Hot and cold water appear to be mixing

[Terry and Nina]

From all faucets, the hot water is only luke warm. Does not change if the water heater is heating with propane or electric. I have found that if I turn the bathroom faucet on hot and let it run, cold water comes out, but the shower hot water is hot. As soon as I turn off the bathroom faucet, the shower goes back to luke warm. This problem just started this week.
I have searched the forum and online, but haven't found anyone having this issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Terry

[Goat]

Have you checked your outside shower to be sure the valves are off, and checked the bypass valves on the water heater?

[r time soon]

Make sure your interior shower faucet handles are off also. If you have a push button on your hose or showerhead to stop the water from coming out the water can still mix there.

[Terry and Nina]

I have checked the outside shower. Both hot and cold are turned off.
The bypass valve in the basement area with the outside shower and tank valves is set to normal. Is there a way to check to see if it is working ok. You said valves. is there another valve?

Thanks

[Terry and Nina]

The inside shower is turned off. I removed the shutoff valve I have on the shower head, but did not fix the problem.

[travelin' texans]

There's a check valve on the top line of the water heater where the hot water comes out that may have gone bad causing hot & cold water to mix. If you replace it be sure to use a brass one not plastic. Just a thought.

[Terry and Nina]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

There's a check valve on the top line of the water heater where the hot water comes out that may have gone bad causing hot & cold water to mix. If you replace it be sure to use a brass one not plastic. Just a thought.

I have attached a picture of the water heater. I don not see a check valve.

I followed the tubing as far as I can see it and did not see a check valve.
is it there and I am just not seeing it? Or am I looking in the wrong place?

Thank you.

[Terry and Nina]

I have replaced the bypass valve, but I still have the problem.
So far I have discovered if I turn on any faucet to hot or cold, the shower has hot water. I am checking to see if any other faucets will have hot water if another faucet is turned on.

[Terry and Nina]

I have learned the check valve is the fitting connecting the tubing to the water heater.
I will get one and replace it.
Thanks

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by Terry and Nina

I have learned the check valve is the fitting connecting the tubing to the water heater.
I will get one and replace it.
Thanks

Yep! That brass fitting with the red pex piping is the check.

[hobie16]

I don't know how to forward a link so I've copied the entire thread. This was my problem and the solution I used. Hope it helps.

I am a new member and owner ( 1 month) of a 2015 Sequoia, 38HRL. Only the Sequoia is new, I am an old hand at RVing. I have a question about the water heater bypass system. I have noted that the cold water at the sinks isn't real cold. I attached my outside spray hose and ran the cold water and it was luke warm. Moved the valve to "Bypass" and got cold water. There seems to be a fault in the valve. Contacted Customer Service at Redwood and arranged to get a replacement valve (B&B Moulders, single red lever style).
However I got thinking of other possible causes, does anyone know if there is a check valve on the cold water inlet to the water heater? If so, it may be my problem and allowing hot water to siphone out. I can't see the input side of the heater unless I remove a section of the storage area wall.
Appreciate any info you give me.
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Old 11-12-2015, 04:09 PM #2
atom ant
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There is a check valve, but I think it is on the outlet. It prevents antifreeze from coming back in the tank when bypassed. However, any of the single handle faucets will mix if they are on, and your outside shower if you have both valves open.....(I think)
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Old 11-12-2015, 06:23 PM #3
Andrew
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I had the same problem in my 36rl you must of had the same plumber, if you will pm me maybe I can walk you through it
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Old 11-12-2015, 08:26 PM #4
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If you folks work together and get it fixed- do let us know how you did it! I like to use these pages as a good reference.
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Old 06-20-2016, 03:32 PM #5
hobie16
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Problem Solved!!
I know people are interested in solutions when problems are solved so here goes:

I first noticed the problem last fall shortly after starting our Winter Flight south; we only had a week from trailer delivery to departure. I tried several troubleshooting paths that were the easiest to do, isolated each of the fixtures to insure no internal crossover, checked that fixtures weren't reversed connected etc. I thought that the problem was internal to the Bypass valve but replacing that and doing deeper troubleshooting had to wait until our return home. I didn't want to have a disabled water system while trying to live in the unit.
Got home in late may and just got to work on it last week. I had to empty the cargo hold and take down the service wall. I replaced the Bypass valve but that had no effect on the problem. Closer examination of the pipe connections revealed that the only point where the Hot and Cold systems are joined is at the output of the Bypass valve. Following those lines I found that the Cold line had a check valve that allowed water to move away from the Bypass in the "bypass" position. The Hot line didn't have a check valve. That was the source of the problem. Cold water moving past the bypass outlet line in the "Normal" position, would siphon cold water out and draw Hot water to replace it. The longer the system ran the warmer it became. So I installed a check valve in the Hot line from the Bypass. Problem fixed.

I am not sure if my system was incorrectly plumbed or if the Hot line check was left out.

Thanks every one
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Old 06-20-2016, 04:16 PM #6
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Always enjoy reading a good detective novel....
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[r time soon]

Glad the check valve installed on the hot outlet of the water heater fixed your problem.

[Terry and Nina]

Problem fixed.
The check valve on the cold water line coming from the bypass valve failed.

Thanks to everyone for helping me to learn that there was a check valve and what it looked like.