Hot Water AWOL, please help!

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by Soldier Girl

Nope, it hasn't been working, not since I've had it as far as I know. The best I ever had was luke warm water & I couldn't be sure that wasn't just the warmth of that day. The electric water heating was one of the things I was bringing my RV back to the dealer for this upcoming Monday. Now I guess I need to add the propane water heat too.

Well, on my RV I have noticed that it takes longer to get hot water using the electric method. The propane switch gets it hotter, faster. I figure get up, turn on either switch, let our pet outside, get something to eat, decide what to do, and that would take about 30 minutes for the hot water.

[Glensouth]

When I first got my Thor, the hot water would start to get hon, then would get cold. I found that the water heater bypass valve was open. It was located behind the kitchen cabinet by the sink. You will see the hot and cold lines with a short line between them that short line is the bypass line and the valve on needs to be closed. Good luck!

[rudyhehn]

I also had trouble with my hot water heater. My issue was the thermostat (see below). Here is how I would proceed. (Forgive me if some of this is redundant with other posts)
-- Be sure the hot water heater is not bypassed. There is a dial near your water intake that has a setting to bypass the HWH for winter storage.
--Be sure the outside shower head is turned off at the water controls and not with the on/off toggle at the shower head. If not hot and cold water will mix.
--Check the reset switch in your RV. Turn off both the propane and electric switches for 15 minutes.
--Check for water in the tank by removing the drain plug. At the same time pop open the brass pressure relief valve so that the air head space can re-accumulate.
--Check the electrical option first. Be sure you are plugged into shore power or run your generator. Turn on the electrical HWH switch and wait an hour. Then check for hot water at the sinks and showers. If any of them are hot but others are not, the problem is a line or spigot issue. If none are hot at all then its the HWH. If warm but not hot it may be the thermostat.
--Check the propane by running the stove. Then open the HWH access door and watch from a safe distance while someone turns on the HWH propane switch. The white ceramic igniter should spark. If the propane burner does not light in 4-5 seconds check the thermostat and fuses (next step)
--There is a spring loaded thermostat that is covered with insulation. It is a coin like device spring loaded and sits metal to metal with the side of the hot water heater. On mine a mud dauber had built a nest adjacent to the thermostat which got wet and shorted it out. Clean the connections and also check the fuse that is inline with the device. Also check the connections at the circuit board.
--Finally check the heating element with a meter. There is a wiring diagram in the RV or on the access panel. The element should show continuity with an ohmmeter.
--IF that does not work it's over my head!

[D and C Kincaid]

I am with the folks who say to make sure your bypass valve is off. In the 29.3 that valve is under the sink, and behind a panel. It should be the middle of three valves. It is probably in the same location in the 30.2. Hopefully that will get you hot water on the electric part of the water heater. However, that won't fix the gas failure. I would suggest that you find the place where the huge bundle of wires, water lines, and gas lines comes up through the floor. In our unit that is under the sink, and under the cabinet floor. We suddenly lost our furnace function when the slider was out, but didn't loose the gas function of the cooktop, fridge, or water heater. This made us think that the furnace was faulty, but what we found was the that the gas line got smashed closed when the slider was extended. There was one zip tie on the bundle that caused all the other incoming lines to squash the furnace gas line. I put slightly looser zip ties on, and cut off the one really tight one. Viola! furnace works! Also just a hint at another mod: because of the way the valves are placed behind a panel under the sink, I came out of every winterization/dewinterizaion with scrapes all over my small hand and arm. (we winterize and dewinterize several times each winter) When we had the panel out, we figured out where the valve was in relationship to the panel, and hubby cut out a square that correlated with the valve. No more scraped up arm!!! Your valves might be more accessible, and then this mod is not needed, but if they are like the 29.3, you might want to consider it. Hope this helps.

[D and C Kincaid]

Oh, I didn't describe that quite accurately, the gas line for the furnace was being squashed up against a structural steel beam by the other incoming lines. The beam runs right along the edge of the hole that all that stuff comes up through. Anyway, since it was working and is now not working, that might be the source of your issue.

[Soldier Girl]

Originally Posted by D and C Kincaid

Oh, I didn't describe that quite accurately, the gas line for the furnace was being squashed up against a structural steel beam by the other incoming lines. The beam runs right along the edge of the hole that all that stuff comes up through. Anyway, since it was working and is now not working, that might be the source of your issue.

Thanks so much! My Atwood was fixed, but the issue of hot water in the bathroom sink & shower still remains. I will ask them to check again & check the slide, as soon as I get an appointment for the new huge windshield leak. I also had trouble getting behind my paneling under the sink & was all scraped up, so I love what uou did to fix it, thanks again!

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by rudyhehn

I also had trouble with my hot water heater. My issue was the thermostat (see below). Here is how I would proceed. (Forgive me if some of this is redundant with other posts)
-- Be sure the hot water heater is not bypassed. There is a dial near your water intake that has a setting to bypass the HWH for winter storage.
--Be sure the outside shower head is turned off at the water controls and not with the on/off toggle at the shower head. If not hot and cold water will mix.
--Check the reset switch in your RV. Turn off both the propane and electric switches for 15 minutes.
--Check for water in the tank by removing the drain plug. At the same time pop open the brass pressure relief valve so that the air head space can re-accumulate.
--Check the electrical option first. Be sure you are plugged into shore power or run your generator. Turn on the electrical HWH switch and wait an hour. Then check for hot water at the sinks and showers. If any of them are hot but others are not, the problem is a line or spigot issue. If none are hot at all then its the HWH. If warm but not hot it may be the thermostat.
--Check the propane by running the stove. Then open the HWH access door and watch from a safe distance while someone turns on the HWH propane switch. The white ceramic igniter should spark. If the propane burner does not light in 4-5 seconds check the thermostat and fuses (next step)
--There is a spring loaded thermostat that is covered with insulation. It is a coin like device spring loaded and sits metal to metal with the side of the hot water heater. On mine a mud dauber had built a nest adjacent to the thermostat which got wet and shorted it out. Clean the connections and also check the fuse that is inline with the device. Also check the connections at the circuit board.
--Finally check the heating element with a meter. There is a wiring diagram in the RV or on the access panel. The element should show continuity with an ohmmeter.
--IF that does not work it's over my head!

Well, almost all of that is over my head too. In the quick, you could get a 5 gallon water jug from Walmart, fill it with thier water and buy a little pump to pump it out. It will be heavy but usefull.

[D and C Kincaid]

Originally Posted by Soldier Girl

Thanks so much! My Atwood was fixed, but the issue of hot water in the bathroom sink & shower still remains. I will ask them to check again & check the slide, as soon as I get an appointment for the new huge windshield leak. I also had trouble getting behind my paneling under the sink & was all scraped up, so I love what uou did to fix it, thanks again!

Soldier Girl, I can probably give you a solution for that issue of no hot water flowing in your bathroom sink and shower. In that same under the kitchen sink area, remove the back panel from the cupboard. (the one that you might want to cut a hole in later to get to the valve) Then trace the hot water line from the back of the water heater, not the one that goes up to the sink, but the other one, and feel along the hose. You likely will find a severe kink in the hose somewhere along that line. You may not feel it when the slider is in, or you might. If you don't, try the same exercise with the slider out. I had to unscrew my hot water hose from the water heater end, straighten it out, take it out of the black bag that it slides in and out of, along with all that other wad of hoses and wires that I talked about in the last post. Then when it was freed up and unkinked, I screwed it back on to it's proper place on the kitchen side of the water heater, and viola! we have hot water flowing in the bathroom sink and shower. The nice thing about this line is that is is easier to access than the gas hoses are, and you don't have to remove the cabinet floor, just the back panel.

[Soldier Girl]

Originally Posted by D and C Kincaid

Soldier Girl, I can probably give you a solution for that issue of no hot water flowing in your bathroom sink and shower. In that same under the kitchen sink area, remove the back panel from the cupboard. (the one that you might want to cut a hole in later to get to the valve) Then trace the hot water line from the back of the water heater, not the one that goes up to the sink, but the other one, and feel along the hose. You likely will find a severe kink in the hose somewhere along that line. You may not feel it when the slider is in, or you might. If you don't, try the same exercise with the slider out. I had to unscrew my hot water hose from the water heater end, straighten it out, take it out of the black bag that it slides in and out of, along with all that other wad of hoses and wires that I talked about in the last post. Then when it was freed up and unkinked, I screwed it back on to it's proper place on the kitchen side of the water heater, and viola! we have hot water flowing in the bathroom sink and shower. The nice thing about this line is that is is easier to access than the gas hoses are, and you don't have to remove the cabinet floor, just the back panel.

That's awesome! Thanks so much, I will try it as soo as I'm somewhere above freezing, I'm avoiding turning on any water right now, of course...

[Soldier Girl]

Originally Posted by Soldier Girl

That's awesome! Thanks so much, I will try it as soo as I'm somewhere above freezing, I'm avoiding turning on any water right now, of course...

A mechanic at Cw today tried to tell me there was no problem w/my hot water, that I had the right level of heat. I went outside, no heat. I told the guy (who wasn't the regular mechanic I normally work with), & in front of the mgr he said that it was just the way it is w/my type of mh. I told him what y'all had brought up, from the bypass valve not in the right place to the issues people have had w/their slides. He said he knew for a fact mine was correct. The mgr told him to go check anyway. He came back & said the valve wasn't set right, but that I must have changed it (why, I can't fathom), bc it was right when he saw it earlier. The mgr looked at him like he'd gone nuts & sent him to go do some other busy work. Then he apoogized to me & said the guy was only called in bc the regular mechanic was sick. I didn't mind, bc I got my hot water, finally! The mgr asked how I had known to look at that & I said I didn't, it was all the guys on the forums. Kudos to all who made suggestions!