[Archived]

This
is good information, could save someone lots of money down the road
should a problem be misdiagnosed.

[AL]

Tom,

Not to argue, but I thought the diagnosis of possibly clogged fresh water coil was spot on in this case. Possibly stuck check valve was a very good thought but did not prove to be the case. Mixing valve is way down on the list but very easy to check.

Now the money savings comes in when the clog can be cleared. Having a shop with air pressure, water and a place for it to go, pressure pumps and the time to flush the coil is everything. So far, I have seen one clog cleared and one that never flowed a drop resulting in replacement.

Down here, I use a friend’s shop. Just can not get enough ump to bear in a RV park for this effort unless one is very lucky. I tried one at the park and it was no go. Got him into the shop and cleared it out. Water and air pressure worked for this one. But vinegar was the next step had that not worked. Lots of sand sediment in my case instead of scale.

Very happy to see this one clear up. What a relief when the flow took off that must have been.

[Dick]

In Panama, many of us have tankless whole house, electric hot water
heaters that give unlimited hot water. Even though our water is unbelievably soft, the manufacturer
still recommends that you flush the heater’s coil system at least once a year to remove scale buildup. The
system is supplied with “T” fittings that allow you to shut off the
water and hook up a flush system. I use a small submersible fish tank circulating
pump (about 60 gal/hr) in a plastic pan and use hoses to connect to the cold water inlet side then route a hose from the hot return side back to the plastic pan. I then put two cups of vinegar and a gallon of
water in the pan, plug in the pump and let it run continuously for about 2 hours. I do this on my
January 1 schedule of things to do, such as replace the AAA backup batteries in
my thermostats, replace smoke detector batteries, etc. That way I do not forget. It seems that this
might be a good procedure for the Aqua Hot coil, especially if ever using Florida water
that seems to scale up if you just look at it.

[Archived]

Rudy,

That was my exact point. Based on horror stories of the past with shops not knowing their backside from a hole in the ground, nice to see it all come together here with a successful outcome thanks to knowledgable members.

[Archived]

Here is some free advice we all need to keep in mind.

We have complex coaches. We share the Prevost shell, but like the conversion there are variations in the shells. We know each conversion is different from another, as an example advice about a Marathon may not apply to a Millennium.

With this in mind it is very important to understand the best advice and service is going to come from an expert on our particular coach. Some things are common so we can share advice from people like Rudy who is the expert on Aquahot and most Webasto units, or Randy or Jordan at Inverter Repair Service. But for our specific coaches or conversions we need to look to folks who have a proven record of experience and success.

Look for the service provider’s background as an indicator of their ability to provide advice or service. For example if I had a Vantare I would not hesitate to consider the folks at Tradewinds, or for my Liberty I would look to Jeff at East Tennessee Luxury Coach. They have the credentials, but more importantly they have a proven record as is evident by posts from PC members.

Do they have a monopoly? No. Nobody has exclusivity so we can be comfortable knowing we will not only get good service we will pay a fair price. Equally important is the fact the experts know what they are doing so we are not paying for “on the job training”. While the temptation is to bring a coach to the service facility nearby because they claim they know what they are doing, extreme care should be used. Some things are generic and the average mechanic is going to be able to change oil, but all bets are off if you think he is going to diagnose why your inverters are acting goofy or what you have to do to make your Crestron work with your new TV or how to cure the leans.

Rudy nailed his analysis of the problem with water flow. That is proof that those with the expertise are our greatest resource and as Tom points out you enter the danger zone when you seek help from a generalist or someone not possessing the expertise on a particular coach.