Water heater question from a novice :)

[MaxHiker2]

Hi all!
We are new Geo Pro 19FBS owners! We took our maiden voyage last night and minus the 45 minute back in, all was great!! 😂
My question: do you deem it necessary to drain your hot water heater after every camping trip? I’m pretty sure our dealer said it would be a good idea, however, with all the info given, I might be mistaken!
Lastly, we have the original Equalizer sway control hitch - it seemed like it was squeaking a lot on this trip. Maybe we didn’t notice at our dealership, maybe we are just hyper sensitive as newbies! Thoughts?
Thanks and I love these forums!
MaxHiker

[HONDAMAN174]

No on draining the water heater. Maybe once or twice a year to get out the sediment.

[CHICKDOE]

necessary? probably not. prudent? you decide.

i drain mine when i put it in storage and it is going to stay there for longer than a few weeks. not that anything said it was necessary but it's just the habit i got into. i also drain the fresh water tank and low point drains. again based solely on personal preference. all these things take only a short time. we also vacuum and possibly shampoo the rugs, swiffer the vinyl floors, refill propane tanks, put out mouse repellent and just verify that we can store it without having to worry.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by MaxHiker2

Hi all!
We are new Geo Pro 19FBS owners! We took our maiden voyage last night and minus the 45 minute back in, all was great!! [emoji23]
My question: do you deem it necessary to drain your hot water heater after every camping trip? I’m pretty sure our dealer said it would be a good idea, however, with all the info given, I might be mistaken!
Lastly, we have the original Equalizer sway control hitch - it seemed like it was squeaking a lot on this trip. Maybe we didn’t notice at our dealership, maybe we are just hyper sensitive as newbies! Thoughts?
Thanks and I love these forums!
MaxHiker

We only drain the WH, at the end of camping season.

Did you get Bracket Jackets for the L-brackets? They cut down a lot of the noise.

[kcmusa]

For the noise
https://www.equalizerhitch.com/store...et-jacket-pair

And I only drain mine at the end of the season
I don’t drink water from my tank

[The Evil Twin]

I leave the water heater full if it’s going to be less than a month. Other than that I will drain it. They make anode rods with drains integrated into them. I think I may try that next. That way the anode only comes out once a year.

[5picker]

Like some others, we never drain our water heater once filled for the season unless we'd happen into some bad water somewhere.

That has happened twice in 40+ years.

[MaxHiker2]

Thank you all for clarifying about WH and the noisy hitch!! I think I’ll be purchasing the jackets and properly lube. I apologize for posting this in the wrong forum site.
Thanks to all!
This forum is so helpful to me as a new TT owner!

[BehindBars]

Whether to drain the water heater depends on the quality of water you put in it.

If I use water from my own well for a camping trip, it will not keep fresh for more that a few weeks in the WH, because it is not treated with chlorine ir whatever city water systems use. Therefore, after the camping trip I must drain the water heater and fresh water tank if I expect it to be a few weeks or more before we go again. I have left water in too long and ended up with a bad smell that was difficult to remove from the camper.

If you fill your water system from a source of unknown quality, like at a rural campground, you’ll have to decide if the water will stay fresh, or if it would be better to drain it.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by The Evil Twin

I leave the water heater full if it’s going to be less than a month. Other than that I will drain it. They make anode rods with drains integrated into them. I think I may try that next. That way the anode only comes out once a year.

The anode with a drain valve sounds interesting, but will there be residual water in the tank, even if you open the drain? The level of the valve can't be at the very bottom of the tank.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

The anode with a drain valve sounds interesting, but will there be residual water in the tank, even if you open the drain? The level of the valve can't be at the very bottom of the tank.

Yes, there is water left in the bottom of the tank and also crud.
On top of that the inlet hole for the water to drain out is small and easily could be positioned towards the top of the tank depending on how tight you make it, leaving even more in the tank.

Many make the mistake of believing if they put one of those in they never have to remove the anode.

[richp]

I drain mine between trips in the summer to avoid dealing with the sulphur smelling water that accumulates otherwise in my tank.

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by richp

I drain mine between trips in the summer to avoid dealing with the sulphur smelling water that accumulates otherwise in my tank.

X2
I have that camco anode, ball valves on the lp drains . Takes all of 30 seconds to dump the whole shebang at the cg. Empty by the time I get home. Been doing it that way for years. That's my story and ..

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by MaxHiker2

I think I’ll be purchasing the jackets and properly lube.

Lightly lube the pivot heads for the bars. But, the friction between the bars and the L brackets contributes to your sway control. The noise you hear is your sway control. We call our hitch "Moana" and live with it.

[Rugman1952]

I install a new anode rod every spring, and we don't drain WH until we winterize in the fall. We bring water for drinking and coffee etc. RV water is for showers and flushing.
Works for us.

[Jack350]

I keep some water in the fresh water tank and run a few gallons thru the hot water tank every couple of weeks. This prevents the sulfur tank issue and keeps the rv ready to go. If you have a Atwood tank you do not have a anode rod and service is really simple.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by jeff64

X2
I have that camco anode, ball valves on the lp drains . Takes all of 30 seconds to dump the whole shebang at the cg. Empty by the time I get home. Been doing it that way for years. That's my story and ..

There is a hazard using the low point drains to drain the water heater. Doing that allows sediment to enter the bottom cold water fill pipe as the water "glugs" out of the tank.

That sediment will lay in the cold water pipes until you go and refill the system. That will push the sediment throughout the system potentially clogging the faucet valves and the toilet flush valve.

I learned this the hard way when my toilet valve got blocked by a nodule of calcium.

Better to isolate the heater and drain through the anode hole.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Jack350

I keep some water in the fresh water tank and run a few gallons thru the hot water tank every couple of weeks. This prevents the sulfur tank issue and keeps the rv ready to go. If you have a Atwood tank you do not have a anode rod and service is really simple.

The Sulphur smell is caused by bacteria in the water. If your hot water has a Sulphur smell you must sanitize again.

From the manual:

[Herk7769]

My opinion on the electric heater anodes and the anodes with the drain valve is not to use them.

The heater anode is half the size of a proper anode and will need to be changed twice as often. Unless you REALLY need an AC water heater, its not worth the extra money to replace it every few years. PLUS, you are more likely to never remove it and cause irreparable damage to the water heater by the time you do.

The type with the drain is also smaller because instead of a wire in the center of the anode, there is a pipe. Therefore less anode material. Additionally, since you can drain the water using the valve during winterizing, the incentive to examine the anode annually is eliminated. Forgetting once will lead to forgetting twice, then this happens:

[flyflotrtim]

We use these to cut down on the hitch noise. https://www.amazon.com/Equal-i-zer-9...%2C227&sr=8-17