Dang it....

[laurajean]

Our first time camping. 29hfs.
I cannot get the hot water to flow. I have it hooked up to city water. I left the faucet on and also opened pressure relief on water heater. A trickle. I finally got the relief to dribble but no pressure. Wtf!!!!!!. I sense the tank is full so I turned on power to element. What now? What could be wrong?

[NO3putt]

On most HW tanks, there is a bypass knobs on the back side. Have you checked to see if it is bypassed?

[laurajean]

No obvious bypass. Instructions didn't mention it. Must be plumbing or a backward check valve.

[NO3putt]

What brand of HW heater? Most are configured something like below, I just don't know in your unit to get to back of heater. I'm taking it you have water presured on cold side.

[laurajean]

It is a suburban. Yes pressure to cold is great.
Do they use check valves in these units? I gave to gain access to the back of the water heater. I need the square screw driver.

[laurajean]

Was that photo the view from outside or from inside?

[elind]

Most RVs have three valves behind the water heater. To winterize it two valves to the top and bottom are closed and the third between the two lines is open. To use the hot water heater the top and bottom then are open and the cross over is closed. It could also take a couple of minutes to fill up the heater tank with 6-10 gallons with a faucet open. If you powered up the water heater without the tank filled to the top it will burn out the element in seconds.

[NO3putt]

There is going to be access to the back of the HW heater some how, inside panel, I just don't know for your model. Make sure you leave the electric HW switch off until you have tank full of water and should come out of pressure relief value with good flow.

[laurajean]

Yes...I am working on opening the cabinet to gain access to the back of the unit. I hope the problem is there. Thanks for your comments...of to wally.....

[NO3putt]

The picture is the backside of the WH, what you will see from inside.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by laurajean

Yes...I am working on opening the cabinet to gain access to the back of the unit. I hope the problem is there. Thanks for your comments...of to wally.....

Pretty much positive that whoever winterized your unit has the HWH bypassed (damn them!)

[RudysWorld]

Not sure about your unit, my GT has access to water heater bypass through a round plate that screws off from underneath the water heater. Good luck!!

[laurajean]

Thanks... there is a dummy cabinet door that needs to come off. The unit came from up north so there is a good chance that its the problem.

[asquared]

Did you go outside and use the check valve to see if there is water in the water heater? Also, silly question but did you turn on the electric water heater? It can take an hour to heat up. It can burn the anode rod out if the electric heater is on and there is no water in thermal so be aware of that. As others have said, the problem is probably in the valves are set to winterize.

[RSchleder]

Originally Posted by anaro

Did you go outside and use the check valve to see if there is water in the water heater? Also, silly question but did you turn on the electric water heater? It can take an hour to heat up. It can burn the anode rod out if the electric heater is on and there is no water in thermal so be aware of that. As others have said, the problem is probably in the valves are set to winterize.

Perhaps you meant the "heating element" not the anode rod will burn out. The anode rod is not an electronic component of the water heater. It provides a chemical function to keep a balance in the water heater.

[laurajean]

Ok thanks for the help....I took off the inside cabinet panel. Sure enough valve was in bypass. Not a fan having to unscrew panel each year, I would have thought a better fastening system would have been used for the access panel...oh well. Something to design. Again thanks for everyones prompt response.

[harpman]

Had the same issue as you..have a dummy cabinet access door but still couldn't reach it...called the dealer...once they told me how to remove a drawer it was a piece of cake


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[nuisance]

on our 2011 26rl I have to empty the storage under the bed, crawl inside to reach our valves.

[WolfWhistle]

Hey Laurajean, from a fellow 29HFS'er and Floridian, if my memory serves. Glad you found the culprit.

Did you know when filling an empty HW tank, it will both fill faster and you will know when it is full by manually operating the relief valve out at the HW? When you see water first start spurting out of the valve, let go of it and close it... That method bleeds out most of the air, too.

While your standing there, flip the HW to AC... the switch that's half-hidden... so you will have hot water on their nickel! Important! Remember to turn it off... if you forget and have drained the HW, and then plug into power, guess what happens? Yep, burned out element.

I was kind of surprised to find the AC switch where they put it. If running the HW on gas, that switch is conveniently placed inside the unit. FR decided to make the HW partially convenient. For that I partially thank them.

Like someone eluded to, an anode won't burn out; it is just a rod of (usually) aluminum or magnesium... without going into the science of it, let's just say it's a less noble metal than the steel the tank is made of, is. It corrodes first instead of the tank. I'm not so sure if my 29HFS even has an anode. I'll be looking for it.

[laurajean]

Thanks. I was trying to bleed the tank at the pressure relief valve. That's why I was so confused. The anode was a easy access nut that has about 1/4 inch of threads showing at the bottom of the tank. This is where you would drain the tank and
Place tape over the hole and store the anode rod in a zip lock bag to prolong its life while winterized.