the tightness of the connections on the back or side depending on how it is installed in your coach. These connections do not take much to become loose and just take a half a turn to make them stop leaking. Some installations make getting to these connections very difficult....
I will be at Kerrville if you need any help.
Karl
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Thanks for the help I think ours will be one of the hard ones!
I will take a look tomorrow and see if I can get to the back
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Jerry,
If you spot a leak on the rear/side and notice that the offending connection mates with a copper fitting, be sure to put a wrench on the copper to keep it from turning. Will also be in K'ville.
Steve
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Thanks Steve
I will know more tomorrow I need to empty the belly and hope to see the back of the unit
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Jerry,
On the back of mine, there is a small collection of elbows that (I think) feed the hot water to the mixing valve with a threaded connection coming from the HydroHot. The threaded part leaked a lot at about year 2. I "adjusted" it and it worked until about year 4 when I "beefed up" the cheap plastic part with a hose clamp. That worked until about year 6 when it needed a little more tweaking. Last year I replaced the whole assembly with a "heavy duty" upgrade kit from Roger Berke. It took about an hour.
Yours and mine may not be the same. But, I'll have my coveralls with me for a "crawl under" at Kerville to look and see.
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Hey Guys
If the leak is at one of the PEX fitting, at the left bottom, shaped like a sideways "U". replace the assy. with one of the braided Stainless lines, cheaper, mine has been on there 4 yrs.
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Hi Orman will you be ar Kerrville??
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Hello Jerry & Chris
Sorry we won't be in Kerrville, Family stuff going on.
We will be in AZ, in about 2-3 weeks
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I may look you up in AZ but will see if I can find the leak at Kerrville, I did look for it yesterday and was not able to locate it. The leak appears to be fresh water and will leak while hooked up or with pump pressure it's a steady drip, I think it must be on the supply side of the Aqua hot unit.
Bill your help will be appreciated it’s a very tight space so far I have not been able to locate the source of the leak. I wonder if it may be from inside the Aqua hot?
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Jerry,
No, it is not coming from inside the A H
Keep me posted on what goes on in Kerrville
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...Bill your help will be appreciated it’s a very tight space so far I have not been able to locate the source of the leak. I wonder if it may be from inside the Aqua hot?
My experience suggests Orman is right that it is an external thing.
I'll start a diet today so I can be skinny enough for this Texas adventure. ;D
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I did find the leak today, we have 2 lined going to the mix valve the hot line has a 1/2" tube that connects the Aqua Hot to the mix valve. The connection at the Aqua hot is the leak. Now I think the fittings need to be replaced so the issue is " METRIC"??
I know the nut that connects this tube from the mix valve to the Aqua hot has to be replace the heat has cause the plastic to degrade thus the leak.
I called a tech and he thinks i should be able to find the parts in a good hardware store.. If so I could remove the blower motor to access the pipes then replace the whole thing or just order the nut from Aqua hot.
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Jerry,
If it is like mine, it is all common 1/2 pipe thread. And, if it the same leak I've had three or four times, I would go with Orman's suggestion of a short braided hose from Lowe's, Depot, Ace, True Value, etc. There should be a selection with 1/2 inch pipe on both ends of the hose.
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I will take a look today when I get to McKinney TX we don't have much of a store here in Vernon. Bill once I pull the pipe I think I have a couple of gallons of fresh very hot water to deal with. I guess the plan in to make the 3 hour run into town, shut down (cool down) then change out the lines I think I will change both are you sure the braided supply line is good for hot water ?
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Jerry,
Before you work on it, cool it off by running the hot water faucet in kitchen with the AquaHot off. The braided hoses I'm thinking of are the ones intended to run from the valve under your sink to the sink faucet in a house. One is normally hot and the other normally cold. So yes, hot is OK.
Orman has his phone number in his post above. He can verify the fitting sizes. And, as I recall, John Carrillo has worked on yours. He may have a suggestion for an "on the road fix".
When mine failed the last time, my replacement was a kit with plastic fittings that were more rugged than the original plastic fittings, but they were still plastic. Last weekend I helped my son remodel a bathroom and we used braided hoses we bought at McClendon's. The end fittings were metal -- much better.
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Bill
Turn off water at your supply,You will have a small amount of water in the lines, Just be sure to cool AH down before repair. (turn off AH Diesel & Elect. run hot water until cold)
Remove the Pex line, Connect your Stainless Braided line, turn on water, check for leaks, (No leaks?)
Job well done. 8)
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Thanks everyone for your ideas and help.
The leak is now fixed, I did contact the service/supply that Bill Sprague recommend
“Roger,Berke@gmail.com) www.RVHYD.com for a replacement part # PLX-803-000 this is a ½” PEX x ½ (F) NPT PSF
I think you can buy this for a few dollars less directly from Aqua Hot but Roger shipped same day. I plan to take the old PEX fitting over top Home depot to see if they have the same item and will let you all know.
The old fitting did fall apart as I removed it and the new fitting slipped on the ½” tube and didn’t leak with a good hand tightening.
Thanks to everyone who offered help. Please don’t tell any Mechanic friends that you know a pilot that can fix something I would hate to start a bad rumor.
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I did stop by the Home Depot just to check out the thread on the PEX fitting they are as everyone thought just a standard 1/2" pipe thread. I was not able to find the plastic match for the unit used on the Aqua hot but they did have metal non swivel connectors that would do the same job for $ 5.50 the old pipe would be to short so you will need to change the 1/2' PIPE which is very cheap $1.67 for 4 ft.
I plan to check a pluming supply store just to see if I can get the same plastic unit. If so I will pick up a few extras. The braided steel lines would also work but they would impact the flow some as the steel lines only have 1/4" ID.