No Hot Water! (...yes, I'm a noob)

[Mr_Toad]

Hi, Everybody!



Hooray! I am now spending my very first night in my shiny new 36FB! ...and there's no hot water coming from the faucets.



Could someone tell me how to turn on the hot water heater?



I'm plugged in at the RV park, the two "Hot Water" switches by the front door show the left AC switch is on/ illuminated, and the DSI is off/ not illuminated.



I apologize for the dumb question. The walkthrough was two months ago, and I forgot how to check this stuff.







Thank you for your help!



Robt.

[Tobys Home]

Robt, sorry to hear of your problem. There is a switch on the hot water heater itself. Open the cover and you should see a small rocker swith on the heater wall. They use that for winterizing so that the heater rod won't burn out. Make sure the water is coming out of the faucet freely then turn on that switch. GOOD LUCK!

[COLJDM]

Also, have you tried to run the heater using the DSI switch only (gas operation)? You may want to try that option to ensure it works

[Mr_Toad]

Hooraay!



128 dollars later, my problem is solved!



(Well...my problem is ignorance, and that won't be solved by 128 dollars.)



Anyway..the hot water heater bypass valve was turned so that fresh waterBYPASSED the hot water heater. So all i had coming from both the cold and hot faucets was cold water from the RV hookup.



So, the bypass valve was turned to NOT bypass the hot water heater, water started to warm up, and now I'm set.



So, my understanding is that these are the hot water switch selections needed to have hot water come from the faucets:

1. Electric On, Gas/ DSIoff, Extra switch by outside hot water heater console On, bypass switch set to NOT bypass the hot water tank.

2. Gas/ DSIOn, Electric off, Extra switch by outside hot water heater console On, bypass switch set to NOT bypass the hot water tank.

3. Electric On AND Gas/ DSI On - Feasible by not recommended approach.



Sigh...



Robt.

[mhs4771]

By golly, I think you've got it. As for Gas and electric at the same time, it can be done to shorten the recovery time. Did it all the time with our previous TTs, but they only had 6 Gal tanks. Have not had a problem or need to use the dual heat method with the RW.

[TravelinAnderson]

Welcome to the forum and remember... we were ALL newbies once.
My understanding is that new RV water heaters have their electric switch set to the "off" position so we don't accidentally burn out the heating element when we hook up to shore power.
That being said, if you winterize your rig make sure to turn that switch back to the "off" position and don't turn it back "on" until you de-winterize it and have water running through the hot water faucets.
When they winterize your RV they drain the water heater and use the bypass to get the RV antifreeze though the water lines. When you put it back in service you'll flush potable water through the lines until they run clear then turn the bypass off so the water heater fills. Only then do you want to turn the switch "on".

Sorry for the lengthy post... it's so unlike me

[Tobys Home]

Congratulations. And yes we are all newbies

[SueMar]

Jay & Linda:
Thank you for the info re: the electric water heater. Ours wasn't working (had to use gas) and we had it on our list of "fixes" needed when our coach goes in for repairs. I read your post to dh, he went out and checked and sure enough -- the switch was turned off with a piece of tape over it (I guess so it wouldn't be "accidentally" turned on) Guess they missed this in delivery prep (and pdi!)

[Mr_Toad]

Happy to Help!



Hopefully, it will save other folks the $128 it requires for a repair person to come out and tell them to check the red plastic switch in the tank valve panel.

[warway]

Please rememberthat water MUST be in water heater before you turn on electric so you don't burn out element.

[5th_Time]

While we're on the subject of Water Heaters, if your coach is more than 6 months old, check your anode rod.



I picked up my RL in April, only used it a few times and when I removed the anode rod to drain the WH during winterizing, I was shocked to see how it had "sacrificed" almost completely.



I replaced it with the Suburban OEM magnesium rod (232767), but if your water is really "aggressive", and your anode rod only lasts a few months, they also have an aluminum version (232768). I'm going to try out one more magnesium and then evaluate.

[TravelinAnderson]

Here's a look at a new vs well worn anode rod:

[RollsRoyce]

Robert (Toad) don't forget you have warranties on this kind of stuff and any RW dealer near you can fix or give you information over the phone that will help you take care of your small problems

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by TravelinAnderson

Here's a look at a new vs well worn anode rod:

That's a great picture...thanks for posting

[Campers]

Just a small note on the rod, be sure you flush the heater tank and be sure you clean the threads really well. Once that kstuff hardens, it is almost impossible to get the threads clean. Great picture as well.

[Tobys Home]

Bud id right. After the tank is draind I use a curved plastic tube from the hdwr store and siphon the residue out on to the ground. Get a long enough hose so you don't get a mouth full of sl*g.

[Amishco]

I have always used anodes in my hot water tank, when I did my walk through I asked the tech about this and he stated that it is a waste of money to usethem on the new tank, I believe he said it was an aluminium tank not steel and would not harm it. please correct me if I'm wrong. I always flush my tanks 3 times a year regardless.

[Amishco]

Why are my tanks 3 blue? strange

[TravelinAnderson]

Amishco.. Your "tech" would be correct if he were talking about Atwood water heaters. They use an aluminum which doesn't need the anode.
Manufacturers that use steel tanks in their water heaters do need the anode rods.

If you install an anode in an aluminum tank you may never get it out because the steel threads on the rod will react with the aluminum threads on the tank. The resulting corrosion will fuse the two together. Aluminum tanks have a nylon drain plug in them for this reason.

[Mr_Toad]

YES! Thank you, Mr. RR,



I did in fact purchase the extended warranty, and boy I'm glad i did.



The "AAA RV Pro" (Steve Mullet) in Plano, Texas has been helping me a lot, and he's a great RV repair guy, and works directly with Redwood to charge back warranty stuff.



I've never really done the RV stuff, so i gotta have a warranty.



Robt.