Hydro Hot Question

[Jim Shirley]

A red light on the control panel indicates that it is low on antifreeze.  How do you tell how much to add??  Do you just fill it to the top at the
pressure cap. I do have the Camco -100 boiler antifreeze, enough for nine quarts.

[Marty and Suzie Schenck]

You should have an expansion tank with marks on it that say: full level when hot and low.
 Marty

[Gerald Farris]

Jim,
The tank below the "radiator cap" should be completely full. If it is low and the expansion or overflow tank is full, you have a leak in the hose connecting the two tanks or the "radiator cap" is not sealing properly. If they are both low, fill the tank below the "radiator cap" and fill the overflow tank to the full when cold mark.

Gerald  

[Jim Shirley]

Gerald,  thanks for the info.  Four quarts fixed it. Fired it up on diesel had hot water in 15 minutes and water in expansion tank rose about one inch. No visible leaks.

Jim

[Bill Sprague]

[quote author=]Gerald,  thanks for the info.  Four quarts fixed it. Fired it up on diesel had hot water in 15 minutes and water in expansion tank rose about one inch. No visible leaks.

Jim[/quote]

Jim,

Watch it so that you are sure that it flows back in when it cools off.

More important, you may have a leak.  I've had the same gallon jug of fluid since we bought it 8 years ago.  I've used about half of it.

[Jim Shirley]

Thanks Bill, I will watch it.  Jim

[Gerald Farris]

Jim,
One of the most common locations for a leak on your system is the hose that runs between the unit and the expansion tank. It can leak coolant as well as air so the unit does not draw coolant back in from the expansion tank as it cools. If this happens, the unit can develop an air pocket in the top that will get larger over time.

Gerald

[Bill Sprague]

......One of the most common locations for a leak on your system is the hose that runs between the unit and the expansion tank....

Many, or at least some, coaches around 2004 used a plastic coolant drain valve.  Since it drains out the bottom, you don't see if it has a slow leak.  Where metal valves were used it is apparently not a problem.