No Hot Water - 2000 Itasca

[jondrejik]

Took out the coach this weekend for the first time. Shake down cruise..

When we got to the site I connected to city water and turned on the water heater both electric and propane. I could hear the heater running on propane and after a while the flame went off. Tried the hot water on the kitchen sink and it was hot. Ran it about 5 seconds. Didn't test in shower or bathroom sink figured all was well.

At dinner time when we went to wash dishes there was no hot water. I could still hear the propoane flame coming on / off and if I hit the pressure release valve hot water comes out.

On the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower there is no hot water but there is cold water flow with only the hot on. In the kitchen sink when I turn on the hot water there is about a second of warm water and then it just runs cold. Same for bath room sink but not the shower.

I've read a bunch of posts on check valve. Lots of the posts talk about no water flow at all. Is there a way to verify if this issue is a check valve even with the cold water running?

Thanks in advance with any help or guidance.

[jondrejik]

Took out the coach this weekend for the first time. Shake down cruise..

When we got to the site I connected to city water and turned on the water heater both electric and propane. I could hear the heater running on propane and after a while the flame went off. Tried the hot water on the kitchen sink and it was hot. Ran it about 5 seconds. Didn't test in shower or bathroom sink figured all was well.

At dinner time when we went to wash dishes there was no hot water. I could still hear the propoane flame coming on / off and if I hit the pressure release valve hot water comes out.

On the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower there is no hot water but there is cold water flow with only the hot on. In the kitchen sink when I turn on the hot water there is about a second of warm water and then it just runs cold. Same for bath room sink but not the shower.

I've read a bunch of posts on check valve. Lots of the posts talk about no water flow at all. Is there a way to verify if this issue is a check valve even with the cold water running?

Thanks in advance with any help or guidance.

[skigramp]

Did you remember to change the hot water heater by-pass valve???

That would be my first guess of where to look ... especially on the first trip out ...

[jondrejik]

I did see that valve in the compartment. On the right side are the words "normal operation" and on the left side of the valve are the words "Water heater bypass". The valve handle is poining towards normal operation.

I did try turning the valve to bypass but it will only turn 90 degress and point straight down. I don't remember if I tried the hot water with this valve pointing down or not.

The confusing part is the valve does not turn in the the directions of the labels.

I will check tomorrow.

[FrankO]

I had the same issue -- well close, my tank did not even fill. I had turned the By Pass valve in the direction of normal operation but it did not fill. When I turned it the other way all worked OK. I would have thought that if yours filled, then it should continue to flow to the spigots.
Frank O.

[skigramp]

Frank ...

I think that you need to make yourself some new labels ...

My '99 Adventurer had no labels ... this COF (cantankerous old f**t) could not remember which way the valve needed to be turned .... so I made my own labels... I used a small piece of paper to draw a picture of the valve in OPEN and BYPASS positions and then used clear packaging tape to completely cover it when I attached it near the valve ... solved my problem

[jondrejik]

Frank....

Since I did not drain the tank there could have been water in it already and that was getting heated. I plan to test today after work with the valve in the other direction.

I kept thinking that the valve was in the correct direction since I got a second of warm water before back to all cold.

[Rick Buddrus]

The check valve on my 03 39QD is on the Output side of the water heater. If you have no or resticted flow with the HW only then it is probably the check valve. It is a brass in line valve located behind the water heater. If it is like mine, it can be disassembled (gutted) then reassembled and reinstalled. Not sure where your's is because you only indicated that you had a 2000 Itasca, not a model designation. Something else you might want tom do even though it has nothing to do with your hot water issue is to take the strainers (diverters) off the sink faucets and clean them. They have a habit of getting clogged and seriously reducing your overall flow. Hope this helps.

[skigramp]

My first motorhome did not have factory installed by-pass valves ... the original owner installed three valves and a true "by-pass pipe" which (if the valves were opened and closed correctly) would allow the water to by-pass the hot water heater and allow no water into or out of the hot water heater OR if turned opposite required the water to flow through the hot water heater ...

My two Winnebago motorhomes have only had one by-pass valve ... it really only cuts off the flow of water into the input pipe of the hot water heater ... and instead diverts the flow to the output piping of the hot water heater ....

You will notice that the hot water heater is pressurized even if you have the by-pass valve set to "by-pass" ... soooo ... make sure that you use the pressure relief valve to release the pressure in the hot water heater before you attempt to drain it ...

I remember very clearly the <span class="ev_code_RED">BIG SURPRISE</span> I got the first time I removed the drain plug from a hot water heater on a Winnebago motorhome when I was de-winterizing at a campground in Arkansas

[jondrejik]

FrankO wins the prize for correct answer in this case. My valve was pointing to the "Normal Operations" label. Turning it the other way allowed the hot water to flow.

I started by draining the hot water tank. Once drained with the plug still out I started the water pump and watched to see which direction the valve was when water would start coming out the drain. Once I saw the water coming out I plugged the tank, opened the relief valve, and opened hot water in the kitchen / bathroom sinks. When I had a good flow in the sinks I turned them off and started the water heater. About 15 min later I had hot water in all the right places.

I did find my check valves on the back of the tank so if this happens again I know where to look.

Thanks for the help.

[Rick Buddrus]

Great! Glad it was a simple fix. Much better than having to remove and gut the check valve.

[FrankO]

So should we be asking why or how the labels are backwards? Is it that we are looking at what whould be pointing to the label? Winnie just does too many things well to let this be a problem. Any ideas from the more experienced on how this labeling could be misinterpretted?
Frank O.

[jondrejik]

Agree 100% on the lables. It is confusing. Simply moving the "Normal Operations" sticker down 4 inches and moving the other sticker to replace "normal operations" and it would be sufficient.

I called Winnebago support today and their guidance was if the valve knob is triangle shaped and if the point of the triangle is pointing towards the words "Normal Operation" then the valve is set correctly.

This guidance was 100% inaccurate.

[Wizard]

The handles on mine was also pointed wrong. I removed the screw, pulled the handle off, rotated it 90 degrees, reinstalled the screw and suprise, it points right now.