Fixed my "Warm" hot water

[Rbertalotto]

The "hot" water in my Cherokee 19RR was warm at best. Regardless of using the electric or gas to heat it.

I finally lifted up the mattress and located the hot water heater valves under a removable panel.

Sure enough, the bypass valve was open. Mixing cold water with the hot water.

These hot water tanks usually have three valves. Water intake, water out and a bypass valve. The bypass valve is usually physically between the other two valves. This valve should be closed under normal conditions. It is only opened, while the other two are closed, during winterizing.

Hope this helps someone else with "Warm Hot Water"......

[Old-Biscuit]

SCVJeff wrote:

Rbertalotto wrote:
All you need to do is post something......Some "expert" will come along and piss in your chereeos if you are wrong.....The internet is "self correcting"....:B

And they ruined a perfectially good bowl of Cheerios

Doesn't matter....they too have be recalled!

[John_Joey]

wa8yxm wrote:
We call that "Suspect #2"

So you ask.. What is Suspect #1? I call it the Dog Shower (outside shower)

you open the cut off valve and adjust the mixing valves for proper warmth, then you finish washing whatever you were washing and hit the cut off valve in the had.. LEAVING THE MIXING VALVES OPEN.. same result as leaving the bypass open.

NOTE that I am not an RV Technician.. but I've still fixed a few bad hot water systems by asking about that shower.

X2

Suspect #3 a Y hose going to a washer.

[stickdog]

Become a fulltimer, remove the bypass valve and stay where it's warm.

[SCVJeff]

Rbertalotto wrote:
All you need to do is post something......Some "expert" will come along and piss in your chereeos if you are wrong.....The internet is "self correcting"....:B

And they ruined a perfectially good bowl of Cheerios

[wa8yxm]

We call that "Suspect #2"

So you ask.. What is Suspect #1? I call it the Dog Shower (outside shower)

you open the cut off valve and adjust the mixing valves for proper warmth, then you finish washing whatever you were washing and hit the cut off valve in the had.. LEAVING THE MIXING VALVES OPEN.. same result as leaving the bypass open.

NOTE that I am not an RV Technician.. but I've still fixed a few bad hot water systems by asking about that shower.

[NinerBikes]

Spilled my coffee, reading about your handy adventures.

[Likes_to_tow]

Another thing that can cause luke warm water is an outside shower! If the valves are left on with the water cut off at the end of the hand held wand you can get a back feed through the plumbing system. Sounds crazy but that was my problem a few years ago. Saw a post on some forum site and checked mine. Sure enough, I had left both valves open during winterizing and had cut the water off by pushing the little off button at the end of the hose wand. This stopped the flow and I just failed to turn the main valves off.

[Rbertalotto]

All you need to do is post something......Some "expert" will come along and piss in your chereeos if you are wrong.....The internet is "self correcting"....:B

[SoundGuy]

Rbertalotto wrote:
See....Like I said....You lear EVERYTHING right here on the internet!

Yeah, "everything" is out there alright ... the trick is figuring out which is accurate and which isn't. 😉

[Rbertalotto]

See....Like I said....You lear EVERYTHING right here on the internet!

[SoundGuy]

Rbertalotto wrote:
These hot water tanks usually have three valves.

"I read it on the internet so it must be true!" :S

Whether any water heater is plumbed with a 1, 2, or 3 valve system or is even equipped with a bypass of any kind is entirely up to the trailer manufacturer and no one method is necessarily any more common than another. For sure, a 3 valve is the easiest to understand as many just don't realize 1 and 2 valve systems utilize check valve(s) instead of valves to accomplish the same task. My current Freedom Express is equipped with an Atwood water heater plumbed with a 3-valve bypass system but in the past I've owned rigs with 1, 2, and even no bypass systems.

[Rbertalotto]

It's great to be handy...and have access to the internet. Saw this solution on here somewhere.....Thanks rv.net!

So I saved $100 here and then the furnace in my house wouldn't start and figured out the pilot blew out. Saved another $100+ no calling the plumber!

[Dick_B]

Aren't you glad you didn't have to pay a Tech $100 to reposition the valve!

[Dutch_12078]

Be aware that water heaters can have one, two, or three operable valves that manage the bypass setup. One and two valve setups also have a check valve at the hot outlet.