This is the denouement concerning this thread. The WH is installed and functioning, done by yours truly. I do want to add a few sentences of the experiences I encountered for those in the future who are searching for the "whether or not" should one attempt replacing a water heater.....as I had a lot of questions. The answers found here, looking three months into the archives, thousands of posts, were too ambiguous for me to discern the difficulty that might be involved. I'm sorta handy but hate to jump into projects that might end up causing problems that aren't immediately solvable. Like I have, with trepidation, replaced kitchen faucets, repaired (twice) the unit toilet (eventually replacing it) and resolving miscellaneous problems like why a slide wouldn't move. But on a scale of 10 I'm probably a 3.
This puts me in a category where I *know* I don't know what some situations are going to require.
Was there when our 8 yr old Splendide washer/dryer conked out. Talked to the manufacturer and it looked like a bad motor was the problem. Ugh! After checking ebay and trying to consider the reliability of what I might receive in the mail (complete units as I was certainly not up to tackling pulling the thing out, replacing a motor and reinstalling the unit only to see it still fail) called the pros in on this one. Saw there ACTUALLY WAS enough length on hoses and wires for this to be pulled out from its elevated position and set on the floor....a big worry for me! I could have done it myself.
So replacing a water heater was daunting. What was back there?
Turns out it's not that bad. My unit, a 2006 36 ft Alfa Gold fifth wheeler had an Atwood 10 gal gas/elec heater that was new, replaced by the dealer just before I bought this two year old unit. He said the original, whatever it was, was leaking so needed replacing. Great!
Five years later noticed a leak when it was being put away for the summer (we spend our winters in this). Duly noted.
In sixth year of ownership this did not reappear until recently, when it became really apparent. There is a leak back there. I ordered a new heater (saved about $200 ordering from an online company compared to a local RV dealership plus tax), then, with the readers help here, I found there was access to the backside of the heater underneath my unit (in the spare tire wheel well)...about ten inches square behind a black plastic box covering it. Lightly poking the hard plastic hoses attached to the exposed part of the bulbous aluminum tank so as to see what was back there, the leak suddenly became worse...spraying even!
So the leak was not the tank, but the input cold water lead. Cracked even with the tank. By putting a weight on the hose could pull it down so it was back to a nominal drip every second.
The water lines, hard plastic 1/2", leading to and from the tank were not just a simple 90 degree angle. They had at least two 90 degree plastic joints aiming just so they would meet the ports on the water heater. OK. I had the exact same replacement heater so no problem.
The heater is turned off (switch in the master control panel leading up to the bedroom) Turned off the breaker marked "water heater". Unscrewed the frame all around the outside of the heater. Started prying the heater out. Once out an inch or so, unscrewed the gas line, went under the unit and unscrewed the water lines. Back around outside worked the tightly fit water heater out and angled down onto the ground. There is, ladies and gentlemen, just enough length on the wires that run this thing to allow that. It was a big worry.
Four wires with the 12 volt stuff run to the front of the heater. Cut them leaving some length on the old water heater as I think I can get the busted coupler part out of the cold water input hole and this would be a good heater again.
I wondered about pulling the fuse in the 12v panel marked "appliances" to prevent possible shorting with my endeavors, but voted against it. Throw the breaker for "water heater" and the 110 stuff is off. Throw the switch to turn the "heater" off and you kill the 12v stuff....right? I was either lucky or accurate on this as nothing blew.
Measured the volts on the other three wires. (Previous to throwing the breaker there was 117v AC) Zero. Unscrewed the thingys holding the wires together.
New heater in place of old, tilted up on the ground, rear facing opening. Attached four wires for the 12v stuff according to color using solder and heat shrink tubing. Hooked up the 110v wires according to color with twistons.
Put 1/2" couplers, the two inch male ones with outside threads on both ends, in the hot and cold holes using teflon tape (plastic, wanted to use brass but the hardware stores were out of the right kind...the couplers on the old unit were plastic anyway). Had to 'invent' a solution on the hot water outlet. Could not get the original connection (a 90 degree male, clamped to two inches of plastic pipe, clamped to a male coupler) off the heater because it appeared it had been EPOXIED into the hole. It appeared it was going to break with the force I was using and I wanted to save the heater. So jury rigged a 12" section of female/female sink hose (the kind you see under your sink) and a male/male connector on the other end to meet the female connection on the plastic pipe.
Wa La! Turned on the water and nary a drop anywhere. Turned on the AC breaker and no sparks. Flicked on the heater switch and now we can take a hot shower!
Note: this heater will not fit all the way into the access hole in my unit because the black plastic box on the back of the heater that covers the leads for the electric element hole and some other stuff, prevents it from accessing the last inch needed. The box hits a frame part.
The plastic box on the old unit was completely busted and pushed to one side. I can vision now how the original problem happened...the car dealer tech, frustrated that the unit would not go all the way in, forced it to where the box cracked off and also cracked the input water lead coupler. But it closed and a sale was made.
I needed to use a Dremel tool with cutting wheel to cut off the lower part of the box, then stick some insulating material into the cutout to be able to shove the heater all the way in. Your experience will probably be more fitting.
