My husband and I are brand spanking new to owning a travel trailer. We bought at 2018 31' Coleman Lantern spur of moment. Looking back, a million things we would do differently. Our maiden voyage this year our 6 gallon Atwood water heater seemed to have failed us. Then we had the newbie "duh" moment and realized we had not switched the bypass. Second trip, water flooding out of no where....yup.....forgot the plug. After that, worked like a charm. Third trip....nada. I am beyond frustrated. checked fuses, all good, checked thermal cut off and thats fine. Its clicking but nothing else. I flipped up the valve and it appears no water in tank. I am so confused as I don't understand why no water is getting to the tank. Water is flowing, gas is on, bypass is in correct position. I would assume it is something simple so I hate to take it in. Any advice? Do I need to bleed line after every use? thank you.

Usually it’s something silly like a spider nest in the burner tube. If you have a compressor give it a good cleaning with air, and don’t spare the PSI. If not, get a good long bottle brush. Google ‘propane burner tube cleaning’ or something like that.

Are you sure the valves are in the correct position? The oblong handle is usually in line (parallel) with the pipe to indicate open. Perpendicular to the pipe is closed. Did you miss one? There could be 3 separate valves. Newer valves can be the quarter turn type and only one valve to switch between bypass and tank. Look on youtube for videos. Lots of videos to learn from on there.

If you post a photo of your bypass setup, I'm sure we can sort it out for you.And welcome to the forum!

I also have a 2018 Coleman. My igniter board died after 30 minutes of use. Replaced with a Dinosaur Electronics model.

As a new Trailer, you should let the Dealer inspect and repair. I'm sure you can ask questions of the Tech. If you mess with it, they could blame you for any repairs. Most people buy new for that reason. Bottom line, you still need to learn all about your Trailer.-Happy camping

Water Heater= death of me! Please help | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Bobbo
Explorer III
Jul 24, 2018
jplante4 wrote:
JimK-NY wrote:
You are lucky if you still have a water heater that works. Never turn on the heat without water in the tank. Turn on a hot water faucet to be sure the water is flowing.

If it's bypassed, you'll still get water out of the hot faucet.

Note: If you pop the P/T valve to check for water, you will collapse the air bubble and the P/T valve may weep. You will need to re-establish the bubble by isolating the tank, open the valve and drain some water.

The bubble is a design feature that allows for expansion and contraction during heating and cooling.

All you have to do is remove all water pressure from the system, and open the P/T valve. Leave it open till water quits flowing, then close valve. Air bubble restored.
jplante4
Explorer II
Jul 24, 2018
JimK-NY wrote:
You are lucky if you still have a water heater that works. Never turn on the heat without water in the tank. Turn on a hot water faucet to be sure the water is flowing.

If it's bypassed, you'll still get water out of the hot faucet.

Note: If you pop the P/T valve to check for water, you will collapse the air bubble and the P/T valve may weep. You will need to re-establish the bubble by isolating the tank, open the valve and drain some water.

The bubble is a design feature that allows for expansion and contraction during heating and cooling.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
Jul 24, 2018
You are lucky if you still have a water heater that works. Never turn on the heat without water in the tank. Turn on a hot water faucet to be sure the water is flowing.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Jul 24, 2018
If you popped open the T&P Relief Valve water should have run out of it

No water: 2 possibilities
1) You didn't OPEN the Cold water inlet valve& CLOSE the Bypass Valve
2) You did not open a faucet hotside long enough to allow water heater tank to fill and purge the air out
ksg5000
Explorer II
Jul 24, 2018
If you in a campground talk to your neighbors - most have had experience with hot water heaters and will gladly take a look.
Yosemite_Sam1
Explorer
Jul 24, 2018
Sorry, I thought it was the water heater itself.
bukhrn
Nomad
Jul 23, 2018
you say you're not getting water to the heater, if you have water to all the faucets, but not to the heater, sounds like the By Pass.
Yosemite_Sam1
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
For some reason, propane travel very slow from the front to the back of the trail. For me it took a bit 3 to 5 minutes. Mine is also Coleman but with manual igniter (it says automatic in the manual for controls all appear manual mode).

What I did is to leave the pilot on for 3 to 5 minutes before I turn on the igniter.
drmopar
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
As a new Trailer, you should let the Dealer inspect and repair. I'm sure you can ask questions of the Tech. If you mess with it, they could blame you for any repairs. Most people buy new for that reason. Bottom line, you still need to learn all about your Trailer.-Happy camping
sgip2000
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
I also have a 2018 Coleman. My igniter board died after 30 minutes of use. Replaced with a Dinosaur Electronics model.