Steaming hot water out of HWH?

That is definitely set up for a winterizing bypass. You flip the valves to cut the water heater out of the plumbing system so you can reliably pump antifreeze into all the lines without filling the water heater with antifreeze.

I don't see a problem getting that tee out. Looks like plenty of room once you pull the two lines off either side.

I think I have some of this unraveled. I do not reconize the water heater. Does it have a make and model number on it?

eveready1289 wrote:
Reddog1, I am attempting to post a picture of the water heater.
If it doesn't work, I have other developments that are puzzling.

I think I have the photos correct.

eveready1289 wrote:
The pressure relief valve drips out the barrel, but not a lot.
It saturates a single sheet of roll towel I have placed on the tray of the compartment every day or so. Is it faulty or should I try and work the release lever a bit after I drain the tank.

That is very common if the water is heated too hot. Usually, you can flip the lever a couple of times, which will allow the valve to re-seat. Best to wait for the water to cool a little before doing that. I would not put paper in the tray of the compartment, too easy to catch fire.

eveready1289 wrote:
That brings me to the next question. What is the best way to completely drain the hot water tank?
Should I take the anode out and look at it for good measure? And won't that drain the tank mostly dry? I think this hot water situation is going to ride till the spring. Its dropping down to freezing every other night here.

You have an arrow pointing at the drain valve in the bottom of the tank. It is the drain valve, and if your tank uses a anoid it will be attached to the plug.

eveready1289 wrote:
problem number 2. There is a pin hole leak in the tee fitting coming out of the top of the hot ware tank inside. Pic nbr 2 shows location with arrow. If you look close you can see a drop forming under the tee on the right side. It gets worse as the water heats up from a drop to a real fine spray. Any suggestions? I looks like a tight squeeze to get that tee out.

The cabinet is in the way. Are these pin leaks known to happen?
They don't assemble the fittings on the tank before they put it in the cavity do they?

My guess is that the pipe threads are not sealing correctly. Could be a cracked fitting. I see no choice but to remove the fitting, and put thread sealant on the threads. The drip is probably under normal pressure, and it turns into a spray as the pressure increases when the water is heated.

The fittings can be put on the tank before or after the tank is in place. It all depends on how the camper is constructed. I should point out, the fittings should only be hand tight, easy to over tighten with a pipe wrench.




The plumbing does not look right in the photo above. There is tubing going from the top (outlet) of the tank to the bottom (inlet) of the tank. Maybe I am just not focused, but that looks like a bypass. Maybe someone will chime in on this.

Hot water panel 1997 Sportsman 951

Reddog1, I am attempting to post a picture of the water heater.
If it doesn't work, I have other developments that are puzzling.
The pressure relief valve drips out the barrel, but not a lot.
It saturates a single sheet of roll towel I have placed on the tray of the compartment every day or so. Is it faulty or should I try and work the release lever a bit after I drain the tank. That brings me to the next question. What is the best way to completely drain the hot water tank?
Should I take the anode out and look at it for good measure? And won't that drain the tank mostly dry? I think this hot water situation is going to ride till the spring. Its dropping down to freezing every other night here.
problem number 2. There is a pin hole leak in the tee fitting coming out of the top of the hot ware tank inside. Pic nbr 2 shows location with arrow. If you look close you can see a drop forming under the tee on the right side. It gets worse as the water heats up from a drop to a real fine spray. Any suggestions? I looks like a tight squeeze to get that tee out.
The cabinet is in the way. Are these pin leaks known to happen?
They don't assemble the fittings on the tank before they put it in the cavity do they?
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The manuals won't give you any of the information you are expecting from them, so even if you had them you would be up the creek without outside support.

Winterizing is Camping 101, and is covered on dozens of websites and online videos.

Can you tell us what brand the Water Heater is? A photo would be great.

As in my previous post tony lee and twodownzero are correct, it is the thermostat not the thermocouple that controls the water temperature. I think what you are setting is the thermostat.

If you google "Atwood water heater troubleshooting guide" or "Surban water heater troubleshooting guide" you will find your answer for temp control, and probably your manual.

Wayne

Yes, twodownzero the water heater is full. Steam isn't coming out of the faucet, Its just the water is so hot that it steams in the sink when it comes out. I ran water thru it(hot spigot) from the
city water connection for 30 min. to get the rust out. Then I filled the potable water tank to check the pump. Pump works fine. Then I lit the HWH and waited to see if it worked. It did and shut off, but when I tried the hw, it was so hot I figured this can't be normal. It would burn your skin if you held it under the sink faucet. I shut it down, and reset the temp setting(in outside box by thermocoupler) to low and fired it up the next day. Did the same thing, water temp wise. It had run 25 min, I timed it the second time, but I shut it down, nothing had changed.
I don't have the manuals or I wouldn't be bothering you guys. The guy I bought it from had forgot the manuals when I picked up the camper at a storage unit. Now, after several e-mails he still hasn't sent me them. Now I need to know how to purge everything for the fall, I never really used the camper yet, but will for hunting.
Mooringproduct, you have the exact same unit I got, minus the A/C.
I may need your help, old buddy ole pal!!
I try and post a picture of the outside box set up if I figure out how.

tony lee and twodownzero are correct, it is the thermostat not the thermocouple that controls the water temperature.

Wayne

The thermocouple shuts off the gas when the pilot light goes out to prevent an explosion. It has nothing to do with water temperature (except that if it's bad, and the pilot won't stay lit, you won't have hot water at all).

OP, are you sure the water heater isn't bypassed? I would think you'd get steam out of it if there was just a little bit of water in it rather than it being full. I've also never timed mine so I'm not sure if a water heater burner could turn 6 gallons of water into steam in 25 minutes but that seems a bit fast to me. Perhaps as a test, let it cool down and open the drain on the bottom of the water heater and observe what comes out. The symptom you describe suggests that there probably isn't 6 gallons of water in your heater as there should be. If that's the case, you'll have to either chase the plumbing or check your owner's manual to take your bypasses out of bypass mode.

Did you turn on the pump after filling the water tank to allow the water heater to fill? I don't mean to ask a stupid question but I did want to make sure you did the simple things first!

Could be the thermostat - but if this is first time with an RV HWS, could also be that many units are fitted with fixed thermostats set at 70 to 80 degrees Celcius which is dangerously hot, especially for young kids or oldies.

Since your thermostat IS adjustable, then the cheap test is just to fit a new one.