Hot water heater not hot enough

[rburke]

Hello

I am a first time travel trailer owner, bought a 2013 Skyline Nomad and working to figure it all out. So far so good, one thing I can't seem to figure out is how to adjust the hot water. It more warm than hot, i do not see any way to adjust the temp setting. Any advice or what to check would be appreciated.

Thank you!

[wopachop]

rburke wrote:
I do not see any control system to control temp.

What he is saying is that its possible the internal temp control is shutting off the electric element premature. You cannot adjust this yourself.

Your friends are correct you need water inside the tank before you turn the heat on. Set it to electric again, wait an hour and see if the water is finally hot.

[Dusty_R]

Most likely the heating element has burned out.

Dusty

[rburke]

I will try again and give it some more time. My hot water tank is plastic and I do not see any control system to control temp. I have heard from some folks in the park that the electrical heating element can fry out if its run while the tank is empty. I am learning, but still a newbie

[DrewE]

way2roll wrote:

rburke wrote:
Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

That's great, and thanks for reporting back. If it works fine on LP but not so well on electric, could be simply that the anode rod is bad and needs replacing.

Ummm...the anode rod has nothing to do with the electric heating part specifically. It exists (on water heaters with steel tanks) to prevent corrosion to the tank by being more reactive and corroding first. The electric element would heat just as well with and without the anode rod. Atwood heaters, with their aluminum tank, have no anode rods and work fine on electric power if equipped that way.

Electric heating can take a little while on RV heaters, since the heating element isn't as powerful as the gas burner. If, after a sufficiently long time, the electric element gets water warm but not hot (and keeps it warm indefinitely), then clearly the element itself is operating, so the fault pretty much must be in the thermostat or control system.

[way2roll]

rburke wrote:
Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

That's great, and thanks for reporting back. If it works fine on LP but not so well on electric, could be simply that the anode rod is bad and needs replacing.

[wopachop]

rburke wrote:
Any advice or what to check would be appreciated.

Advice given to me by professional plumbers over the years is to never ever ever touch the relief valve. Its not there to act as a tank vent. Its an emergency valve that never needs to be opened.

[rburke]

Ok thanks all the issue was definitely the bypass! I found the valve and turned it off and now have nice hot water while running in propane. The water is not getting hot running on electric, its warm but not hot so there is some failure in the electrical component of the water heater. Have not had time to diagnose yet but any pointers are much appreciated.

[Old-Biscuit]

rburke wrote:
Trailer is a 2013 Skyline Nomad Joey Select M298

That nice....
What Brand/Model is Water Heater
Atwood gas/electric 6 gal/10 gal
Suburban gas/electric 6 gal/10 gal

Similar but different controls components so Brand/Model is helpful

Simple solution would be finding bypass valve open or shower not valved out using knobs resulting in Warm Water vs HOT

[rburke]

Trailer is a 2013 Skyline Nomad Joey Select M298

[rburke]

Thanks all! Heading back up there this weekend I will go through it all and post any updates.

[Old-Biscuit]

CAUtION:
Opening T&P Relief Valve after heating cycle has finished WILL BLOW very hot water under high pressure EVERYWHERE
Scalding can occur within seconds

[dougrainer]

IF automatic Ignition there is no adjustment. The quick way to determine how hot is to run until the flame shuts OFF and then open the outside POP OFF safety valve. IF that water comes out extremely hot, your WH is operating to spec and you need to look at possible Bypass valves or outside shower valves open. Doug

[Old-Biscuit]

WELCOME!


Post Brand and Model for specific info

I take it water heater works...but water is not hot...correct?
Then most likely issue is the 'bypass' valve on water heater is still open
You will have a Cold Inlet (bottom), a Hot Outlet (top) and a line that connects cold to hot (bypass)
Cold needs to be open, Bypass CLOSED and Hot open (if it has a valve ---probably uses a check valve in Hot out)

Water temp is Pre-set via a temp t-stat (bi-metallic disc) no adjustments
Suburban...130*F
Atwood.....140*F

[way2roll]

rburke wrote:
Ok - need to find out about these bypass valves, there is an outdoor shower I have not opened it up yet, will take a look. Thanks!

Yes, some background, when winterizing and running RV antifreeze through your plumbing, the water heater has a set of valves in the plumbing connections to bypass it. Since the water heater can be drained there is no sense in filling it up needlessly with 6 gals of RV antifreeze. So it's bypassed. If you don't turn the valves back when un-winterizing you won't get hot water.

If that is not your issue, are you using LP or electric to heat the water?