Hot water heater not hot enough

Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

rburke wrote:
Any advice or what to check would be appreciated.

Advice given to me by professional plumbers over the years is to never ever ever touch the relief valve. Its not there to act as a tank vent. Its an emergency valve that never needs to be opened.

rburke wrote:
Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

That's great, and thanks for reporting back. If it works fine on LP but not so well on electric, could be simply that the anode rod is bad and needs replacing.

way2roll wrote:

rburke wrote:
Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

That's great, and thanks for reporting back. If it works fine on LP but not so well on electric, could be simply that the anode rod is bad and needs replacing.

Ummm...the anode rod has nothing to do with the electric heating part specifically. It exists (on water heaters with steel tanks) to prevent corrosion to the tank by being more reactive and corroding first. The electric element would heat just as well with and without the anode rod. Atwood heaters, with their aluminum tank, have no anode rods and work fine on electric power if equipped that way.

Electric heating can take a little while on RV heaters, since the heating element isn't as powerful as the gas burner. If, after a sufficiently long time, the electric element gets water warm but not hot (and keeps it warm indefinitely), then clearly the element itself is operating, so the fault pretty much must be in the thermostat or control system.

I will try again and give it some more time. My hot water tank is plastic and I do not see any control system to control temp. I have heard from some folks in the park that the electrical heating element can fry out if its run while the tank is empty. I am learning, but still a newbie

Most likely the heating element has burned out.

Dusty

rburke wrote:
I do not see any control system to control temp.

What he is saying is that its possible the internal temp control is shutting off the electric element premature. You cannot adjust this yourself.

Your friends are correct you need water inside the tank before you turn the heat on. Set it to electric again, wait an hour and see if the water is finally hot.