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Hello, Looking for a quality repair shop in the Ontario, OR - Boise, ID area. Hoping someone can recommend a great shop. At this time nothing major needed, aqua hot service, minor electrical and an ABS light. RV is a 2010 Tiffin Alegro Bus. Thanks, Vince

This is an alert to all Aqua Hot users. Our AquaHot's boiler cap was stuck and allowed the boiler to boil out 11 gallons out of 16 gal of coolant over a period of I don't know how long! The cap was so deteriorated (brittle) that the rubber seals came apart in pieces when I removed the cap, which I had to use Channel locks to remove. The missing 11 gallons of coolant was causing the temp of the hot water to fluctuate, which I thought originally was the mixing valve; but after circumstances led me to check the coolant level I found out differently! After cleaning the Boiler cap neck, which was very difficult on our 04 Monaco Exec, because of where it is located and the size of the AquaHot and filling it with coolant, the Electric Heating Element burned out and I had to replace it. The Heating Element Replacement requires that you drain the boiler. Well there went the 11 gallons of Coolant I just put in by pumping it in with a new Weed sprayer, which was a real chore, because of where my boiler's cap and inlet were located! I did have an unused 40 gal blue tank, that I was able to use to recycle the 16 plus gallons of 50/50 coolant mixture. Note: Use Distilled water along with the coolant to achieve the 50/50 solution. This will keep the corrosion down in the room heat exchangers and save you money and trouble in the long run. The AquaHot Owner's Manual & the AquaHot Repair Manual says to check the coolant level in the reservoir tank and neither manual mentions checking the level of the fluid in the Boiler tank OR what type of Coolant to use!. The tank has a radiator cap on top of it like a car's radiator. Do not trust just checking the reservoir's fluid level!!! I would advise everyone with an AquaHot to check the boiler's coolant level. Wait until the boiler is cool. If you can feel that the radiator cap on top of the boiler (Just like a car's radiator cap) is cool to the touch, along with the area around it remove the cap slowly and if the level is correct and full, the coolant will be right up to the cap and may even overflow as you remove the cap. If you cannot see or feel the coolant level go to: http://rvhydronicheaterrepair.com/RVHYDModelInfo.htm and see what type of coolant your AquaHot uses and fill it up. Note: you should find out what type of coolant your AquaHot uses anyway! In any case you should check the boiler cap once a year and replace it every 2 years! You will save yourself a lot of headaches & heartaches, along with a lot of money in repairs! God Bless and have a supper day, Larry the Tweety Coach Guy

In older Aqua-Hot systems, DO NOT attempt to "tighten" the boiler bulkhead fittings in response to an antifreeze leak. It is a real temptation, since a 7/8" crescent wrench can be laid against the stainless shroud and move what appears to be compression fittings. These are solder-on joints; the cause of dripping might be failure of the solder joint to begin with. Further movement can twist the boiler coil and restrict water passage while at the same time increasing the leak. The price of a boiler overhaul on the older models is about $8,000! I've put about ten manhours into removing our AHE-100-4S after noticing a persistent antifreeze leak. Rather than returning it to service with the obsolete bulkhead fittings, I upgraded to compression fittings at the bulkhead, re-soldered the original end fittings. Removed from the cabinet, the boiler can then be descaled, leak-tested. I also pressurized the hot water coil to ensure there was no leakage. Having the boiler out is a good opportunity to replace hoses, install a new insulation blanket, put stainless hardware on the feet instead of the rust-prone steel pop rivets used at the factory. Following Aqua-Hot Service Manual instructions, I also soaked the mix valve in diluted CLR. While applications differ, my coach needs about 10 gallons of antifreeze in addition to the 16 gallons held by the boiler. In our case, this whole overhaul process was innocently begun with replacement of the electrical heater element. The element is just like your home version, down to the wrench size. To replace the element, the boiler must first be drained. I dumped the non-toxic antifreeze, bought 22 bottles of Camco concentrate on line for about $8 each. It is important to use distilled water; a supersize IV rig fashioned from a plastic jug and hung on a ladder is a good way to execute the refill. Tracing leaks on the boiler bulkhead is made difficult by the snug cowling/shroud that encloses these units. Q-tips are handy for determining which fitting is the culprit. If either of the water In/Out fittings are allowing antifreeze to escape, the sole remedy is boiler removal. Did I mention that the cost of this is $8,000 plus shipping and taxes, if Aqua-Hot does the work?😏