Can I JUST replace the tank?

[L_MMusic]

I have a ten year old Atwood XT 10 gallon LP and Electric Water Heater. The tank has corroded and is leakaing, but the rest of the parts are fine.
Can I JUST replace the tank? Can someone point me in the right direction?

Tank you very much!!!

[L_MMusic]

Thanks for those insights. I saw the angled cut on the recommended video. These don't even look like that! These look like someone tried and returned this product -- probably for this reason.

BTW -- For all y'all who recommended spending the extra $$$ to get the complete unit -- I'm still enjoying the learning process. I'm most frustrated with not having the correct tools at hand. And hubby would like some hot water to take a shower. I'll send him to the bathhouse if he says another word about it! LOL And, yeah, this is a time-consuming job. You definitely wouldn't want to hire someone to do the initial work of unhooking it, whether you just replace the tank or the whole thing. Time-consuming, therefore costly. So now that I've seen all the innards, I'm over this project and just want it DONE!!! I suppose it would be done by now if these misshapen parts weren't hindering my progress.

Sorry for whining...

[mrekim]

On the one we did they gave spare rings. I guess they only gave you two?

I think they are needed. They are all that keeps the tanks from moving. A sealant probably would allow movement.

You should be able to buy just the rings if you need to.

On the one I did one hole appeared to be oval but that was just because the tube was cut at an angle. When I slid the PVC tool over it it fit pretty well.

Try keep the ring as straight as possible over the tube. If it's getting cockeyed then hit the pvc tool on the high side. I didn't hit the PVC directly with a hammer, I used a board over it.

For the one that's cut at an angle - put the pvc tool over the tube first. Note the angle the pvc is at. Try to start the ring at the same angle.

If you give it a couple of wacks with a hammer and you don't seem to be making progress double check to see if ring is straight. When it's off it seems to require a little more effort to get back to straight.

[L_MMusic]

LOL Gotta love fellow campers! Melody came over and we had enough strength between us to unhook it all.

Now, time to hook up the new tank and we discover that the holes aren't round like the original tank. One of the compression rings broke while I was trying to put it on. Will the misshapen holes be a problem? Will flex-seal work on this?

[mrekim]

Not sure about the fitting. Mine came off pretty easily. This video may be useful:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfkuivFpVE&t=1246s

[Dusty_R]

Not sure about the permeant LP tanks installed on mh but the portable ones 20 & 30 etc the fitting on the tank is left hand thread.

[L_MMusic]

Well, let me tell you this about that... I'm being fooled by a fitting. A brass fitting, to be precise. It's the disconnect from the propane line, and it ain't budging!!! I sprayed on Liquid Wrench twice, and banged out a nice Conga for the neighbors, still to no avail. I'm going to plug it up again for the night and see what tomorrow may bring.

[MrWizard]

Tip some of us are not face book members
Photos that are member only, or otherwise locked do not show for people like me

[L_MMusic]

mrekim wrote:
I just replaced a tank. Some helpful hints:


1) Get a grinder or dremel to cut the old rings off. Tin snips don't work well...

2) Make notes of all the wiring connections - photos too.

3) You can make a tool for putting the new rings on from a piece of PVC. Get one that's a little too small and then use a heat gun to make it flexible and form it over the tube.

4) Use a drift to snug the rings down once you get them most of the way with the PVC. If you get the PVC stuck you can probably use channel locks to pry it off or heat it back up.

THank you for these tips! Might you have photos to share, either here or on Facebook?

[mrekim]

I just replaced a tank. Some helpful hints:


1) Get a grinder or dremel to cut the old rings off. Tin snips don't work well...

2) Make notes of all the wiring connections - photos too.

3) You can make a tool for putting the new rings on from a piece of PVC. Get one that's a little too small and then use a heat gun to make it flexible and form it over the tube.

4) Use a drift to snug the rings down once you get them most of the way with the PVC. If you get the PVC stuck you can probably use channel locks to pry it off or heat it back up.

[L_MMusic]

Hi y'all. Thanks for checking and weighing in some more.

I'll tell ya this about all that ^^ I'd love to just get the whole new water heater. In a former life, when $600 felt more like $250, I'd go for it. But this season of my life includes moments of learning rather than spending; in part because I do have the balance of time available to stretch my brain and learn about the inner workings of my house on wheels.

Even though it is leaking, it still works! It still heats the water on propane and/or electric power. We've used it a few times to heat up enough water to wash the dishes and take two showers while we decided what to do about it. The rest of the parts look wonderful. We've always been in nice climate. NO rust.

After we change out the water heater tank, I'm going to see how that Flex Seal would have worked on the old one. Have any of you used it yet?

[dougrainer]

Must be nice to be smarter than a company in business for over 40 years. The plain fact is, you are supposed to regularly flush out ANY RV water heater. Same goes for residential water heaters.
Do that on both Suburban and Atwood and you will not have any problems. Doug

[dougrainer]

Lantley wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Atwood water heater tanks are constructed of a high strength aluminum.
The interior of the tank consists of a .0015 thickness of type 7072
aluminum (pure aluminum and zinc) that is fused to the core during the
rolling process. This material protects the tanks from the effects of heavy
metals and salts found in waters throughout the country. It is anodic to
these heavy metals and acts much like an anode in a steel glass lined
tank except it will last much longer. Aftermarket Anode Rods are not
required and should not be used and will void warranty

I'm curious, As an RV tech what is your take on replacing just the tank and swapping in the controls vs. replacing the entire unit?

Doing the work yourself, I would replace the Inner tank. Paying someone else, it is NOT cost efficient to replace the inner tank. One exception is the EXT series Atwood. The mixing valve adds a lot of cost to the replacement water heater that would not have by just replacing the tank. 10 years old. IF mine I would replace the complete water Heater if NOT an EXT. BUT, since the original problem appears Calcium/mineral failure related, the most common cause of failure on an EXT is a Failed Mixing valve caused by those Mineral deposits clogging the valve and preventing correct Hot and Cold mixture, usually NO hot water at all. BTW, 30 years ago I replaced a Atwood less than 1 year old due to corrosion from Minerals. The customer spent 8 months in the Rio Grand Valley and the CG water was very high in minerals and such. Doug

[NRALIFR]

dougrainer wrote:
Atwood water heater tanks are constructed of a high strength aluminum.
The interior of the tank consists of a .0015 thickness of type 7072
aluminum (pure aluminum and zinc) that is fused to the core during the
rolling process. This material protects the tanks from the effects of heavy
metals and salts found in waters throughout the country. It is anodic to
these heavy metals and acts much like an anode in a steel glass lined
tank except it will last much longer. Aftermarket Anode Rods are not
required and should not be used and will void warranty

I know what the tanks are made of, and I know what Atwood’s recommendation is regarding anode rods. I disagree with them, and basic science is on my side. If an anode is used that is more anodic than the aluminum tank, the rod will deteriorate rather than the tank. That’s an indisputable fact. Also, Atwood cannot, and will not void your warranty for simply USING an anode rod or any other non-OEM part on their water heaters. They can and will refuse to warranty any damage CAUSED by non-OEM parts. So, If you choose to use an anode in an Atwood water heater, don’t screw up the threads in the process. Atwood’s water heater manual also states that the tanks CAN develop pin hole leaks due to the lining deteriorating, and in some cases it can happen quite rapidly.

If Atwood would warranty replace the OP’s 10 year old water heater because the tank deteriorated I’d feel differently. But they won’t, the warranty is gone.

I’d rather have a sacrificial anode rod than a sacrificial water tank.

:):)

[Lantley]

dougrainer wrote:
Atwood water heater tanks are constructed of a high strength aluminum.
The interior of the tank consists of a .0015 thickness of type 7072
aluminum (pure aluminum and zinc) that is fused to the core during the
rolling process. This material protects the tanks from the effects of heavy
metals and salts found in waters throughout the country. It is anodic to
these heavy metals and acts much like an anode in a steel glass lined
tank except it will last much longer. Aftermarket Anode Rods are not
required and should not be used and will void warranty

I'm curious, As an RV tech what is your take on replacing just the tank and swapping in the controls vs. replacing the entire unit?