I personally have had some Aqua Hot system issues and I believe that I have all the bugs out now. It took a new coil, flame sensor, and burner controller to resolve my issues along with a new nozzle and electrode setting. It is reliable to a point, but the technology is old and still includes problematic relays in the burner controller (silver box attached to the burner) The controls are in a hostile environment between the humidity and heat cycles. If the system fails it is a huge expense and major trouble to get repaired.

The generator and autostart system is fairly reliable but all of this relies on programming and batteries to work. If it were me and I was going to leave the coach without external power and unattended in the cold I would want some back up system to alert me if the temps went outside of the "safe window".

Here is one option that can cell phone you, there is another choice if a wireless network is available. Maybe some owner has some experience with a remote temp alarm system and can share some experience. Seems like a good subject to take a look at on the forum.

http://www.temperaturealert.co.....2qo6wCFRBR7AodDVbBCg

Later Ed

Question regarding the ice maker.

Right now our fridge is off and it's going down to the mid 20's for the next couple of days.  Would simply turning it back on (using propane) and letting the ice maker run keep the line from freezing?  I can easily keep the inside of the coach at 50 with a combo of the electric heater and hurricane so tha's not a big concern.  Might even leave the HW heater running on AC.

Thanks.

Dick

Dick,
The steps that you listed above should give you adequate freeze protection.

Gerald

Forgive my lack of understanding on the issue of the icemaker - I haven't dealt with it before. The coach is stored in a heated shed so I don't bother to winterize it.

I have a few questions, if I have the coach outside for a few days and it is below freezing but I have the AquaHot on, set around 50 do I need to have the fridge running or does the line for the icemaker need to be emptied? For example, it was -8C this morning and I had the coach outside overnight as I took it for service early this AM. I had the Aquahot on set at 50 and then last night I read a previous post here so I decided to turn the fridge on. Everything seems OK.

Secondly, when I leave home in January the temperature will most likely be around  -15C to -20C. The heat will be on, and the fridge may be on propane, but should the icemaker line be disconnected or blown out?

Finally, I gather, the heat tape that can be plugged in the basement outlet is to protect water lines. There is a heat exchanger in the basement and this morning the basement temperature was at 61F. At what temperature would I use the heat tape and secondly, if it takes 45 watts, should I run the inverter when traveling to ensure there is power at that outlet?

Thanks,
Jeff

Quoted from Joel Ashley

Blowing your lines out may not clear fluid there if you don't cycle the cubemaker while the lines are pressurized;  the water tube at the distal end has to be open for air to get through, and that only happens if the cubemaker is at that cycle point that opens the solenoid valve for filling the tray with water.

Exactly why I disconnect the water line going into the refridgerator.  Or at least I use before recently moving to Florida  

There seems to be some questions about how to winterize the ice maker. The fall after we purchased our Beaver, I went to a local RV dealer
that was offering a instructional course on winterizing the coach. His instructions said to disconnect the line from the ice maker Solenoid valve up to the ice maker and let drain. Leave it off until you are going to use the ice maker again. Then remove the 2 wires that are attached to the ice maker solenoid.  He then had a short cheater cord that was plugged onto the terminals of the ice maker solenoid, and the other end has a normal 15A male plug on it, which is plugged into the receptacle for the fridge. Remove the filter from the ice maker line and pump antifreeze into the line until it comes out where you disconnect the ice maker line. Remove the cheater cord, and you are done until you are going to use the ice maker. You will need to restore everything to normal first. Hope this helps some of you.
I did not drain the ice maker last spring when returning from the warmer temps until I was home and had to replace the solenoid valve as it would not seal, when tring to use the ice maker. Fridge was on and unit heated while traveling.

Harvey,

That's almost exacyly what I've done in the past.  I didn't cheat the solenoid and am not sure the rationale for doing so.  Leaving the water lines disconnected should eliminate any risks.  Even if a small amount of water is retained in the lines, there's room for it to expand and because the line is disconnected, the small ice formation doen't have to fight the pressure of a sealed line.  As for the line to the solenoid from the coach's water source, it gets blown our with all other lines and then a small amount of antifreeze is blow through the lines to make sure any water that didn't escape is really antifreeze and not plain water.

I found it tricky to work around the well-placed factory heat tape on the solenoid when I removed the nuts holding the in and out lines to it.  Replacing the nuts in the spring was even trickier, and I can see where it would be easy to cross thread them (soft metals involved), creating an almost certain leak.  I was reluctant anyway to remove the heat tape for better access, because it seems a bit "delicate", and I didn't want to risk damaging it in any way.

Pumping antifreeze all the way up to the icetray, by using a screwdriver to force a cycle as per mfr. instruction, ultimately seemed to me to be an easier option, and more palatable than dealing with stripped threads/leaky fittings the next spring.  The solenoid's heat tape became a backup protective device, but is really unecessary with the solenoid full of antifreeze;  it is useful though for protecting the solenoid when the fridge is intermittently used during the winter, and antifreeze is less practical.

The option of turning the fridge on during cold snaps is viable, as long as there is no propane or electric failure while you're not watching.  I'd think the heat in the rear compartment, generated by the proximity of the burner/electric heater and flue, would keep the tubes and solenoid from freezing, even to quite a low outside thermometer, and in spite of the access door louvers.  The solenoid heat tape would protect it regardless, as long as the batteries were up to snuff.

Of course my postulations assume one's coach has 12v heat tape installed on the solenoid, and perhaps not all do.

Joel  

Just for the record, I blew out the lines and pumped antifreeze into the Aquahot domestic water lines via the Cold water in line until anti freeze came out the hotwater line, then reconnected them to the Aquahot system.

I have been following this post, and you have properly winterized your Aquahot, as long as you ran the winterizing coolant through and out of your hot water line your  Aquahot will
not freeze.

Orman Claxton
Aquahot factory Authorize
service center

Curious, How much fluid does the coil hold?  I hope the next version of Aquahot uses a vertical design over the current horizontal. Also, why not use SS in place of the copper, greater strenghth and about equal thermal qualities?

Quoted from Sean Donohue

Curious, How much fluid does the coil hold?  I hope the next version of Aquahot uses a vertical design over the current horizontal. Also, why not use SS in place of the copper, greater strenghth and about equal thermal qualities?

Volume is 50' of 5/16" copper tube.

If i was designing it, or if i froze one I'd use a separate heat exchanger- in boats they sell for about $350. I have repaired a coil myself, so I think I qualify as having a valid opinion on this issue.

So that would be about one gallon?I left my slide ruler in my other life