Hot water heater or water pressure

[Katie-N-Cody]

I am in the process of purchasing a 2002 Rexhall RoseAir 36' motor home. I will see if I can get more information on the water heater in the morning.

It's been an adventure just getting it. Got it home the 10th of August and it was in the mechanics the 14th. We just got it back after a month of being there and now we're having more issues. Right now the engine is running nicely again and the brakes are fixed. We managed to figure out our propane issue on our own and even managed to replace the kitchen faucet that was leaking.

We now have an issue with the water. The water hooks up nicely and I have it on a pressure regulator with 40-50 psi. From there it goes into my water filtration system and out to the 2 rvs. The trailer has decent water pressure and the motorhome has okay pressure with the cold water. However, the water from the hot water tank smells weird and starts out nicely but then quickly slows down to a trickle. The water runs back and forth between white frothy looking to clear. I live in the motorhome now so could really use the hot water.

Thank you in advance.

Katie

[Skip426]

Sounds like the water heater has sediment that dissolving ( white froth ) and may be plugging the outlet back flow valve.
You'll have to drain and flush the tank as the first step .

Once you post the WH make and model , we can help even more .

[Old-Biscuit]

Check valve on water heater HOT OUT is plugging up with crud/scale from water heater


It's the TOP brass fitting in picture....Suburban Water Heater

[Katie-N-Cody]

Thank you both.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to find the access panel to find the lines. It seems to be inside a box that has no access panel. The back of it is next to the leveling jacks. I did find the paperwork and it's a Suburban Model: SW10DE. I'm adding a couple of pictures we took. I'm sorry if they are big I'm not sure how to resize them.

We are going to try to drain it tomorrow and check the anode. With everything else going on in this thing I don't doubt that it needs to be replaced too. If I can't find the access panel do I just pull it out to check it? I'll see if my son can check the side by the tire and see if there is anything there. I checked the wheel well and didn't see anything but it could be on the other side of it.

[Old-Biscuit]

That gas only water heater has hardly been used....exhaust is CLEAN

Sometimes there is NO access W/O pulling water heater out



Anode rod is probably mostly gone...hence the frothy white water and clogged up HOT OUT check valve
Anode rod is a sacrificial material (OEM/Magnesium) that is there to protect steel glass-lined tank from rusting out
Takes a 1 1/16" SIX point socket to remove/install......use couple wraps of teflon tape on threads when installing. Threads are tapered so they do NOT have to be cranked down to seal.


Top to bottom
Top....sacrificial material completely dissolved
Middle......needs replaced
Bottom....New anode rod



Here is an Installation/Operating Manual
Pg 3 Fig 2 is how your WH is installed
https://comnet2.newmarcorp.com/insta...ages/70317.pdf

[Katie-N-Cody]

Thank you Old-Biscuit. Once I get back tonight I'll check the anode. Probably gone completely with the way things have gone in this thing.

This motorhome shows signs that it's been lived in. It only has 38,000 miles on it and has clogged water pipes, rusted out faucet, sewer we later found out was 2/3rds full with moldy stuff, and things like the shower head has a lot of buildup on it showing lots of showers. Could someone have cleaned up the exhaust to make it look really nice?

If the water pipes are a hard plastic would it be safe to try to pull the water heater out and check the outlet or am I risking breaking those lines?

After paying the bill to get it safe to drive again I'm not in the mood to spend another couple thousand on this too so would rather do what I can myself.

Thank you again. I really appreciate your help.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Katie-

The first picture in post #4 shows a round hatch in the bottom of that compartment. If you unscrew that hatch, do you get access to the back of the hot water heater?

[Old-Biscuit]

Inside the MH.........WHAT is DIRECTLY above the water heater?

[Dutch Star Don]

"Old-Biscuit".....great photos of the anode rods in various stages. That picture should be enough to motivate people to inspect their anodes.

[Clay L]

Regarding the white frothy water. If RV antifreeze was used in the fresh water tank/water heater tank instead of being bypassed as they usually are, you will get a lot of white frothy water until all of the antifreeze is gone and that can take a lot of flushing.

[Katie-N-Cody]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

Katie-

The first picture in post #4 shows a round hatch in the bottom of that compartment. If you unscrew that hatch, do you get access to the back of the hot water heater?

We can see the insulation for the water heater and wires. Nothing much past that.

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Inside the MH.........WHAT is DIRECTLY above the water heater?

The bathroom sink is directly above the water heater but after checking there is no access panel there either.

I've attached pictures from the areas in question.

[Old-Biscuit]

Pull the carpet out of bathroom sink cabinet'
Remove floor for access to backside of WH Tank
(Floor is either screwed in place or just stapled down)

[Redapple]

Originally Posted by Katie-N-Cody

We can see the insulation for the water heater and wires. Nothing much past that.



The bathroom sink is directly above the water heater but after checking there is no access panel there either.

I've attached pictures from the areas in question.

What are the two lines coming out of the back panel?

[bruce91]

Good youtube video for yearly hot water maintenance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL7AtXJYNcc