In my 1997 Class B Xplorer I have an Atwood GH6A-8E water heater. This has the heat exchanger which has hoses bringing hot coolant to the tank connecting to tubes wrapped around it to get the water hot while driving. The cardboard box surrounding it has sometimes in the past gotten wet. A few years ago the rv shop checked it and couldn't find a leak, but I think they just checked the water lines. I had to replace the hoses coming from the radiator this spring and the heat exchanger works well. The cardboard box still gets wet. I just completed a 3,000 mile trip with no engine overheating problem, but had to add a gallon of water to the radiator & overflow container.
Since the hoses aren't leaking at the connection, it seems that the metal tubing wrapped around the water tank must be leaking coolant. None gets into the water tank as the hot water is fine. I did google searches, etc and did find 1 guy who pulled his heater and took it to a welder for repair. He had no more leaks after the reinstall. My concern is dealing with that removal of electrical and propane and the radiator hoses may cause more problems as I've never dealt with this before. It is a 20 year old unit.
I have 3 options: 1) disconnect the new radiator hose and install a short workaround hose under the hood. i'ld lose the heat exchange feature I like, but no coolant.
2) Try the removal and repair.
3) Take it to the dealer. I don't know if they can repair it and their $200/hour labor charge would add up. So I'm thinking I should just have them install a new unit. They have the exact same unit for $520 and estimate the labor cost to remove the old & install the new would be $400. So the total cost with tax would be $975.
I plan on keeping the rv as long as I can.
Thoughts??
