Water heater operation question

[Iowa_Cowgirl]

I have a new LQ horse trailer. I used to camp in a tent so working a water heater is new to me.
I know it runs on propane. I know to turn the propane on then hit the "on" switch. At that point, I can hear it fire up.
I have tested it out and it is heating the water but when I turn the water on to hot, the pump kicks in and then cold water comes out, not warm or hot, but cold and only while the pump is operating.
I noticed there is a "hot" pipe and a "cold" pipe. I have both of those valves turned to the "on" position. Something I'm doing wrong or is there another problem? Thank you.

[Iowa_Cowgirl]

wa8yxm wrote:
My opinion of the plumbers who do it that way I will not type, for I wish not to melt your monitor.

LOL!!

[wa8yxm]

Putting the hot on the right side is the British/european method or so I am told.

I will tell you somethign else.. MANY Campground showers are hooked up backwards. And in some campgrounds... Well, it depends on which shower you are standing in,, For example the "A" bath house where I'm parked, the big shower is one way and the smaller shower is the other.. No consistency even within the same building. My opinion of the plumbers who do it that way I will not type, for I wish not to melt your monitor.

[Iowa_Cowgirl]

Thank you for the advice! I turned the valve off between the hot and cold pipes. Didn't help until I finally realized the jack whack who installed the plumbing made the hot pipe operate with the cold handle.:S Back to my garage to fix that issue too.
Did get a nice hot shower thanks to y'all. You rock! Much appreciated.:)

[Old-Biscuit]

Water will only flow when there is a demand. Your pump uses a pressure switch that allows pump to run/stop when you open/close a faucet.
Turn pump switch ON and then it runs when there is a demand.

Water heater....
Takes 20-30 minutes for water to be heated to shutoff temp which is controlled by thermostat.

Cold water goes in bottom of water heater tank
Hot water comes out top of water heater tank
A bypass connections cold (bottom line) with hot (top line) so that water heater tank can be bypassed (winterizing/repairs etc)

IF you only have 2 valves on the backside of water heater....
OPEN the bottom one and CLOSE the one in middle

IF you have 3 valves
OPEN bottom one and top one-----CLOSE the middle one

[Ex-Tech]

You do know that the water in the water heater has to heat up first? Takes about 20 minutes.
It is not an instantaneous type heater.

[kaydeejay]

Is there a valve between the hot and cold sides? If so this is the Bypass valve for Winterizing. It should be closed or it will allow cold water to flow from the cold side into the hot pipe.
Alternatively, are the valves open in your shower, but the water is turned off at the shower head? This will do the same thing. Also applies if you have an outside shower?