Hot/Cold Switched?

[phipps33]

I have a 2013 V-Cross. It is new to us and I hooked it up to the city water today and the hot/cold is switched. We’ve used it several times using the fresh water tank and it has been fine.

Any idea what the heck is going on?



Gary

[babock]

What exactly is happening? Do you have the bypass valves for the water heater in correct position? The outside shower is turned off with the valves themselves and not just the push button for the shower head?

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by babock

What exactly is happening? Do you have the bypass valves for the water heater in correct position? The outside shower is turned off with the valves themselves and not just the push button for the shower head?

Hot is coming out of the cold tap and cold out of the hot tap, but ONLY when hooked up to city water. Hot water out of the toilet as well. If I fill the water tank and use the pump then everything is normal.

It’s not the water heater bypass as I’ve checked that as well as the shower valves, both inside and outside. Those were the first things I checked.

I’m completely dumbfounded by it!

[babock]

Originally Posted by phipps33

Hot is coming out of the cold tap and cold out of the hot tap, but ONLY when hooked up to city water. Hot water out of the toilet as well. If I fill the water tank and use the pump then everything is normal.

It’s not the water heater bypass as I’ve checked that as well as the shower valves, both inside and outside. Those were the first things I checked.

I’m completely dumbfounded by it!

You happen to have one of those shower mizers? Very weird situation for sure and I can't think of anything else.

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by babock

You happen to have one of those shower mizers? Very weird situation for sure and I can't think of anything else.

Not that I’m aware of. The shower valves look like your normal shower valves.

It has to be something related to the city water connection because that’s the only time it does it.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Sounds like a bad mixing valve somewhere, but I don't know how to check it. It happen in our house once. In our case it was a bad mixing valve in the shower, I think. Can't be switched lines because that would happen with onboard water too.
Perhaps someone else knows if there's a mixing valve where the fresh water enters the system.

[phipps33]

Does anyone know a source to obtain a plumbing schematic?

[NavyLCDR]

If the city water connection was connected to the outlet side of the water heater instead of the inlet side, I wonder if that would do it?

Running on the fresh water tank/pump would be normal as the pump would pump water into the cold water side as well as the inlet to the hot water side, and the city water connection would just be pressurized up to the check valve in the through-the-wall connection.

If the city water was connected to the outlet side of the how water, then when you turned on a hot water faucet, it would actually be drawing water from the city water connection - not from the water heater. If you turned on a cold water faucet, it would be drawing water from the city water connection, into the actual top of the water heater, then drawing hot water out of the bottom of the water heater. Your water pump outlet would be pressurized to the check valve in the water pump which keeps the fresh water tank from filling.

It's a very long shot. Why in the world would the city water connection get plumbed into the water heater outlet?

[babock]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

If the city water connection was connected to the outlet side of the water heater instead of the inlet side, I wonder if that would do it?

Running on the fresh water tank/pump would be normal as the pump would pump water into the cold water side as well as the inlet to the hot water side, and the city water connection would just be pressurized up to the check valve in the through-the-wall connection.

If the city water was connected to the outlet side of the how water, then when you turned on a hot water faucet, it would actually be drawing water from the city water connection - not from the water heater. If you turned on a cold water faucet, it would be drawing water from the city water connection, into the actual top of the water heater, then drawing hot water out of the bottom of the water heater. Your water pump outlet would be pressurized to the check valve in the water pump which keeps the fresh water tank from filling.

It's a very long shot. Why in the world would the city water connection get plumbed into the water heater outlet?

That actually sounds like the best explanation

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

If the city water connection was connected to the outlet side of the water heater instead of the inlet side, I wonder if that would do it?

Running on the fresh water tank/pump would be normal as the pump would pump water into the cold water side as well as the inlet to the hot water side, and the city water connection would just be pressurized up to the check valve in the through-the-wall connection.

If the city water was connected to the outlet side of the how water, then when you turned on a hot water faucet, it would actually be drawing water from the city water connection - not from the water heater. If you turned on a cold water faucet, it would be drawing water from the city water connection, into the actual top of the water heater, then drawing hot water out of the bottom of the water heater. Your water pump outlet would be pressurized to the check valve in the water pump which keeps the fresh water tank from filling.

It's a very long shot. Why in the world would the city water connection get plumbed into the water heater outlet?

That does make sense! Hadn’t thought of that, but why in the world would they plumb it that way?!?

Probably saves a couple cents.....[emoji849]

[babock]

Originally Posted by phipps33

That does make sense! Hadn’t thought of that, but why in the world would they plumb it that way?!?

Probably saves a couple cents.....[emoji849]

Somebody messed up.

Now to find where they did it.

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by babock

Somebody messed up.

Now to find where they did it.

I have an enclosed underbelly, be a pain to try to find it. I’ll probably either just live with it or only use the fresh water tank.

Thanks for the help, guys!!

[babock]

Originally Posted by phipps33

I have an enclosed underbelly, be a pain to try to find it. I’ll probably either just live with it or only use the fresh water tank.

Thanks for the help, guys!!

open up the cabinet where the hot water tank is and/or the pump and see if you can see it plumbed in at either of those places. It obviously could be plumbed in anywhere.

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by babock

open up the cabinet where the hot water tank is and/or the pump and see if you can see it plumbed in at either of those places. It obviously could be plumbed in anywhere.

I’ll check those areas, probably not lucky enough for it to be that simple! LOL

Being PEX it would be an easy fix if it’s accessible.

[phipps33]

I found it!! Sure enough, city inlet is plumbed into the hot water circuit.

Found it behind a cabinet, there are cold water and hot water lines coming in. The cold has two connections and the hot has one. My outdoor shower and city water come into the same area. Both outdoor shower lines are connected to the cold water connections and the city water is connected to the hot water connection. That will be a quick, easy switch of two connections.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by phipps33

I found it!! Sure enough, city inlet is plumbed into the hot water circuit.

Found it behind a cabinet, there are cold water and hot water lines coming in. The cold has two connections and the hot has one. My outdoor shower and city water come into the same area. Both outdoor shower lines are connected to the cold water connections and the city water is connected to the hot water connection. That will be a quick, easy switch of two connections.

Glad you found it! I guess that explains how such a seemingly impossible mistake could have been made.

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Glad you found it! I guess that explains how such a seemingly impossible mistake could have been made.

Most definitely. Would be very easy to accidentally switch a couple connections. The lines from the outdoor shower and city water inlet are all white, no color coding.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by phipps33

Most definitely. Would be very easy to accidentally switch a couple connections. The lines from the outdoor shower and city water inlet are all white, no color coding.

You would think cold to outdoor shower would be blue, hot would be red, and city water would be white. But I guess that makes too much sense....or maybe blue and red PEX is more expensive than white.

[phipps33]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

You would think cold to outdoor shower would be blue, hot would be red, and city water would be white. But I guess that makes too much sense....or maybe blue and red PEX is more expensive than white.

The hot and cold feeds are red/blue PEX, but the lines from the outdoor shower and city inlet are more like garden hose material and are white.

[phipps33]

Well, it was driving me nuts so I dug in and disconnected the hoses and put them on correctly.

Discovered the hot water hose to the outside shower was too short to reach the hot water connection so I think someone took the easy way out and just connected it to the cold. I ended up connecting the cold water hose from the shower to the hot side and the cold water inlet to the cold connection. Outside shower will be backwards, but I’m okay with that.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!!