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Old 04-14-2017, 03:43 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Thor Axis
State: Mississippi
Posts: 404
THOR #6203
Water heater bypass valve

Where is the bypass valve located in the Axis 25.2?
I'm still not getting hot water (tankless)! The water is very slightly warmer and the temperature is set at 115* .The service tech said to check the bypass valve but he has no idea where it is located! They think the valves may not be set properly!
Also the unit doesn't appear to be igniting at all! Not sure if this is related to the above bypass valve issue or not!
Thanks

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Old 04-14-2017, 05:34 PM   #2
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Not sure but it is possible that the tankless unit doesn't have bypass valves (I know Ed updated the manual for the tankless heater, perhaps it is in there).

Typically the valves are on the inside of the heater (e.g. look around the outside of the camper to find the heater vent and then go to that place on the inside of the camper--there should be a removable panel there or some other way to get access).

From what I've read here it sounds like the tankless heater also needs a minimum water flow before it turns on. If you're just cracking a faucet to see if the water is hot it may be likely that the heater isn't firing up for that.
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Old 04-14-2017, 06:02 PM   #3
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Thank you Jamie! This is so frustrating! The service tech at CW are clueless so I called Thor! They keep telling me there should be an access panel inside the MH to access the valve! I've looked everywhere! No panel!
Underneath the jack knife sofa I can see where the water pipes come in from the outside shower and I can see the HW heater but there is no way to get to any if the valves that I can see!
I will recheck Ed's manual but unless you access these valves from the outside I'm at a loss as to how I could possibly reach them!
The service tech at Thor seems to agree that the valves being set incorrectly is "probably "the problem but they can't tell me where the valves are either! She said they don't have drawings showing where they are located!
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Old 04-14-2017, 06:37 PM   #4
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THOR #6203
Jamie
Thanks for suggesting I check Ed's manual (note to self print revised version, I have an older one) ! The tankless water heaters have no bypass valves!
I will notify Thor! It's something I believe they need to know! ��
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Old 04-14-2017, 07:21 PM   #5
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Ok According to Tom Overton at Thor the waterless tanks still require a bypass valve! Apparently mine does not! If so no one can locate it!
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:10 PM   #6
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Look near the water pump
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:25 PM   #7
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I have a Coachmen Concord, so, it's obviously different, but I found 3 shutoff valves to my water heater. One for hot (out) , one for cold (in) and one more in between that was shut. We already had HOT water, but just for kicks I opened that 3rd valve and immediately only had warm water. That value on your coach might be open. Good luck finding it/them. Mine are all located next to the hot water tank... makes sense eh?
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:28 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackJeep22 View Post
I have a Coachmen Concord, so, it's obviously different, but I found 3 shutoff valves to my water heater. One for hot (out) , one for cold (in) and one more in between that was shut. We already had HOT water, but just for kicks I opened that 3rd valve and immediately only had warm water. That value on your coach might be open. Good luck finding it/them. Mine are all located next to the hot water tank... makes sense eh?
Typical normal hot water tank layout.

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Old 04-14-2017, 09:10 PM   #9
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I have nothing that looks like those! I have a blue hose with a valve and a white hose with a valve! I do not have a red and blue hose with a valve!
If it's there it's so far to the left that I can't find it!
More erroneous info I got from the sales rep during the walk through! "You don't need a bypass valve!"
At this point I don't know who to believe!
On the bright side other than that I'm having a wonderful time! Beautiful weather and great company!
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Old 04-14-2017, 09:31 PM   #10
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Update! When all else fails go directly to the source! I called Gerard and they solved my problem! The HWH works fine the problem was low water pressure! Evidently it needs to be 60 psi or higher!
As for the bypass valve, it works with or without! For winterization it makes it simpler but can be problematic!
Anyway looking forward to a hot shower tonight!
Once agin thanks to everyone for trying to help! Much appreciated!
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Old 04-14-2017, 11:41 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sforl View Post
Update! When all else fails go directly to the source! I called Gerard and they solved my problem! The HWH works fine the problem was low water pressure! Evidently it needs to be 60 psi or higher!
As for the bypass valve, it works with or without! For winterization it makes it simpler but can be problematic!
Anyway looking forward to a hot shower tonight!
Once agin thanks to everyone for trying to help! Much appreciated!
60 psi seems awfully high. Most regulators reduce to 45-55 psi depending on the model, some parks don't have 60 psi period. I would think the 60 psi requirement would mean there are a lot of times you won't have hot water, that would not be acceptable to me. I don't think tankless heater manufacturers have the Rv thing sorted out yet!!!
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Old 04-14-2017, 11:50 PM   #12
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I wondered about that as well! My Valtera water pressure regulator is set at 46psi by default!
I searched the internet and found several entries where people had problems with their tankless hot water heaters using high pressure regulators!
I turned my regulator up to 54psi and that seemed to work!
Is it possible that the inline water filters may be the problem?
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Old 04-15-2017, 01:42 AM   #13
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Your reply from THOR is interesting. Everything I have read about the tankless is that it is winterized through the regular plumbing. The reason there is a bypass vale in the heater with a tank is so that you don't fill the water heater tank with 6 gallos of antifreeze.

Since there is no tank with the Girard Tankless water heater, I can't imagine what a bypass valve would accomplish.

Here is a link to the Girard Tankless Water Heater.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/76...tml#manualRead the section on winterizing. You'll see no mention of a bypass.
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Old 04-15-2017, 03:22 AM   #14
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I have an ACE 29.3. I had to remove the panel under the galley sink. There were three values to open.
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Old 04-15-2017, 02:49 PM   #15
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Ed I spoke with a rep from Gerard and he said that a bypass valve was not needed, and at times they have caused problems! Especially with MH with bypass valves in place! More a use error!
I agree if there is no tank within the water heater, what would be the point in winterizing it? I have no idea how tankless water heaters work so maybe someone with some knowledge of them will join in the conversation!
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Old 04-15-2017, 02:57 PM   #16
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SuperD
I have a theory regarding the water pressure! I have been backpacking for years and the latest craze for filtering water is the Sawyer Squeeze! You collect the dirty water in a bag, the filter then screws onto the bag! To filter the water you squeeze the water through the .5 micron filter! It requires quite a bit of pressure to accomplish this!
The water which flows through is greatly restricted by the filter !
I think this is what happens with the inline filters for our RV's! The pressure regulator will require a higher pressure to push the water through but what comes out the other end is no where close to that psi!
Do you think this is possible?
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Old 04-15-2017, 07:16 PM   #17
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With an Rv regulator you have a spring and a diaphragm which control the pressure and to a certain extent reduce flow. You get what you pay for, more expensive regulators reduce flow less due to better internal designs. The outlet psi is determined by the internal spring.

Sforal, a better analogy for what you are saying is a sieve, the more holes the better the flow. For backpacking the filter is necessarily small which means fewer holes. A large house filter can be 5 microns but due to the size there are more holes and less restrictions on flow. The whole house 5 micron filter on our coach doesn't restrict flow at all, what little restriction we have is all from the regulator.
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Old 04-15-2017, 07:44 PM   #18
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The thing that confuses me ( one of the many) is that the tech from Gerard told me that they have often found that removing the pressure regulators has solved the problem with the tankless water heaters! They evidently need higher psi to work.
How high is too high for the water lines in a MH?
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Old 04-15-2017, 08:13 PM   #19
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Is it high PSI or high flow? I can't see the camper being very happy with a very large PSI (60+), high flow no problem.
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Old 04-15-2017, 09:18 PM   #20
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Jamie please educate me! To diagnose my problem the service rep had me turn on the hot water in both the kitchen and the bath. So I guess that would produce more flow through the system. Right? That seemed to make everything work properly! He then told me to increase the PSI on the Valtera regulator to between 60-80! Which I did not do. I did increase it to 54psi which seemed to work.
So how do I increase the flow without raising the water pressure so high?
Thanks
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