GeorgeTown water heater by-pass

[RVGuy9]

Where is the water heater by-pass located on 2009 38 ft George Town motorhome?

[LadyWindrider]

As in most RV's, on the back of the water heater. Look for your water heater access door on the outside of your RV. Notice how far from a window, slide, etc. Now go inside and find the access panel that covers it up. Could even be under a bed, or a bench. Once you remove the panel, you can access the bypass valves.

[Ovair]

On mine, to get to the water heater by pass valves, I have to open a storage bin on the passenger's side of the RV. Inside that bin is a black "wall". Built into that wall is a portal with a screw cap. If I unscrew that cap I can reach inside to turn the 3 valves. Maybe yours is built similarly. I have a 2011 337, so it's not exactly the same, but it might be close.

[SnowBird9]

Georgetown 350SE TS. My water heater access is under the sink. Both valves are very accessible.

[CVan]

We have a 2008 378TS with the water heater in a bunk behind the rear right tire. There is a round screw plug in the floor of the water heater bunk that when removed allows access to the plumbing going to the heater. I shone a light in to note the location of the valves and then reached up and blindly turned them to the winter position.
Chuck

[georgetown]

2011, 330, it's underneath, you have to remove a round access cap and reach up inside. They are all a bit different depending on where the heater and surrounding things are. You could call the dealer and ask...they should know?? but then again if they are like the one close to us maybe not, lol.
Hopefully someone else on here has the same unit as yours and can let you know for sure.

[Hankster]

I have a 2007 359TS. Inside the water pump compartment, on the passenger side, just ahead of the water heater, there is a round opening that gives you access to the water lines going into the water heater. It is a bit difficult, but I reach inside and locate one water bypass valve which I close. Now I empty the water heater and if needed, winterize the unit.
The Hankster
07 GeorgetownXL 359TS

[cfsoistman]

It would be helpful if you could tell us the model number of the Georgetown since it will be located differently in each model. In the case of my 370 I have to open the Propane Tank door. There is a 4" white access screw in cap to the left. Open that and reach in, the valves are there but if there's someone with smaller arms I'd recommend asking them to do it. I can barely reach mine due to the diameter of the access cap being only 4". They're in there quite a ways back. I'm thinking about getting a 5" access cap and use a holesaw to cut a larger opening.

[tomandles]

We have a Georgetown 373, 2009.
There are shut off valves but I'm not sure they can be used
to bypass the water heater and winterize the rig.
I filled up the heater with antifreeze and pumped it thru the system including
the washer ( another challenge ).
HELP does any have info to bypass the waterheater

Thanks

[SnowBird9]

Unsure of the configuration on your coach. The 350SE TS has two valves that let you completely by-pass the water heater. Once the are switched I pull the anode plug and drain the water heater completely. I leave the plug out to ensure no water is trapped in the water heater. Then I pump the antifreeze through the system. Make sure you flush the toilet to get the antifreeze through the valves or you'll have a surprise next spring.

[F and E Damp]

In our rig, there's a cupboard door underneath the larder cupboard. Inside it's placarded "Not for storage". The plumbing from the water supplies come to a hand-valve just below the water heater.

The hand-valve will connect the supply line directly to the rest of the rig in one position and will include the water heater when at 90-degrees. When I used compressed air to blow the lines clear last fall, I figured out the required valve handle positions. I'll be doing the blow-down again shortly, as we've decided there won't be any more trips this year due to other commitments. I'll' take photos then and post them.

BTW, I only use the pink-stuff in the various P-traps as I'm confident in the blow-through from the air compressor. I don't have the very harsh climate some of you guys do. It's very rare here for daytime highs not to get up to about 38F,even in Jan and Feb, so I'm not looking at prolonged soaks in the minus numbers all day and night (thank goodness).

As SnowBird9 said, I also leave the anode rod out for the winter (on the bench in the garage!). I do include the crapper in the blow-out procedure.

Note that "Crapper" is actually a trade-marked name for the company (Thomas Crapper and Son) that invented the flush toilet. Thomas' biography is titled "Flushed with Success".

[shorty]

Originally Posted by tomandles

We have a Georgetown 373, 2009.
There are shut off valves but I'm not sure they can be used
to bypass the water heater and winterize the rig.
I filled up the heater with antifreeze and pumped it thru the system including
the washer ( another challenge ).
HELP does any have info to bypass the waterheater

Thanks

I have a 373 and all you need to do is get on the ground right under your propane tank and look for a white screw cap. Screw that off and take a flash light and look in there you see the knob turn in opposite direction and you will now be in bypass mode! Right now you are wasting a lot of antifreeze to
fill the hot water tank. I use one and a half gallons.

[tomandles]

Originally Posted by RVGuy9

Where is the water heater by-pass located on 2009 38 ft George Town motorhome?

Look under the pod the water heater is in. On my 2009 373 it is on the
bottom. You can only reach 2 valves by hand. Use a tool to reach the
upper one.

[copsuno]

Just like OAIR, my valve is located in compartment to rear of wheels on passernger side, you can either unscrew access port and work blind or use a power screwdriver and remove the 9 screws for black panel and see the pump and hot water bypass, and the fresh water tank. Had to do all this to hot glue the bottom fitting on fresh water tank,which was leaking. 2011 360ds

[F and E Damp]

On our 02 rig, there's a valve in the cabinet under the larder cupboard that appears to connect the city water line either to the water heater or to the rest of the RV's plumbing. If I shut this valve, things in the city water line don't go into the WH.

Maybe there's a check valve someplace that stops back feed into the WH. When I winterised for the first time last fall, I firstly drained the potable systrem. Then I hooked up an air compressor to the city water inlet and fed 40 psi air into the RV plumbing. I opened faucets in order of thier height above the water inlet and eventually got all lines blowing air, including the toilet and the outside shower.
I then poured the pink stuff into all the P-traps, including the bathroom shower.

We don't get really gruesome low temps here in Anacortes - maybe overnight lows in the mid-20's and it's rare the daytime highs are below about 38F. My winterising procedure worked fine.

[stevep62]

Originally Posted by shorty

I have a 373 and all you need to do is get on the ground right under your propane tank and look for a white screw cap. Screw that off and take a flash light and look in there you see the knob turn in opposite direction and you will now be in bypass mode! Right now you are wasting a lot of antifreeze to
fill the hot water tank. I use one and a half gallons.

New Question:
On the 2008 Georgetown Model 357 can anyone advise me where the water heater by-pass valves are located? The posts here have revealed that the Georgetown locations vary according to year and model.

[tomandles]

Originally Posted by tomandles

We have a Georgetown 373, 2009.
There are shut off valves but I'm not sure they can be used
to bypass the water heater and winterize the rig.
I filled up the heater with antifreeze and pumped it thru the system including
the washer ( another challenge ).
HELP does any have info to bypass the waterheater

Thanks

Thanks for the help with the bypass. I'll have to make up something to reach
in that far, but it save a lot of anti freeze
tomandles

[Sandra Clay]

We have a Forest River Georgetown 2007 VP Series 373 D5Ford RV. We just purchased it this summer and need to winterize. Where are the bypass valves for the water heater located?

[F and E Damp]

OOPS! Sorry I double-posted. My original post was back in Sept and I didn't read far enough back in the thread.