Water Heater Temp Adjustment

[joraz]

I can't figure out how to adjust the temp on my Atwood water heater. It's a 3-way type (gas, electric & engine coolant), model #GCH10A-4E. The owner's manual shows the pilot type and its adjustment but not my particular model. Thanks.
jor

[dougrainer]

Pop-Pop C wrote:
There are no adjustments on RV water heaters.
Why..?????? I'm not sure.

SAFETY. With a preset, there is less chance of scalding. Doug

[werni9]

That is the CLEANEST looking Atwood Water Heater I have ever seen.;)

[BigBlockTank]

RV water heaters are not 40 or 50 gal. To shower in a RV, you HAVE to use cold water mixed with the hot. This way, they small (even 10 gals) amount of hot water will stretch for at least 2 showers with minimal recovery time.

And seriously, even with kids, you don't want to lower the heated water temp due to those circumstances I just mentioned.

[Old-Biscuit]

werni9 wrote:
I am in agreement with you all on the Tstats. I have an Atwwood. No hot water on electric. LP great. Breaker-good. switch-good......What would be next? I have GCH10A-3E 10 gal. Elec/lp combo. Don't know if I have the 3rd option besides those 2 options. Something about an Engine Heat source to heat water. Would TStats be next to check for current? Pull unit out and check connections on heating element? Check heating element itself? (screw in design) One thing is a voltage meter wall monitor doesn't twitch when I flip the interior on/off water heater switch on. There is an on/off switch on the right side of the back end of the unit. I'll check and hope you have some ideas. Unit is 14 years old. Change check valve 3 months go. All was fine. Trip to Texas and it worked a month and then the no hot on electic. I know what you are thinking......messed around in there and now...a problem. Hopefully loose connection. Bob

Instead of hi-jacking this post why not re-read your previous post from 11/24/2014 and follow suggestions giving........CLICK ME FOR OTHER POST

[werni9]

I am in agreement with you all on the Tstats. I have an Atwwood. No hot water on electric. LP great. Breaker-good. switch-good......What would be next? I have GCH10A-3E 10 gal. Elec/lp combo. Don't know if I have the 3rd option besides those 2 options. Something about an Engine Heat source to heat water. Would TStats be next to check for current? Pull unit out and check connections on heating element? Check heating element itself? (screw in design) One thing is a voltage meter wall monitor doesn't twitch when I flip the interior on/off water heater switch on. There is an on/off switch on the right side of the back end of the unit. I'll check and hope you have some ideas. Unit is 14 years old. Change check valve 3 months go. All was fine. Trip to Texas and it worked a month and then the no hot on electic. I know what you are thinking......messed around in there and now...a problem. Hopefully loose connection. Bob

[Old-Biscuit]

Pop-Pop C wrote:
There are no adjustments on RV water heaters.
Why..?????? I'm not sure.

The old pilot flame WHs had temp control lever on the gas valve.

The electronic controlled WHs don't.....the temp is pre-set (snap disc t-stat). With a high control temp (140*F Atwood or 130*F Suburban) that 6 gallon water heater uses less 'energy' (gas or electric) to maintain hot water and user mixes cold water at source of use. This way the 6 gallon supplies hot enough water to last longer than just 6 straight gallons (or 10, 12 etc.)

Simple design.......less cost to mfg. and gives end user more hot water in a smaller/less weight unit.

Atwood makes an X model that uses an even higher temp set point and has a mixing valve at WH to provide 130*F water at faucets.
That design increases water capacity (again higher initail water temp that is cooled for use) without having to use larger tanks (more space and weight)

[joraz]

Checked the water temp at the faucet. It's 136 degrees. Now that I understand this is normal I think I'll just leave it alone. Thanks.
jor

[Pop-Pop_C]

There are no adjustments on RV water heaters.
Why..?????? I'm not sure.

[Old-Biscuit]

joraz wrote:
Thanks to all. I did call Atwood and they confirmed the normal 140 degree non adjustable temp. We don't have kids; I was just thinking it was very hot. Though I could adjust it down so it wouldn't remain on as long as it does. I'm going to measure it today and see if mine is set to the 140 or 180. BTW, Atwood was quick with a return call from a knowledgeable person.
jor

You have two t-stats.......one is set for 140*F (marked t-stat on foam cover) the other is set for 180*F (marked ECO on foam cover....Energy Cut Out.....basically high temp t-stat)

The 140*F t-stat controls the normal ON/OFF of electric element or gas burner. The ECO only operates when the normal t-stat fails to open and temp goes to high.

The adjustable t-stat would replace the normal t-stat (The ECO would still remain in case of high temp)

[ScottG]

If you use the hot water for bathing then your going to be very disappointed with the WH's performance after you lower the water temp.

[joraz]

Thanks to all. I did call Atwood and they confirmed the normal 140 degree non adjustable temp. We don't have kids; I was just thinking it was very hot. Though I could adjust it down so it wouldn't remain on as long as it does. I'm going to measure it today and see if mine is set to the 140 or 180. BTW, Atwood was quick with a return call from a knowledgeable person.
jor

[Old-Biscuit]

NO your Atwood does not have an adjustable thermostat.

It has two pre-set t-stats (under that foam cover). The 'normal' t-stat is pre-set for 140*F and the ECO (high temp t-stat) is pre-set at 180*F

The 'high' pre-set temp (140*F) is so that the hot water 'time of use' is extended by manual mixing of cold water to the hot water.

Atwood does make an adjustable t-stat that can be mounted where the normal t-stat goes. It has a range from 110*F to 150*F.
Available aftermarket vendors for about $28

[calamus]

I have the same water heater in our layton it is factory set with no adjustments,they do get quite hot. I would call atwood like mentioned above. Im guessing that it is to hot for the kids? If you need to cool it down a bit you could always look into a tempering valve that you could set the out going water temp to a max of what every you wish.tempering/mixing valve

[CloudDriver]

The Atwood website shows an adjustable thermostat as an accessory. A call to Atwood should determine whether you have one or how to add one to your heater.