Water heater only luke warm

[mooksterl]

Hello,
I have done some online searching and was wondering for some advice.
We have a 2010 Jayco 26BH. Runs great with no problems. It was the elec/gas water heater.
We were out this weekend and I started with the electric for the hot water. The next morning I realized it only got luke warm. I then tried the propane and it fired up but did not seem to stay on long. Again, luke warm. It would fire up occasionally throughout the weekend but same results.
To me, a newbie, it appears to be some thermostat issue....or something glaringly obvious I have missed. Any ideas would be helpful. I searched online but seemed to find more posts regarding not lighting.Thanks

[Old-Biscuit]

Know what you mean by them Sharkbites
First time I use one I installed a shutoff valve

Pushed tubing in on both sides and valve could easily swivel....thought 'Well that isn't going to work...the valve isn't even tight"

Dang things work and are Sooooo easy to install.

As suggested.....try squeezing band a littler tighter on that 'T' connection.
IF it doesn't seal......you know about Sharkbites :B

[opnspaces]

You might be able to grab the crimp band behind with some diagonal cutters and squeeze a bit tighter.

[Majja13]

mooksterl wrote:
Yes, we do! Man, what a rookie mistake. I should have thought about that possibility.....perhaps too many brown pops setting up! Is there a way to snug up the crimp fitting to seal the little leak? May save me the extra sharkbite

Beats my neighbors rookie mistake. He forgot to drain his water heater tank and it split.

[mooksterl]

Yes, we do! Man, what a rookie mistake. I should have thought about that possibility.....perhaps too many brown pops setting up! Is there a way to snug up the crimp fitting to seal the little leak? May save me the extra sharkbite

[opnspaces]

I know what you mean about no click. It just isn't there but the fittings hold anyway.

Glad you got it repaired and thanks for the update. Oh also do you have hot water again?

[mooksterl]

....and now there is a small leak at the "T" below. Must be from moving it around. Now I'll buy a "T" too.Should be easy

[mooksterl]

Well, here is an update. Bought the "sharkbite", cut the line, put on "sharkbite" and there appears to be no leaks! It literally took 2 minutes. I didn't hear a very loud "click" but it seems to be on tight.
Thanks for the advice...again!

[Old-Biscuit]

Cut diagonally across band (not completely threw) and then twist off with pliers.
Dremel tool with cutoff wheel works well.

Sharkbite works great (Home Depot)......but end of PEX needs to be square and have NO burrs (they seal with an o-ring). Just push on..done
They can be removed if needed and reused......small 'U' shaped tool for $2

Gatorbites are similar at Lowes

[mooksterl]

Thank you. It is not the push/pull low water knobs. It is the bypass for sure. If I use Sharkbite, do I just cut by the crimped end or is there a way to take them off?

[opnspaces]

This may not be what you are experiencing, but my low point drains just spun around and didn't seem to do anything. I finally figured out that they pull up to open and push down to close. Might want to try pulling and pushing before you remove the valve.

If you need to replace I would use something like a diagonal cutter (dikes) pliers to remove the crimped bands. You can usually rent or buy the pex crimp tool at home improvement stores. You might also be able to use a SharkBite but since they use something like an o ring to seal I would be concerned about the groove left behind by the crimp band.

But the SharkBite might be long enough that you have to trim back the pex and then it will all be good. As far as ease of use, if you can push a straw into your Big Gulp you can push a SharkBite fitting onto a piece of pex. It's really that easy to use.

Link

[Dfresh]

If you have the tools, and even rudimentary skills, Pex is extremely easy to work with.

A number of home improvement stores will rent the Pex tools these days. The other option is the shark/gator grip (or whatever the heck the newest version is) that simply push together and are water tight requiring only cutting. That may be the way to go for you.

[mooksterl]

Hello folks. Just got home and yep, that is exactly what it is. Thank you everyone! Now another problem....the reason it didn't work is, the bypass valve is broken. It spins around and doesn't click into place. Now, how easy is it to replace pex piping? Sorry, I'm a newbie with pex too. Looks like it is 2 clamps with a black handle and the clamps need a special tool to crimp. Keep in mind that whenever I tackle something, a 10 minute job turns into a trip to the repair shop......is it an "easy" fix? Thanks....again

[opnspaces]

I'm going with the water heater bypass partially open or one of the showers on with the shower head turned off. I would think you can just put your finger on the Pressure relief valve of the water heater and it will either be hot or not. 🙂 If the relief valve is hot you have a bypass issue. If the relief valve is only warm flip the lever for a second and see if the escaping water is only warm. If it's warm you probably have a thermostat problem.

[AirForceAngler]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

AirForceAngler wrote:
Could it also be that the water heater tank was not completely filled? I always make sure to hold the pressure control valve open until I get a good stream of water out of it.

Works but unnecessary.........just open faucet hot side to bleed air out as tank fills. Less messy/wet

Yup, I forgot about that. Was just trying to come up with other reasons his water isn't hot.