Apollo HydroHeat -- known problems?

[J.D.]

I recently inherited a condo with an Apollo HydroHeat system. I know the previous owner replaced the hot water heater less than a year ago with a bigger, better one. However, when I got up this morning and walked into the garage water was pouring from the furnace and the garage floor was under an inch of water. I turned off the water and the water heater and am wondering what's next. Do I need a part or a whole new furnace???

J.D.  Vancouver, WA.

[Marc]

They're not overly complicated systems. Have a look at it, see if you can determine where it's leaking.

[Jim Katen]

What Marc said. It could easily be a leaking joint. When they replaced the water heater, they probably didn't even look at the furnace. 

On another note, your garage floor is supposed to slope to drain to the driveway. If it really had an inch of water in it, something's wrong there as well. 

[RogerE]

This is a great thread and very informative. So thanks to all who contribute!

I live in Corvallis, OR and have a two-story, 2600 sf house, built in 1991, which I bought in 2003. It has separate Apollo Hydroheat systems for upstairs and downstairs -- one natural gas Apollo Hydroheat water heater in the garage for downstairs and one in the attic for upstairs. The upstairs also has A/C with an outdoor compressor unit that seems to be York, though I'm not sure. The water heaters were both replaced when I bought the house. The units have worked well, with adequate heat in winter and cooling in summer. The only significant issue was that the condensate pan was apparently not well designed or installed, not sure which, and would overflow onto the ceiling upstairs. We had that fixed two or three years ago. (We didn't use the A/C much up until then, though I don't know how much the previous owners used it.) Other than that, we've only had to change the run capacitor on the downstairs fan, the outdoor compressor unit fan, and, just a week ago, the upstairs fan. After the run capacitor on the upstairs fan was changed, it wouldn't move as much air as previously, and the HVAC tech (Rice Heating & AC) said that he couldn't diagnose it because it was too hot in the attic and he couldn't stay up there any longer. (This was about 5:30 PM on a hot day.) He said that maybe the motor had lost a speed tap winding. He also said that if we run the A/C it would ice up the coils because of inadequate airflow over them, and he made me sign a waiver releasing them from responsibility if damage were to result from running the A/C. He told me to call their office first thing the next morning to arrange for two people come to fix the unit some morning when it would be cooler in the attic. When I called, the receptionist told me that the technician said the unit is too old, he can't get parts for it, and it needs to be replaced. I've been contacting local HVAC folks then to get assessments of our situation and estimates to deal with it.

First question: Does what the HVAC tech said sound reasonable? From what I've been reading on this forum, it sounds like parts are not that difficult to get if you want to try to keep the system operating.

Second question: Is it worth trying to keep this 30-year-old system functioning or should we bite the bullet and replace it with something else? We don't really have a place for a furnace, so I think we'd be looking at a heat pump system.

Third question: This is especially for Jim Katen because I know you're not too far from us, do you know of anyone near us who is good with Apollo Hydroheat systems?

Final question: In that the water heaters are now 18 years old, should we plan to replace them soon regardless of what we do with the heating system?

Thanks for whatever helpful suggestions you can offer!

[Marc]

First of all, those contractors are conflicted with rendering an objective assessment of your systems because selling those systems is what they do.

When parts get difficult to find because the system is old, the fan motors are the last to have that problem. Had one myself this past Friday. This condenser unit was so old that it was beyond dating...that's OLD. Counterman took one look at it, asked me what it came off of (medium temp condenser unit) and returned 60 seconds later with a universal replacement that matched perfectly.

Get a plumber to run you a plumbing drain, with gas trap, to a location close to the indoor section in the attic. Move the condensate pump to storage until it collects a thick layer of dust, then toss it. I won't consider them dang things. Too many callbacks, accidents.

[Jim Katen]

12 hours ago, RogerE said:

 

First question: Does what the HVAC tech said sound reasonable? From what I've been reading on this forum, it sounds like parts are not that difficult to get if you want to try to keep the system operating.

Second question: Is it worth trying to keep this 30-year-old system functioning or should we bite the bullet and replace it with something else? We don't really have a place for a furnace, so I think we'd be looking at a heat pump system.

Third question: This is especially for Jim Katen because I know you're not too far from us, do you know of anyone near us who is good with Apollo Hydroheat systems?

Final question: In that the water heaters are now 18 years old, should we plan to replace them soon regardless of what we do with the heating system?

Thanks for whatever helpful suggestions you can offer!

Question 1: If you can find a technician who wants to keep the system going, there's nothing you've described that would prevent that from happening. Someone just has to work toward that goal instead of the goal of selling you a new system. 

Question 2: Personally, I think it would be worth it. 

Question 3: Robben & Sons does good work on these systems. They're in Clackamas, though, so I don't know if they'll go to Corvallis. You're a bit outside my area, so I'm not familiar with the contractors down there. 

Question Final: Depends on your tolerance for risk. 

[RogerE]

Marc & Jim, thanks very much for your responses and helpful suggestions. Getting a plumber to put in the drain you suggested, Marc, would provide a lot more peace of mind about that system over our heads. And, Jim, I will call Robben & Sons and see what I can find out. I could pay them for a few trips to Corvallis if it avoids what I now know would be two heat pump systems -- one for upstairs and one for downstairs -- with air handlers that won't fit very well without some potentially significant modifications to ducting and maybe even crawlspace access. Not to mention the need to get a larger electrical panel installed to handle the extra circuit or two that would be needed. I very much appreciate your help!!

[Apollo Enthusiast]

I have a 50 gallon 2010 apollo unit that works like a champ. After 12 years, it finally started leaking. The cheapest replacement I could find was a  $1350 Bradfordd White. I'm going to go ahead and replace it; the coils are in good shape and it keeps us toasty during the mild Virginia winters. Plus, I'm not quite ready to upgrade the rest of my HVAC system. My old A/C unit still uses R-22 and it kicks in the summer. 

I didn't see any posts about maintenance or if there's any special considerations when replacing the heater. I'd love to know how to flush the coils, and if there's any kind of priming procedure when I cut the water back on after piping everything up. I'd hate to burn up my pump.

If anyone can weigh in on these questions, that'd be super!

Thanks

 

-Al

[Jim Katen]

14 hours ago, Apollo Enthusiast said:

I have a 50 gallon 2010 apollo unit that works like a champ. After 12 years, it finally started leaking. The cheapest replacement I could find was a  $1350 Bradfordd White. I'm going to go ahead and replace it; the coils are in good shape and it keeps us toasty during the mild Virginia winters. Plus, I'm not quite ready to upgrade the rest of my HVAC system. My old A/C unit still uses R-22 and it kicks in the summer. 

I didn't see any posts about maintenance or if there's any special considerations when replacing the heater. I'd love to know how to flush the coils, and if there's any kind of priming procedure when I cut the water back on after piping everything up. I'd hate to burn up my pump.

If anyone can weigh in on these questions, that'd be super!

Thanks

 

-Al

I'm not aware of any special considerations or maintenance. There should be no need to flush the coils - they get flushed every time the system runs. If any mineral deposits are going to accumulate, they'll accumulate at the water heater side, not the furnace side. 

 

 

[TonyB]

I'm looking for a parts list for my HydroHeat system. The Unit part number is MA45H. My question is really for the heat exchanger and motor part number. 

 

Thanks,

Tony 

[zsazsa]

Can you tell me which company has components of the Apollo heating system for sale?  The hot water heater is working fin but when I turn the heater/fan on the fan works but only blows cold air.  Thank you

[hausdok]

The company has gone out of business. My sister has one of those systems and has been trying to get it fixed for months. No luck. She has found parts on ebay and craigs list, but nobody wants to work on it. She had to get a quote for a new system. Cost to replace with something else is exorbitant. Good luck.