Newcsn

1 minute ago, jacwjames said:

Are you considering using the Polyethylene orange sheeting or just the thin set?? 

The sheeting will add ~1/4" (or more) to the thickness.  It's a good product but probably not necessary in a motorhome. 

 

I used the orange sheeting when I put porcelain tile on a deck.  It's been in place about 4 years now and so far so good (although Schulter Systems doesn't recommend that type of application anymore).  I started with 3/4" treated plywood, 1/2" cement board, the membrane and then 18"X18" porcelain tile.  We clean it with a pressure washer about every 4 months, takes ~1/2 hour.  Plus the patio underneath stays dry. 

@jacwjames I was thinking about using Dirta (the orange stuff) - but haven’t decided - concerned about how it might effect our slides operation (will it add too much thickness). I think we’re going to use a 12x24 porcelain tile & run them lengthwise. 

45 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

I wonder if this is the red tint material https://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Building-Products-RedGard-1-Gal-Waterproofing-and-Crack-Prevention-Membrane-LQWAF1/100169081

There are other products like this, Lowes sells Aquadefense which I used when I did all three of the shower/bath areas when I built our house.   https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Mapelastic-Aquadefense-1-Gallon-Liquid-Membrane/5014036803

Both say crack isolation membrane.  I'd never seen anyone mention this type of product being used in Monaco coaches but it definitely couldn't hurt.  I goes on pretty easy and the Aquadefense I used dried pretty fast.   It also protects against moisture intrusion, I used it in the walk in shower and two tub surrounds I tiled. 

You use the somewhat generic term of ceramic tile, which normally is a clay based tile that has a glaze over it.  My experience with ceramic is it cracks and chips easy and doesn't like point loading.   I helped a friend install ceramic tile in a new house he was building.  Not many years later he pulled it all up and put down laminate flooring.  I asked why and he said the tile was cracking, mostly in the kitchen area and he finally figured out what was causing it, his SIL was very heavy and she'd stand on her tippy toes to reach something in the cabinet and snap, a tile would break. 

A better choice would be a porcelain tile, which is much more durable (IMHO).   Lots of choices out there, a good place to source is Floors & Decor if you have one near you.  They have a huge selection at very good prices. 

Also if you have an oscillating saw you might try it, it might bring up the old thin set pretty quick. 

Good Luck

 

@jacwjames Thanks - I think you’re right - it’s RedGard! Thanks as well for the distinction b/t ceramic & porcelain tile - very good to know!

When I removed the tile there were a number of things that I was surprised to find:

It appeared the thinset was put on per tile & very poorly/uneven/not full contact. It also appeared on some of them that there were multiple layers of thinset - perhaps a smear on the floor & a clump on the back of the tile or on the corners. And then, RedGard in the kitchen but not in the bath or the main entry. Not at all what I thought I’d find!

Thinking about using the thinset Ditra uncoupling membrane on the install. My only concern is the finished thickness & slide operation.

The journey continues!

18 minutes ago, Rick A said:

No my wife wanted a really good quality vinyl because it’s better for summer and winter. The tiles were very cold in winter up in Victoria BC. As an added bonus removing,  the tiles removed about 250lbs. 

 

@Rick A Gotcha! We’ve tried to find a really good looking luxury vinyl tile but haven’t been able to yet. Wouldn’t mind the weight savings!

After a bit more exploration it appears the "red" material was some sort of liquid that was poured/painted on the underlayment prior to the thinset. After I removed a couple more pieces of trim you could see where the pour/paint ended. Wonder what that stuff is?

30 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

The grinder will make a huge mess. When I had to fix some tiles in the house, I modified a see through box covering my hand with the grinder and with an attached hose to shop vac. Almost no dust this way. Any chance you had heated floor in that section?

@Ivan K Thanks for the feedback! No, no heated floors in our coach. As for the "mess" I found a shroud that goes around my grinder head & attaches to my shop vac. From all the reviews this eliminates about 90% of the mess. We'll see!

Diment Power Surface Grinding Dust Shroud for Angle Grinder 115mm / 125mm （4 inch / 5 inch） https://a.co/d/76WEV5Z

1 hour ago, Rick A said:

I removed the tiles but I didn’t have huge patches of adhesive left on the plywood like you appear to have so I used a wide metal paint scraper and wooden hammer. That avoided the awful dust experience. 

@Rick A Thanks! Did you go back w/ ceramic tile?

Well, the time has come for a refresh of the floors in our 2006 Dynasty Diamond IV! We are leaning toward replacing it in the same configuration: ceramic tile where there’s tile & carpet where carpet. I’d value some feedback from anyone who has replaced their ceramic tile w/ ceramic tile!

I have the majority of the tile removed & found a couple interesting things & wonder if anyone can shed some light on them.

You can see there is a red membrane under the thinset that appears to be adhered to the underlayment. However, as you can see, there was none on the floor in the bathroom. What is the membrane & why wouldn’t they have continued it in the bathroom? BTW - this is where we had major tile delamination.

My plan is to use a 5” diamond cup wheel to grind all thinset off the subfloor in prep for new ceramic tile. What type membrane should I put under the thinset prior to installing tile?

I plan to use an ultra-flex thinset w/ polymers. Any recommendations on the best one(s) to use in one of these rocking beasts?

Also, I don’t have the benefit of an indoor space to do the flooring replacement or keep opposing front slides open at the same while removing old tile. The front slide on the driver’s side is a flush floor slide & I noticed when it is fully retracted the leading edge (vinyl glide bar) appears to rest on the tile. Once I remove the old tile, will it harm the slide to move it in & out w/o something under the glide bar? I sure don’t want to damage the bar or the slide while replacing the tile.

Thank you for chiming in!

This group is amazing - thanks for all the outstanding feedback!!!

On 9/9/2023 at 10:21 PM, Tom Cherry said:

There is a special Carling tool as well as a knockoff on Amazon.  I did them the hard way….was lucky.  

Thanks @Tom Cherry - tool has been ordered!

On 9/10/2023 at 1:18 PM, David Pratt said:

There are other switches though out the coach, ie the dash and bedroom that are identical to the one that is located on the generator. If those switches start and the generator runs and the light is working, then common sense tells you that the light in the switch on the generator has failed.

@David Pratt On our Dynasty, the only genset rocker switch is on the dash. The switches in the bedroom are Intellitec switches - 2 of them. One for start & one for stop. When the genset is running the "start" switch remains illuminated.

On 9/10/2023 at 9:05 AM, Dr4Film said:

@thomasgibbens I installed a LED bulb in its correct polarity and added a resistor to the wiring harness to reduce the 12 VDC to a level where the LED bulb could tolerate and still provide the proper brightness.

@Dr4Film - Looks like I'll be exploring this solution! After checking all my rocker switches that have lights it appears I have a few of them out! Time for a new experience!

Thanks again!

We cranked up the 10 KW Onan generator on our 2006 Dynasty Diamond IV today and it appears the light in the generator on/off rocker switch is not illuminated while running. Do I recall correctly that the light is supposed to be illuminated when the genset is running? If so, is there a diagnostic process for determining if it’s an electrical/wiring issue or the switch? If the switch is bad, where is the best place to find a replacement? Thanks 

TSD - but - we also monitor Mudflaps & Gas Buddy. There have been a few occasions where Mudflaps has been cheaper than TSD. 

1 hour ago, jacwjames said:

They do sell the whole end for my pump, which looks like yours, there is a parts page on there website.  https://remcoindustries.com/pump-products/parts-accessories/pump-replacement-parts/

5503-1X77   5500 Series, 5.3 GPM w Pressure Switch - 3/4"

I didn't need the whole end and after digging found the number for just the pressure switch.  I believe that will fix my problem as when I took it loose there was some water in it where the diaphragm had been leaking.  It was a slow drip but over time the water finally found its way out of the compartment and was dripping 1 1/2 compartments down.  

Thanks for the follow up Jim! I suspect those parts may be somewhat interchangeable. However, mine was not a “threaded” configuration - it had the push-in connections. Also, it appears they want about $100 for that little booger! Oh well, now I have some spare parts. Man, I hope I never need them!!!

57 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Fascinating.  Remco was really IN THE DARK when they bought the AquaTec rights.  There was no technical support or anything.  I last talked to AquaTec in 2011, as best as I can recall.  AquaTec was still manufacturing for them.  AquaTec also had a commercial version for insecticide and other spraying applications where you needed a fairly high volume and pressure..  FWIW..  Home systems have a typical 5 GPM max flow at maybe 60 PSI.  Commercial lawn services use these pumps, thus TSC sells them.  I have no knowledge if Remco Is still sourcing from AquaTec or offshore.  But, your comments about the “tech support” and doubting the veracity of the content seems to be the case.  Since I haven’t touched mine since 2015 when I put in the freebie, does yours also have the 4screw cover under the housing belly?  The original ones did and there was a PCB with a small “POT” or potentiometer on it…which I left alone per the tech.

They may be outsourcing ….  Who knows.  But the company line of not messing with the pressure adjustment was legitimate….

Thanks for the info….

Tom - Quick clarification. I misspoke, I actually visited w/ Remco tech support, not Aquajet/Aquatech. Sorry about the confusion!

Also, I haven’t disassembled the old pump, so I can’t answer your question regardless PCB/POT. Here’s a couple more pics of the old pump. Not sure if this is helpful. Thanks

19 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

The original RV55 Pump, from AquaTec, was NOT "SUPPOSEDLY" Serviceable...PER TALKS with their Techs way back in 2011 or so.  I flooded my "Wet Bay" with septic water.  Killed the PUMP...would not run. So, later on when I got home, I decided to pull it apart.  OPPS...curious.  IT WORKS.  What GIVES...It was dead as a doornail, but 400 miles later works.  ON THE PHONE...Tech said...We DO NOT sell that assembly.  You HAVE to send in the pump.  We will install....and it has to FACTORY ADJUSTED...and we have the TEST RIG for that....  BUT, he went on...  Is it working?  YES!  Do you have good pressure? YES!.  DON'T MESS WITH IT...  You'll be SORRY.  The diaphragm control board has an adjustment "POT" on it.  If it is WORKING...LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

BUT, then he added.  We just sold or were going to sell the pump.  There was an ECN (Engineering Change Notice) in the works....DEAD NOW.  We knew that the pump was vulnerable in the BOTTOM.  So, we were changing the gasket and considering "sealing the COVER with RTV silicone".  Never got around to it.

He said that I had done the right thing....sprayed the board with WD-40 to remove the moisture.  Then sprayed with an ELECTRONIC Cleaner (MILD) and finally CANNED Clean Air.  OK...reassemble the cover and caulk or seal the gasket...if the Capacitors didn't get too cruddy, from the septic water, then it should work fine...which it did...  I only changed it out as my DW's LLC Farm  bought a new pump for me to winterize with RV Antifreeze, their farmhouse they were keeping, but intending to renovate...  BUT, they changed their minds...  I installed my NEW "freebie"  pump....and carry the old one as a spare.

OK....SOMETIMES I have stuff in my brain as well as STUFF in my files.  @David Pratt posted this a LONG time ago.  I actually COPIED it.  Here is the ORIGINAL installation instructions for a very OLD AquaTec AquaJet RV55 pump.  Read down to item 24 and 25. NOW, I do NOT know if the Pressure PCB was revised or what....but, as I said...and all the research that I could find...NOPE...NOT ADJUSTABLE.  The file is below.

My COMMENTS.  If the TSC Pump can be gutted and you steal the PCB and it looks like your old one and there IS an adjustment...try it the pump.  The AquaTec Tech said that every pump and it's diaphram were UNIQUE and were tuned or set at the factory...BUT...this is what AquaTec published years ago.  I WOULD tell you to also SEAL the cover.  I would also tell you to MOUNT it on a 2X whatever Pressure Treated wooden block or like Scotty H, use a plastic pad...and ISOLATE (Closed cell foam or a gasket or maybe 5 layers of HVAC tape or Commercial THICK Insulation tape) UNDER the pad mount....  Will run quieter and also be raised up...

That's my story...

 

Aqua+Jet+55RV+water+pump (1).pdf 59.02 kB · 4 downloads

I recently (2 weeks ago) had a conversation with Aquajet's support folks due to a leak that has developed in the housing (see pic) on our 55 ARV pump (installed by PO about 4 years ago). They told me the pump & housing is not serviceable "due to the internal chip that is tested/programmed to the specific pump & has to be set at the factory".

I find that incredibly curious (perhaps unbelievable)! It seems they're saying that their manufacturing parameters/tolerances have such a wide variance that the chip in every pump has to be uniquely tweaked so that the pump performs correctly. Hmmm . . . not buying their script!

After searching extensively for the pump cover we finally bit the bullet on a new 55 ARV. Now I have a spare 55 ARV for parts (other than the cover).

10 minutes ago, KevinH said:

Does anybody have the Garnet sea level 2 tank monitoring system? It’s the Bluetooth version with only one monitor . I have an app on my phone that shows me the tank levels. I’ve had mine for about 3 years now.  I only monitor fresh water, gray water, black water, and battery voltage. The first year I had it the monitor went bad and it was still under warranty. They sent me a new one and it has worked up until now. Now the monitor works but the Bluetooth app doesn’t. I’ve talk to technical support and they say there’s something wrong with the monitor. It’s not connecting to the Bluetooth. And it’s out of warranty and they want me to buy a new one. Anybody else out there experience this problem? Thanks Kevin 

KevinH - Yes, we've experienced a similar situation with our SeaLevel 2 bluetooth not responding intermittently (can't monitor from our phone or iPad). I called tech support & they told me to disconnect the plug on the back of the the monitor panel & let the system reboot. I suspect they told you to attempt this as well? I've had to do this a few times when the bluetooth decides to go on the fritz. So far it has worked, but I'm concerned the bluetooth may decide to depart permanently one of these days!

Awesome stuff - thank you all!

Chargerman - What a bummer! We just replaced ours for the same reason (clunking). It was really tight but we were able to twist the fridge in the opening enough to clear & get it out. Must have made a slight change in interior construction b/t a 06 Dynasty & Executive. 

Interesting, I just ordered 2 quarts on Amazon for $27/quart. If I attempted to order/buy from Lowes/HD/Menards it appears they have a 4 quart minimum. 

It’s time to refresh the roof & after reading a number of posts it seems like the Rustoleum Topside product is a solid solution. My question: Is it okay to paint over the Dicor self-leveling sealant or simply paint up to the edge of the sealant? The sealant is in great shape & I’m not planning to remove it. Thanks!

@birdshill123Well, all my best measurements couldn’t make a 28” fridge cabinet (doors removed) go through a 27” salon window. And @Frank McElroy we couldn’t squeeze it out the entry door either.  Bummed!!!

So, last weekend the driver’s side window came out - as did the driver’s captain chair - and we fished the old Whirlpool out the window & the new Whirlpool back in. Thank the Lord for a couple incredible friends & a forklift!!!

All seemed to go flawlessly - thanks to all the excellent input from so many posters on this site! thanks again!!!

23 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

So, that would mean you would need to get 16% more or an additional (assuming 20 year life as many are...or maybe a little less) 3 years of service.

@Tom Cherry We’re not thinking we’ll have the coach for another 20 years - we may not even be alive! I’m not thinking the additional $1000 for soft starts is justified.

It would be nice if someone designed a cost effective & discrete mini-split system for these beasts! Thanks again!

On 4/28/2023 at 8:48 AM, Tom Cherry said:

My rule in an inflationary economy….buy it today….it will cost more and it is tough to invest your money and get it to grow faster than today’s inflation rate.

@Tom Cherry Always love your detailed & practical responses! I totally agree with your “do it all at once” approach. What makes the “investment” a bit more painful is when you have 3 of those beauties up on your roof & you’re installing 2 of the new thermostats!!! OUCH!

Question: If a guy takes the leap & upgrades all three, is there really any need to add soft starts if you only use 50 amp service (can’t tell you the last time we were hooked to 30 amp) or runs off the 10KW generator?

Oh, this will be a DIY project! I’ll at least save on the labor costs! Thanks

18 hours ago, birdshill123 said:

I would replace it with another Whirlpool . . .

Thanks @birdshill123  - I believe that’s exactly what we’re going to do! After measuring & researching, it appears the easiest & hopefully most reliable solution will be to go back with almost exactly the same side-by-side Whirlpool.

Had hoped to go w/ a French door with freezer on bottom, but they all are a bit to tall & would require taking about 1” off the lower edge of the upper cabinet. The other thing that was interesting is the capacity on French door models is less than the side-by-side (17.5 vs 21 cu Ft)

16 hours ago, Mocephus said:

Ours has been doing the same thing for two years. You may still have some time on yours. 

@Mocephus I suppose we could take a chance & see how long it lasts. However, the thought of it taking a dump while we’re on a 6 week cross country trip doesn’t sound too appealing! $1500, a few hours work and a friend w/ a forklift sounds pretty reasonable - compared to dealing w/ a failure on the road!

Thanks for all the feedback!!!

Early this year we noticed our 17 year old Whirlpool residential fridge knocking when the compressor engages. It’s knocking rhythm has become rather predictable: knocks 3 times on start up, runs about a minute & knocks twice and then runs another minute & knocks once. Then it runs fine & cools like it’s supposed to (fridge & freezer).

Research seems to indicate these are the early signs of compressor failure. Thinking of replacing with a Samsung RF18. But, the current Whirlpool is 66” tall & the Samsung is about 70” tall. Not sure it will fit under the upper cabinet w/o significant modifications.

Wondering if anyone’s done a similar swap & can provide any feedback? Obviously there is no heater under the Whirlpool - it sits directly on the floor. Thanks!
 

Thanks again @Tom Cherry  Perfect timing - downloaded the manual & will be doing some reading on my flight this afternoon! Truly appreciate the guidance!

@Tom Cherry Your patience with us non-engineer/electrical newbies is amazing! Thanks again!!!

Roger that - will use a digital VOM for taking reading. When testing individual batteries, do I assume correctly that it needs to be an isolated test? Each battery disconnected from the series?

And for give my lack of knowledge, but, what book are you referencing that I should be looking at on page 285? Thanks!

@Ivylog Thank you - I’ll be testing warmth & voltage shortly!

Thanks again @Tom Cherry! I’ve done the Magnum setup per the guidelines. One question on the AGS - Start Volts; it appears I can only select in “whole volt” increments (9, 10, 11, 14 . . .). How does one set it to 11.7/9 volts?

Regarding parasitic draw: I found the that controllers on our comfortaire-less bed were staying on continually - not powering off as intended. I unplugged the pump under the bed - so hopefully that parasitic draw is gone. And, all HEC is setup so we can switch off (as recommended).

However, what’s the easiest way to unplug the fridge w/o pulling it out? I imagine the plug is behind the unit.

Its been running on the recommended setup on 15 amp for about 4 hours and the remote says we’ve gone from bulk charging @ 95-100 amps, to absorb charging @ ~45 amps and we’re now float charging at 18 amps. Hopefully that’s a good indicator!

Thanks!

Also, how do I tell if I have a “full BIRD” system? Here’s a pic of the rear run box.

@Tom Cherry Thanks - as always - for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us Monacoers! Your detailed & thorough responses continue to help me understand the nuances of these animals and have saved untold time & money. Thank you!

I will be running through the diagnostics you've suggested. Here's some feedback to your questions: 

We do drive it frequently (will be driving it more frequently since this experience). We have 8 house batteries. Unfortunately, no 30 amp service at current storage location - only 15 amp. I believe this is the second time (in the 2 yrs we've owned it) that we've had dead house bank. I don't know about how they were treated prior to our ownership. 

Any guess how long it should take to recharge 8 house batteries on a 15 amp service? I simply don't have availability to anything else currently. 

Thanks again for all your help!