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Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Yahoo Message Number: 106504
I have been told by my repair shop that my Atwood water heater has a very slow engine coolant leak. I have never seen any wetness or any signs of leakage other than a coolant odor under the bathroom sink after driving a while. I have had to add a pint or so of water after driving a few hundred miles just to bring the reservoir back to full. The water heater itself works perfectly fine on 110v and gas (I just replaced the control circuit board as a matter of fact).

I am wondering, when these water heaters leak coolant, do they ever fail catastrophically (as in leaving a guy stranded on the roadside) or will it get gradually worse before failing in a big way? I'm just debating my three options that come to mind:
1. Do nothing and wait until it gets worse
2. Replace the water heater
3. Have the engine shop install a bypass hose so there's no more coolant going through the water heater jacket; I can easily live with only 110v and gas hot water until such a time as I do need a whole new heater

I suppose #2 or #3 are the safest bet against a catastrophic failure, which is really my only fear.
Opinions?

Mark M

1998 Intrigue #10661

Re: Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 106505
I'd either replace it or bypass it, regardless at the very minimum I'd make sure there are shut off valves on each line.

Jim Lewis

From: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2016 4:14 PM To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

I have been told by my repair shop that my Atwood water heater has a very slow engine coolant leak. I have never seen any wetness or any signs of leakage other than a coolant odor under the bathroom sink after driving a while. I have had to add a pint or so of water after driving a few hundred miles just to bring the reservoir back to full. The water heater itself works perfectly fine on 110v and gas (I just replaced the control circuit board as a matter of fact).

I am wondering, when these water heaters leak coolant, do they ever fail catastrophically (as in leaving a guy stranded on the roadside) or will it get gradually worse before failing in a big way? I'm just debating my three options that come to mind:
1. Do nothing and wait until it gets worse
2. Replace the water heater
3. Have the engine shop install a bypass hose so there's no more coolant going through the water heater jacket; I can easily live with only 110v and gas hot water until such a time as I do need a whole new heater

I suppose #2 or #3 are the safest bet against a catastrophic failure, which is really my only fear.
Opinions?

Mark M

1998 Intrigue #10661

Re: Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 106506
Anything can fail at anytime so it is not a question of will they fail but when. Just so you know, the coolant coil runs on the outside of the tank so there is no way for coolant to pollute your fresh water.

If it was me, I would probably remove the coolant hoses from the water hearer and install a jumper to connect the two ends together.

Don

'02 Intrigue 11427
'02 Intrigue #11427

Re: Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 106508
Hi Mark,

As I read your email, I find myself wondering if the coolant could ever leak into the potable water in the hot water heater tank?

Mike

Michael St. John

stjohn911@...
2005 CC Magna Matisse C13, #6501

Re: Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 106512
Didn't read my post. To repeat, no there is no way for the coolant to get into the fresh water system. The "motoraid" option is nothing but an aluminum tube that is tack welded to the exterior of the water tank. The hot coolant runs through it thereby heating the water in the tank.

Don

'02 Intrigue 11427
'02 Intrigue #11427

Re: Atwood water heater leaking engine coolant

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 106536
Just replaced mine last year. Mine started to leak and was making a mess. I did it my self in about a day. The only thing is the old Atwood wiring is different from the new one. Running another wire to the old switch location was a problem. So I relocated the switch closer to the water heater in the bathroom.

Note: my water heater used 3/4 sources for heating gas, electric, aqua hot and engine same plumbing as aqua hot.

Alex Ritchey CC Affinity B&B 42' tag #5733

alexritchey65@...



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