hot water heater stopped working

[maxwell11]

the hot water heater stopped working on our last camping trip.

it has worked well in the past and did work one time during this last trip, but mama bear said the water got colder toward the end of her shower.

I checked to be sure the gas was on, the cook stove eyes worked, so I assumed there was plenty of gas in the tanks.

checked the fuse box, water heater fuse was good.

the camper in a 2013 model Jayco, water heater has always worked well on gas, but never heated very good on electricity, never needed it to heat on electricity until now.

Guess I should have had that repaired years ago.

the camp ground where we were stayed had great, clean bath, showers facilities, so it was not a problem.

any suggestions or should I just take it back to the dealer.

I do not know the brand of the water heater, but plan to follow the trouble shooting guide before I take it back to the dealer, 30 miles,

however at this time of the year, it may take a while to get an appointment.

thanks for any input,

[wanderingbob]

How long of a shower did mamma take , you only have six gallons and it is being diluted with cold water the instant that you open the valve . Maybe some one needs to shower with mamma and time her !

[opnspaces]

Do you live in an area where you have to winterize? If so it's possible the winterizing valve is not fully shut and allowing cold water to bypass the heater.

If you open the outside heater valve, there should be a drain plug near the bottom of the tank. Is it a plastic or metal plug?

If you turn of the gas water heater switch and then turn it back on, does it try to light? Go stand out by the heater door and have someone else flip the switch for you.

[Old-Biscuit]

Water was hot but got colder towards end of shower.......

Did it reheat water OR not come back on at all?


Suburban and Atwood are the 2 brands but they both make several models.

Without which one.....generic help only
Do you have DC power to water heater?
Do you have any spark/flame?
Do you have any 'fault light' on On/Off panel?

Simple system.
Turn On/Off Switch to ON
DC power goes to/thru set of t-stats then to circuit board
Circuit board then sends DC power to gas solenoids and Opens gas valve while sending high voltage to spark electrode to light main flame

Unles you have a pilot flame type

[100ton]

Do you have an outside shower? If so, make sure the valves are closed, not just the head.
Does the hot run cold on other outlets?

[Dakota98]

Is it possible that when you had it winterized that the by-pass valve was left partially open ?

[old_guy]

first off, please tell us what brand water heater you have.