Newbie mistake, after 4 years...

[Usmcsousa]

The wife and I have been camping with A Class A for about 4 years now... about 3 weeks ago we "moved in" in an attempt to sell our stick & brick house before our move to Texas in October.. I noticed that our Atwood water heater was not delivering as hot of water as it had in the past. This was forcing us to use 100% of the hot water side for showers and thus limiting our shower time to about 5-6 minutes with warm water. I drained the tank, flushed it, cleaned the propane components and inside the flue. I WAS about to buy a new Tstat when I stumbled on an article about the outdoor shower faucet sometimes will cause the cold water to mix with the hot thus causing warm water issues in the rig. SURE ENOUGH the wife had used the outdoor shower to give the dog a bath, and turned if off at the shower head, not at the faucet knobs. I turned them off and wham.. instant hot water.. I feel like a newb again. Add another life lesson to the list.. Shut the exterior shower off at the faucet knobs, not at the shower head!

[holstein13]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm glad my outside shower head leaks a little when closed at the shower head. That way, I can't make this mistake.

[Mile_High]

Bumpyroad wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

johnhicks wrote:
Would a check valve in the hot line solve the problem?

In the case of a cross over at a faucet, probably not. In order for a check valve to work, the pressure on the back side of the check valve has to be greater than on the entry side, thus causing the valve to shut off.

In a water line, cross over situation, both sides of the check valve would be equal pressure, leaving the valve open, allowing water to flow back and forth.

Don't think it would benefit anything. Just make sure the actual faucet handles are both turned off. Much easier and simpler!

wouldn't a check valve in both inputs to that faucet solve this to?
bumpy

That would work, but it seems the easier fix is just get in the habit of closing the valves. Check valves can restrict flow, and I must have replaced that check valve on my HW tank 10 times and always while on good vacation time.

[AllegroD]

Now that is a tough lesson. I did that once and came home to a puddle and drip under the MH.

[J-Rooster]

I've been RVing since 1976 several years ago the DW and I decided to dry camp at Quartzsite for 2 weeks. I was washing my hair outside with the outdoor shower system. I didn't want to wash my hair inside the coach trying to save water space in the gray tank. I turned the water off outside at the shower head not the faucet. The shower head was leaking slowly which I didn't see since it was pitch black outside. Woke up in the AM and I ran the coach out of fresh water in the containment tank. It can happen to the best of us!

[Bumpyroad]

DutchmenSport wrote:

johnhicks wrote:
Would a check valve in the hot line solve the problem?

In the case of a cross over at a faucet, probably not. In order for a check valve to work, the pressure on the back side of the check valve has to be greater than on the entry side, thus causing the valve to shut off.

In a water line, cross over situation, both sides of the check valve would be equal pressure, leaving the valve open, allowing water to flow back and forth.

Don't think it would benefit anything. Just make sure the actual faucet handles are both turned off. Much easier and simpler!

wouldn't a check valve in both inputs to that faucet solve this to?
bumpy

[DutchmenSport]

johnhicks wrote:
Would a check valve in the hot line solve the problem?

In the case of a cross over at a faucet, probably not. In order for a check valve to work, the pressure on the back side of the check valve has to be greater than on the entry side, thus causing the valve to shut off.

In a water line, cross over situation, both sides of the check valve would be equal pressure, leaving the valve open, allowing water to flow back and forth.

Don't think it would benefit anything. Just make sure the actual faucet handles are both turned off. Much easier and simpler!

[johnhicks]

Would a check valve in the hot line solve the problem?

[Mile_High]

bigred1cav wrote:
Are you saying the outside shower faucet is draining the HW Tank due to it being open or just as a fact of the outside faucet being there will drain the tank?

wa8yxm wrote:
Don't feel too bad.. I was in the Family center at a campground doing coffee (they provide) and internet one morning and a fellow camper was telling me how he was getting ready to call an RV service tech.. he'd already gone the water heater company customer assistance route......

I ask him about the outside shower

he called the RV tech back and cancelled.

No loss in water, rather the faucet itself having both valves open into a common outlet allow the hot and cold water lines to crossover to each other. When you take a shower inside and demand hot water, cold water sneaks into the hot water line through that outside faucet resulting in you only getting warm water at best in the shower, even with only the hot on.

[bigred1cav]

Are you saying the outside shower faucet is draining the HW Tank due to it being open or just as a fact of the outside faucet being there will drain the tank?

wa8yxm wrote:
Don't feel too bad.. I was in the Family center at a campground doing coffee (they provide) and internet one morning and a fellow camper was telling me how he was getting ready to call an RV service tech.. he'd already gone the water heater company customer assistance route......

I ask him about the outside shower

he called the RV tech back and cancelled.

[wa8yxm]

Don't feel too bad.. I was in the Family center at a campground doing coffee (they provide) and internet one morning and a fellow camper was telling me how he was getting ready to call an RV service tech.. he'd already gone the water heater company customer assistance route......

I ask him about the outside shower

he called the RV tech back and cancelled.

[Valkyriebush]

Left my outside shower hot water faucet on once by mistake and had no hot water inside coach at all. Turned off, all good again. This is a weird one, so kind of a common error.

[bigred1cav]

Bumpyroad wrote:
it is your wife's mistake, not yours.
bumpy

Never, try to tell her that!!!!!!

[doxiemom11]

We have also had where the showerhead was shut off on the inside shower instead of the knobs, and then could only get warm water at the kitchen sink.

[Usmcsousa]

Kayteg1 wrote:
Reading between the lines, the quoted 4 years is not the length of marriage?

significantly longer,fortunate for me, unfortunately for her. Most times I can't deal with myself,God knows how she puts up with me.