I learned something about Oasis today (another “check the simple stuff first” story)

[Rich W.]

My Oasis has been going into “Heater Module Fault” randomly, sometimes that LED would glow faintly and flicker, and some times it wouldn’t start and would time out after two tries. This was somewhat befuddling and frustrating because I did everything (I thought) in the maintenance cook book, knew it wasn’t a pump (again) because it wasn’t a zone fault, and because it was acting like it wasn’t getting fuel.

Since I’d done all the typical maintenance I was out of ideas and out of frustration I just left it off for a while. I didn’t really care because it’s summer, although hot water when boondocking can be a nice amenity and I’m somewhat generator averse.

Well yesterday while doing some compartment and chassis cleaning, I cleaned the Oasis reservoir and noticed it was quite low (it became opaque again after cleaning). So I mixed up some new juice and brought it up to the full line - it was below the “fill me” line.

The thing has been running flawlessly ever since, so I guess one of the many safeties/sensors is for low transfer fluid (makes sense), given that an empty heat exchanger would be damaged by a continuous blast of diesel fired heat. But since I’ve never seen a leak, and since I let the tank get dirty (it’s not in a very good location IMHO) I never considered or noticed the tank level, all the while carrying around spare fluid. Still don’t know where the fluid went, but I guess water can evaporate even in a closed system…? And yes it has been a long time since I topped it off.

So I guess this goes back to the “check the simple things first” rule. I’ve done a lot of maintenance and reading on the system over the years, but this one just didn’t click with me. Next time I hope it will.

 

[Neal]

After 8 months in storage my overflow tank was empty. No signs of leaks. Certainly hope no damage was done and/or I caught it in time. Certainly something that requires a routine check.

So I mixed up some new juice

I assume this is just slang as I understand we don't dilute the heat transfer fluid from the gallon jugs.

 

[Rich W.]

After 8 months in storage my overflow tank was empty. No signs of leaks. Certainly hope no damage was done and/or I caught it in time. Certainly something that requires a routine check.



I assume this is just slang as I understand we don't dilute the heat transfer fluid from the gallon jugs.

I had a quart container that you mix 2 parts distilled water, one part transfer fluid. Easier to store in the coach for all the good that did me. Guess you also have to remember to use it.

This stuff: 1 Quart (Yellow) Super Concentrate Heat Transfer Boiler Antifreeze

 

[Joe Hogan]

I’d be concerned that the system is loosing fluid. Worth a call to Oasis to determine if this is ‘normal’. We noticed that there was an overflow event on one leg of our trip. Spot about 8” in diameter on the ground. Tank full.
Do not know if this was heat related or altitude change or a little of both.
Will keep a eye on this.

 

[Rich W.]

I’d be concerned that the system is loosing fluid. Worth a call to Oasis to determine if this is ‘normal’. We noticed that there was an overflow event on one leg of our trip. Spot about 8” in diameter on the ground. Tank full.
Do not know if this was heat related or altitude change or a little of both.
Will keep an eye on this.

I’ll start checking the tank more often. There is no sign of a leak anywhere and I’ve spent a lot of time doing the maintenance on the thing. All I can think of is evaporation. The last time I bought fluid was Feb 23, and I probably haven’t looked at it since so I guess it could be evaporating somewhere. I think I will call ITR and see if this is normal. Maybe poke around on google a bit too.

 

[newmarokie]

On my Dutch Star the reservoir is in the engine compartment with a clear view and easy access. I flushed my system and put new fluid in, hoping to get it back to the pretty fluorescent yellow color. I didn't get that done. It is a brownish green. But like everybody else I lose a bit every few months(usually about a pint). If we all think about it, it is not really a closed system. The fluid level in the reservoir goes up and down with heating and cooling. The reservoir is a place that we could be losing fluid to evaporation.