katanapilot

Glad to hear you had your AquaGo fixed per the recall. I expect the Oliver is doing all they can given the lack of parts availability from Truma. Yes, this is very frustrating for me not knowing when the parts will be available for our repairs. It would also be helpful to have a little more guidance from Oliver as to the risks involved with using a recalled AquaGo.

I'll try to get that posted next week. Sorry, been busy with higher priorities. And yes, I think a TIG weld or even some high temperature metallic epoxy would do the job. https://www.amazon.com/J-B-Weld-37901-Temperature-Resistant/dp/B01IBOBY74/ref=asc_df_B01IBOBY74?mcid=8379611e6f663b5f9dd162baf3db4633&hvocijid=6621279464323635468-B01IBOBY74-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6621279464323635468&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010892&hvtargid=pla-2281435178858&th=1

Excellent question. 1. Primary concern was that repeated heat/cooling cycles on the burners had heat treated the burners and made the ends brittle. Crimping these burners might lead to cracks. Then the WH would be a brick until I could obtain and install a new burner. 2. Lacking a service/repair manual, I was a bit concerned about pulling the burner. I consider myself pretty handy, but I didn’t want to damage the WH by doing something stupid. Having a burner in my hands gave me more confidence in what would be needed to remove and replace said burner. 3. Given a very unknown lead time and lack of any real guidance from Oliver regarding the risks of operating a recalled AquaGo - I wanted to do something to reduce the risk. If they are only getting 15-20 burners per month (and OTT service was not even confident in that number) - the possibility of years before repair was unworkable for me.

My comment was meant for another poster (not the OP). This poster, who fortunately for them had Oliver repair their recalled AquaGo - told the rest of us that were waiting for our repair - to "just hook up and go camping". I found that comment to be tone deaf (and still do). Fortunately for me, I was able to buy a new burner off eBay, crimp the uncrimped ends and check the torque on the fittings. Not everyone (and I suspect most of the effected 800) are able to do this, nor should they be expected to do so. I think using an unrepaired AquaGo is risky and so "just hook up and go camping" is not a practical answer for many.

Question- do you have a front shore power outlet? If so, the transfer switch is probably wired to the two shore power outlets. Mine is, so it remained installed with the Victron. There was a good bit of rewiring on the AC lines required when I replaced the 2kw Xantrex with the 3kw Victron MP2. You can pass all the shore power through the Victron which was not possible with the Xantrex.

Not entirely sure Truma is providing much support to Oliver for this recall. They seem to be fighting a "global" recall of the AquaGo and Oliver is the only one (so far) that has initiated a recall for these units. "I have not read or heard of any Oliver’s or other RVs equipped with the Truma Aqua Go burning down." Not yet, anyway...

At 15-20 replacements per month, it could be three or more years. Hopefully, Truma will up their production rate for Oliver (not holding my breath) and/or there will be another terminating action on the recall versus complete burner replacement. As I was able to crimp the uncrimped ends of the replacement burner I bought, it seems like a similar action could be taken on in-service units to mitigate the risk of the burner tubes coming loose.

All I know is there are 800 affected units from Oliver. Service told me they “might” get more than the 15-20 units per month that they had previously gotten from Truma. Others have posted that they believe Truma is in no hurry to supply Oliver with these parts as Truma did not believe a recall was warranted. I bought a new burner from an eBay seller and modified the burner ends to match the current build spec. I’ll install that and use it until Oliver gets to me in the recall queue. It’s a tough spot to be in as there is a risk of fire if you use your recalled AquaGo. Oliver has not been very informative as to whether or not you should or should not use a recalled unit. I suspect if they told us specifically not to use the water heater - there would be a lot of unhappy customers amongst the 800 or so - especially given the unknown lead time of parts availability and replacement.

Yes. I have the Houghton/RecPro 13.5k heat pump which draws quite a bit less than the Dometic turbojet penguin. I want to add a soft start to the Houghton to reduce the inrush current. I have no idea yet how long the Houghton will run off the batteries, but it will start. My hope is it’s long enough to cool the trailer down at a lunch stop.

I have not added up the total. I believe I am less than $5k all in. Many hours of my (unskilled) labor, though. This upgrade (just completed) included (3) BB 100ah batteries, all Victron components. MP2 inverter/charger, MPPT solar charger, Cerbo GX plus display, Lynx distributor (fused bus bar), Lynx smart shunt, VE Bus dongle, DC-DC charger - plus a lot of new/ cleaned up wiring. I rearranged the factory 120 volt wiring to have all power pass through the MP2 before going to the C/B panel. I can now run the air conditioner off the 3000 watt inverter. So far, everything tests good. Have a week of camping planned next week at SNF to really shake it down. Anyone in the Atlanta area needing a Xantrex 2K inverter/charger or a Zamp solar controller - let me know.

5 year old trailers have a systems warranty? Didn’t know that!

Do you think you would have any recourse with Oliver or Truma today? You have been notified that your AquaGo may have a defective burner. If you choose to use it anyway and it burns down your trailer, whose fault would that be?

I am not an attorney so this is an uneducated opinion only - I believe that anyone who has received notice of the recall and continues to use their AquaGo is probably accepting all liability for damage or loss due to a fire caused by the defective burner. No doubt turning the AquaGo on only when needed mitigates the risk, but the risk still exists regardless.

I crimped the ends. First picture was as delivered, second was after crimping the burner ends. Took 5 minutes. I'll add another picture when I TIG spot weld them.

Found a brand new burner assembly from a "cosmetically damaged" AquaGo on eBay and bought it for $200. One goal was to see what is involved in removing said assembly, since we do not have access to a service manual. I also wanted to see what was required to crimp the ends of the intermediate burners. Having done that now, I will also put a small TIG weld bead at the ends to make sure there is never any movement. Still have not heard back from Truma to schedule a replacement unit, but now that I've seen what is involved in replacing the burner, I'm not going to bother. I'll wait for Oliver to get to me in their recall queue, but I'll have a burner that I am comfortable with already installed.