water heater question

[a johnson]

Ok guys. I'm getting this figured out. I am loving the Providence so far.

I just got my 28' trailer to haul the race car behind it and the setup looks suite.

Now the next question as I'm not sure what to expect.

The build sheet says it has the 16 gallon water heater, but the tag on the back says 10 gallons...either way I would think I should get more than a couple minutes of hot water out of the shower. Or even more so the fact it's hot for a couple minutes, then luke warm, but if I get out, and go to the faucet I get hot water for about 30 seconds and then luke warm.

I've been running off the tank until I get the city water inlet fixed this weekend.

It just seems like 10 gallons would give about a 10 min shower...since the the house has a 30 gallon and I can take a 30 min shower (not that I ever have )

Any suggestions on what I may be doing wrong or something wrong? Maybe it's the shower?

aaron

[pcurt23]

You did not say the year of your coach. You do have a 10 gal heater. It has a mixing valve on the back of the water heater that combines very (140 to 150) hot water with some cold to extend the amount of hot water you can use. I had the same problem a year ago or so. It cost me a lot of money to find that the mixing valve was clogged. I took it off the mixing valve and removed the debris and all is fine.
Atwood_GE16EXT_water_heater_MPD_93758_9.10.04 Atwood hot water adjustable mixing valve

[NLOVNIT]

Check the outside sprayer knobs. We'll get lukewarm water if the knobs are on on the outside sprayer that's in our water hook up bay. Even if the nozzle on the sprayer is off, when the knobs are on the water will mix & I'll get only lukewarm water out of any faucet. It's easy to forget to turn the knobs off on the outside sprayer when you've been rinsing something off out there.

Lori-

[a johnson]

Sorry. 2008 Providence 40e.

Sprayer is off outside as I need to fix a small leak.

i will look for the mixing valve when I get to the coach.

[a johnson]

still baffled by this one. I haven't been able to get to the water heater from inside the coach. i think it's burried behind or under the washer dryer.

Does anyone know how much or hard it would be to convert the water heater to an insta-hot style?

[pcurt23]

Look in the closet next to the washer and see if there is a removable floor panel. The panel is easy to remove but it is not obvious that it is a panel. The water heater extends far enough into the coach that you will be able to access the back where the valve is located.

I had all the same thoughts that you are having after being without hot water for a week. It cost me over $300 in service and parts to find out that the valve was clogged. For that 300 I also discovered the floor access panel and the valve. This forum discusses the mixing valve issues in various places.

[LA-HODAG]

I have the same water heater size conundrum in my 2007 Revolution 40 E which is same floorplan as yours on different chassis. The 16 gal was an option for both our rigs. My build sheet says I have 16 gal but everything else says 10 gals. Please post if you are able to determine the size of yours and how. Thanks.

[Dave78Chief]

If they are Atwood Water Heaters, when you open the outside access door, there is a lable with the Model number of the heater. You determine exactly what you have from that number. The XT model was the only one that has a mixing valve on the backside of it. Model numbers G9EXT, GE9EXT, & GEH9EXT are 10 gal models. Model numbers G16EXT, GE16EXT, & GEH16EXT are 16 gal models. A description of the XT model is here: http://www.atwoodmobile.com/images/waterheaterxt.pdf

All other models of Atwood water heaters do not use a mixing valve. They are described here: http://www.atwoodmobile.com/images/waterheater.pdf

Dave

[pcurt23]

The pdf file has a great picture of the mixing valve on the back of the water heater. "The Equivalence
of a 16-Gallon Water Heater!" means it has an actual capacity of 10 gallons but uses trickery to give an equivalent 16 gallons.

[Tha_Rooster]

I have the 16 gallon we can take 3 good showers back to back with gas and electric on. I use a cheap water pressure reducer before I made my own and did not get much water pressure or hot water.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The "10 gallon" XT heater actually has 6 gallons of super-hot water inside and the "16 gallon" actually has 10 gallons inside. Both use the mixing valve technique to deliver 10 and 16 gallons respectively to the water lines, so they are rated as 10 or 16 gallon heaters.

[a johnson]

Thanks for the pictures guys. I'm back in the coach week after next to figure this out. It is the atwood XT so it's the theoretical 16gallon. I will start digging around in the back to find the mixing valve. Seems like this is the culprit, but who knows at this point.

thanks again guys.

aaron

[a johnson]

still working on this. I can't get to the mixing valve without pulling the water heater out a bit. I'm going to order a mixing valve then pull it out and work on it.

aaron

[a johnson]

Just to update everyone. I ordered the mixing valve and replaced it tonight. The 40e doesn't have much room so I removed the water heater so I could get my hands in there.

I now have HOT water and a nice long shower!!!!!!!!

thanks again for the help everyone!!!!