Hot Water Heater Issues - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hot Water Heater Issues

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Since it's still under warranty, I'd call the dealer. Every brand has the switches in different places, so there's no magic bullet.

-- Edited by Luvglass on Wednesday 25th of August 2010 07:41:04 PM

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Once set up there should be two switches in the RV, one for the electric hot water and one for the gas hot water. That is it. I wonder what your dealer really did, they should have showed you it working instead of just saying it was fine.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

Could it be a 12VDC problem? Does the refrigerator operate ok on propane? The stove doesn't need 12VDC to operate, but the fridge and HWH do, that's why I asked. When you turn the HWH switch to propane do you hear it trying to light? Maybe have the DW hit the switch while you go out and open the panel and watch what happens.

flyone · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry check the winter water heater by pass. There should be a couple of valves near the back of the water heater. The vale in the hortz line should have the valve handle in the hortziontal position, the valve in the vertical line should be perpendicular to the vertical line (it should be horizontal, in other words). Sounds like you have no water going into the heater.

Flyone

mktobob · RV-Dreams Family Member

flyone wrote:

Terry check the winter water heater by pass. There should be a couple of valves near the back of the water heater. The vale in the hortz line should have the valve handle in the hortziontal position, the valve in the vertical line should be perpendicular to the vertical line (it should be horizontal, in other words). Sounds like you have no water going into the heater.

Flyone

Great hint as to what could be wrong. Ask me how I know. It cost me $50 for a tech to flip the valve into the proper position.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry, forgive the question, but as I read your post, I am not clear if you have flame in the water heater burner? You say you have flame at the stove top, and electric power. So, when you run the heater on electric, can you feel heat when you open the access panel and poke a finger up inside the burner tube? When you turn it to electric, are you positive you have power to the element? Time for a tester here. I find my breaker for the water heater can be tripped and not look tripped. Click it off and then back on. Don't ask how I know this.

Sounds funny the dealer said no issues and you can't get hot water. You sure he is reliable and actually looked at the issue?

If you have flame, I think the bypass may well be open.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks to everyone that posted possibilities. And especially flyone, because you hit it on the head. However, I could only find one valve within a line coming from the hot water heater.

As soon as I got home, I printed out "flyone's" answer and went out to the camper and started looking. Turned the valve and heard a bit of water running into "something". Wasn't sure yet so I shut the valve back and opened the emergency relief valve and let the water run. In about a minute the water started coughing with air and diminished to a trickle. Turned the relief valve off, opened the bypass valve and then opened the relief valve again. The water kept running without 'running out'.

Turned that off and went inside and turned on the hot water at the kitchen sink. Ran for several minutes, enough so to make me believe that the hot water I was getting wasn't from water being heated in the supply hose laying across the lawn.

Went back outside and the gas burner was operating to reheat the water. So, at least the gas part is working.

After reading of the possibility of the bypass valve being off, I worried all day at work that all the time I spent with the electric part of the hot water heater running might have been on an empty hot water tank. That, as you all know, would have ruined the electric hot water element. But, I think that when the RV dealer was checking things out, they filled the hot water heater prior to shutting off the valve.

I haven't tried out the electric element yet, so I'll still have to wait on that. However, I'm encouraged that hot water ran for several minutes from the kitchen faucet, indicating that it probably had water in it and I'm safe with the electrical side.

Thanks again, everyone. Man, do I have a LOT yet to learn. Our old 26 footers didn't have all the "foo-fer-all" that is on the Mobile Suites.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 26th of August 2010 05:17:16 PM

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry,Been there done that hmm

Lucked out and did not hurt electrical element in water heater.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am still fascinated the dealer had the bypass on. I guess they put things back how they found then which is better than most dealers.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill,

There is no guarantee that I didn't move that valve during the orientation presentation. Anyway, it doesn't matter as I have now determined that there evidently WAS water in the hot water heater when I was running the electric part of the unit.

After testing with a "somewhat" lengthy shower, in which I did not run out of hot water, I changed over to electric heat again.

Hot water today as well. God looks out for little children and old fools. (Remind me to tell the "old fool" story of my recent "dumpster diving". But, lets make it around a campfire. Too long of a story for online.)

Terry