rv-ali
Sweet Home, OR USA
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Joined: 10/05/2003
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Our water heater in our 2002 Arctic Fox camper has suddenly started running out of hot water in circumstances where that never happened before. We've always been able to take showers with no problem, but now we have to turn the water off for about 5 minutes then we get another minute or two of hot water.
This is the original hot water heater. We talked to a clerk in an RV store and he said it should either work or not work, that there is not usually a grey area.
My question: Can we get this repaired somewhere or are we going to be looking at buying a new water heater.
2007 Dodge 3500 4x4 QC CTD, 2002 Arctic Fox 990
1998 Morgan 3 horse slant, 4 quarter horses
1987 Seaswirl 18' ski boat
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Ex-Tech
West
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Joined: 08/27/2011
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Sounds like either your winterization valves at the back of the water heater are in the wrong position or, if you have one, the valves on the outside shower are in the on position with the shower wand valve off.
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Yaj
The Milky Way Galaxy (Hartford, WI)
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Joined: 05/07/2009
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You might have a large air pocket in the top of the the water heater. Outside is the blowoff saftey valve near the top of the water heater, with the water pump on open it up to purge the air out!
* This post was
edited 02/09/12 06:31pm by Yaj *
1996 HR Endeavor LE,Cummins 5.9 230hp, Allison 3060,
Front-Yamaha Enduro, Rear-Honda Helix Geeser Cruiser + 2 bikes,
22ft 1977 Cruiser in tow.
1 DW, 2 kids.
2 dogs, 2 cats.
I wasn't thinking this far ahead!
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Rolling Condo
South Carolina
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Both of the above are good places to start with. The only other issue might be that if you've used your camper alot particuarly in hard water areas and not rinsed out the hot water tank, there might be alot of mineral build up.
'90 GMC R2500 7.4L
'90 Avion 34V
Cummins Onan P4300ie
Reese Dual Cam HP
Prodigy
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OnaQuest
Raleigh, NC
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Joined: 01/15/2006
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Yaj wrote:You might have a large air pocket in the top othe the water heater. Outside is the blowoff saftey valve near the top of the water heater, with the water pump on open it up to purge the air out!
You need the air pocket at the top of the tank, however, it won't hurt to bleed off excess air.
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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Joined: 06/04/2003
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I'm in tune with the above. Either the outside shower head is turned off and the faucets turned on or you might have the winterizing valves in the wrong position or perhaps only partially in the wrong position. Depending on where they are located, maybe something has nudged itself against one and cracked it open or closed????
hershey - albuquerque, nm
Someday Finally Got Here
My wife does all the driving - I just get to hold the steering wheel.
Superman was an illegal alien.
Expedition - Suzuki Grand Viagra
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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I take you are getting hot water but not lasting as long as it use to?
When was the last time you drained/flushed and really cleaned the water heater tank?
If inside of tank is scaled up....less heat transfer.......less hot water.
If regular draining/flushing doesn't clean it you may have to use white vinegar.
At least a couple of gallons...tricky part is getting into water heater. If you have a winterizing kit you can pump it into tank. Otherwise remove PRV and with funnel pour it in. Put PRV back in.....fill tank and then operate it thru two cycles of heating then drain/flush tank until it runs clear/clean. Refill and flush/rinse system.
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ryanallie1
Magalia, Calif
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Joined: 04/12/2005
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Hi All.
Good Advice as usual old biscuit. Just an added note. You really should flush out your Hot Water Tank a couple of times a year, espically if you live where you have hard water. Also, you should filter all your incomming water to your RV. It will help to get rid of minerials and deposits issues. We also use a "Whole House Water Filter", and a "Water Softner" in our Motorhome. Over time, hard water can do a lot of damage to your RV's water system in general. Not very good for Fauctes, Water Lines, Water Pump, Toilets, you get the idea. Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
1998-33.5 Rexhall, Rexair SL. 460 EFI. F-53. HWH Levelers. 5.5G Gen. Convection/Microwave. 12 Cu Ft Side by Side. Water Purifier. Water Softner. 2 A/C's. Alarm Systems. 2 Honda EU2000i W/Kit. Toad CR-V W/SMI System. FMCA #F414397 Nam-Vet, 66-67-68,& 70-71
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Clay L
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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The first thing I would do is see what the temperature of the water in the tank is. You can carefully lift the pressure valve lever and collect some hot water. It should be around 140 degrees.
If it is that hot you may have a cold water cross feed somewhere. In my case it was the diverter valve used for winterizing.
In spite of having been used only twice in eight years it developed a very small leak that fed cold water into the hot water line out of the tank.
If the water temperature is very much lower than 140 degrees then I would check the thermostat and see if it is opening too soon. The Atwood water heaters use a thermal disk switch and are easily replaced.
Atwood sells a kit containing the thermostat and ECO (emergency cut off switch) along with instructions on how to replace them.
Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (Wife), Katie (cat).
Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad
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Dusty R
Charlotte Michigan 48813
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If you have hook ups, not using pump, some parks have much higher water pressure than others. The higher the pressure the more water you are likely to use. Thus you could just be using up all your hot water. It's rather surprising how more water one uses with just a 10 pound rise in pressure.
Dusty
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