Ugh!! Aquahot woes!

[brianreed]

I have a 2006 Newmar Mountain AIre 4303 which has an older Hydrohot HHE-500 unit that has failed.  At first we had a pump go out and the combustion chamber crack and general maintenance it has cost me $2K just in those items over the past 18 months.  Then during the winter the until entirely failed when it overheated and the internal heat exchanger cracked and all of the antifreeze ran out the exhaust pipe.  After some research and taking it to a Aquahot dealer here in WA it was suggested a get this until rebuilt.  A new 400D unit was going to cost about $10K (8K for unit, 2K to install) and a rebuilt was going to be $8K ($6K unit, and 2K) install.

With any of this stuff there are unknowns and I am just beside myself that these things cost so much.  I opted to get the rebuilt unit a newer 400D as it was a direct replacement.  The old unit was removed and sent back as a core and a rebuilt 400D unit was delivered to the dealer and installed. Of course the costs for install were understated and grew from the original $2K to $3,100 which is frustrating.  Then they gave me a call and said that there were some blown fuses and during their trouble shooting the control panel is also bad!!  That thing costs $500 for a new one and installation and testing!  I am sure we are well over $10K for the final bill!!!.

Just wanted to vent!

[wayne77590]

Brian, that is why I carry an extended service plan. I consider it nothing more than insurance like I pay every year for my sticks and bricks house. Over the years my ESP has paid for itself. Others have not been so fortunate, or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it.

[brianreed]

3 minutes ago, wayne77590 said:

Brian, that is why I carry an extended service plan. I consider it nothing more than insurance like I pay every year for my sticks and bricks house. Over the years my ESP has paid for itself. Others have not been so fortunate, or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it.

Yes that would have been a good thing.  When I requested a quote it was $1,200 a month and I thought, "no way".  But with all of these costs including the Aquahot, one AC unit replaced, and a TV as well as the dash AC going out, it would have been worth it.  Now not so sure as I cannot think of what else could be replaced.  Ceste La Vie!

[manholt]

$1,200 a month?  By Whom...that's insane, the most I have heard about is $5,000 for 3 years!  I remember when you got the Newmar.  You asked us a lot of questions back then and got a lot of what to do, not to do!  Most went unheeded.

There is always something to replace...like a re-built tranny or turbo, fuel pumps, etc., all high dollar items!

If you had the replacement done at a AH dealer, I would take a copy off the itemized bill and send it to Aqua Hot.  I'm hoping you got the original bid in writing.

[brianreed]

Manholt,

It was quoted though the FMCA recommendation of Warranty Wholesalers of of Sand Diego through Member Benefits.  I went back and looked it was not exactly $1,200 a month, was $15K for 3 years, but the payment schedule was $1,200 a month until it was paid up.  At the time is seemed high, but like I said in retrospect perhaps it would have been a good idea.

Yes it has been a journey, but I think maybe you are confusing me with someone else on things unheeded.  I had a full inspection by an independent repair facility as well as Cummins prior to purchase.  I even enrolled in MH driving lessons to ensure I knew how to drive such a beast.  On top of that I made 4 weekend trips to local camp grounds to ensure I understood how to run every system as well as making sure everything worked prior to any long distant trips.  I thought I did pretty good.  What things did I miss?

[kaypsmith]

$1200. per month sounded expensive, but $1200. per month is 14,400. in one year plus another $600. in the next year for three years protection, or another two years protection, in this case doesn't seem so bad, and considering what all you are experiencing now would really be a bargain. Hope things work out for the best for you, hindsight is 20/20  and foresight is always "?" for all of us.

[brianreed]

3 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

$1200. per month sounded expensive, but $1200. per month is 14,400. in one year plus another $600. in the next year for three years protection, or another two years protection, in this case doesn't seem so bad, and considering what all you are experiencing now would really be a bargain. Hope things work out for the best for you, hindsight is 20/20  and foresight is always "?" for all of us.

I agree,  at the time it seemed like a good idea, but like you said 20/20.

Even though there have been repairs, I love our RV.

[five]

On 4/15/2020 at 12:27 PM, Brianreed said:

Manholt,

It was quoted though the FMCA recommendation of Warranty Wholesalers of of Sand Diego through Member Benefits.  I went back and looked it was not exactly $1,200 a month, was $15K for 3 years, but the payment schedule was $1,200 a month until it was paid up.  At the time is seemed high, but like I said in retrospect perhaps it would have been a good idea.

Yes it has been a journey, but I think maybe you are confusing me with someone else on things unheeded.  I had a full inspection by an independent repair facility as well as Cummins prior to purchase.  I even enrolled in MH driving lessons to ensure I knew how to drive such a beast.  On top of that I made 4 weekend trips to local camp grounds to ensure I understood how to run every system as well as making sure everything worked prior to any long distant trips.  I thought I did pretty good.  What things did I miss?

I think you did very good, lots better than many of us would have done.  Many of these breakdowns are just plain luck...or bad luck.  Last May we had a blown CAC hose, which started a chain of events that cost five days and four nights in a Freightliner shop and $7,500...bad luck.

[brianreed]

I went a picked up Doris yesterday and she is back home.  Turns out it was a aquahot 450D that was installed not the 400D.  Looked and it has a better gallons per minute which will be nice.  It was a reman unit, but looks brand new to me.  Running in tip top shape, all the costs or worth it once you see it all shiny and new.

 

[wildebill308]

Glad you got Doris  home.

Bill

[five]

1 hour ago, Brianreed said:

I went a picked up Doris yesterday and she is back home.  Turns out it was a aquahot 450D that was installed not the 400D.  Looked and it has a better gallons per minute which will be nice.  It was a reman unit, but looks brand new to me.  Running in tip top shape, all the costs or worth it once you see it all shiny and new.

 

I think the biggest difference between the 400D and the 450D is that the 400D does not have engine preheat.

[manholt]

In WA. You do want the pre-heat.  

[five]

I never use the AH preheat, it's easier to set a timer and use electric.

[huffypuff]

The 450D does have preheat as my coach does.  Look at page 6 of the manual.  

http://www.aquahot.com/files/owners_manual/UseCareGuide450DWeb.pdf

[wayne77590]

Mine has an engine pre-heat also. (400D)

[jleamont]

I thought they all had Pre-Heat. Ours is a 100-01 (from 2001) and it has Pre-heat and the engine loop to heat the system while traveling. 

[wayne77590]

I love the engine loop Hot water when you stop with nothing turned on to heat the water except the running engine for a couple hundred miles.

My pre-heat switch is on my Energy Management Panel. Just says "Engine."

[jleamont]

16 minutes ago, wayne77590 said:

I love the engine loop Hot water

Ditto! I like when we stop for fuel or a break I have hot water for hand or dish washing immediately. When its cold we have comfortable heat throughout the interior without running the diesel or electric burners. 

[five]

On 4/19/2020 at 10:39 PM, wayne77590 said:

Mine has an engine pre-heat also. (400D)

You Marines must be special😀.  This is from the AH web site, note the third item:

Specifications 400D

• -  Maximum Interior Heat Exchanger BTUs 65,600
• -  Continuous, Tank-less Hot Water 1.25 GPM
• -  Engine Preheating No
• -  Electric Elements 1-120VAC, 1650W
• -  Fuel Diesel
• -  Max Fuel Usage .41 GPH
• -  AVG Fuel Usage /Day Dry Camping 1-4 Gallons
• -  AVG Fuel Usage/Day Shore Power 1-2 Gallons

[wayne77590]

Five, I will not argue with you that my 2015 (2014 build) has or does not have engine preheat.

Here is a snip from my manual, you can take it for what it is worth.  I do no that when I turn it on with that "engine preheat" switch to the far right, it heats the engine up. What can I say. Yep, has to be a Marine thing, I mean everyone knows we do "it" better! 😁

 

[brianreed]

Sorry was not on here for a few days.

This engine preheat feature may bein my AQ unit but I do not think it was used.  I do not have the switch for preheat on my AQ control panel.  It could just be there and run automatic, but I am not sure.  I can look into it.