Hot Water Heater start-up question

[MrsB]

Hi all -- I am new to the forum and of course I have a question!!
We bought a used 2004 Forest River Wildcat last season. It was ready to use when we bought it and we went on a couple of very quick little trips before the end of the season. When the season was over a someone helped us "winterize" the RV. Now we are on our own! My question is: how do I know if my hot water heater has water in it? I don't want to turn it on to try to find out. When hooked to city water there is water coming from both hot and cold water taps, but we are afraid to turn on the hot water heater. There is a valve just below the tank (on the inside of rig) and someone has written "open" and "closed" on two different sections of the tubing running into the tank. Do I want the thing open or closed?? I say open and my DH says closed. Please help us solve this issue before our first real season is a disaster!! Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
P.S. Can you tell we are "newbies"?? lol

[Elkhartjim]

We are or were all newbies at one time. There will be a pressure relief valve (pop off valve) on the water heater. Pull the little lever and water should come out if the tank is full. Also, if you don't have a manual, Google the wh manufacturer and download one for future reference. Good luck and check in often.

[HD4Mark]

Also take a look a the tank to see if there is a plug near the bottom. Usually there is a bypass so the tank can just be drained instead of filling it with antifreeze. Some people leave the plug out until filling it in the spring. Other heaters have a valve you unscrew instead of the plug. We have had both.

The bypass may be the open/closed you see. On our first coach the bypass was under a cabinet in the galley. You had to pull a drawer out to get at it. On the one we have now it is in the storage compartment right next to the tank.

A manual is a good idea or find a Forest River dealer and ask them.

[450Donn]

The valve in question is a by pass valve used when winterizing the water system. It needs to be ON, allowing water to flow into the water heater. OFF is the bypass mode. You also need to flush and sanitize the water system before use. Have you done that yet?

[SteveLevin]

I have a silly question... won't running the hot water (at the tap) without turning the hot water heater on push the water through the hot water heater?

That is, if you turn on the hot water in the bathroom (gain, with the heater off just in case) and water just runs and runs, that means there's water in the heater, right?

That's always been my test to make sure the hot water heater is 'topped up' before I ever turn it on (just as a safety thing). Of course, if I've been using the coach recently, I don't run it more than a few seconds to make sure it's not some residual pressure trapped in the hot water line.

Steve

[MrsB]

We have hot water Thanks a bunch to all who answered my question! In answer to the question about sanitizing our holding tank -- oh yes we did that -- lol as well as starting a small flood in the basement! Someone (that would be me) had taken the water filter canister off to read what kind of filter I needed and forgot to screw it back on - sooo -- water, water, everywhere! Well what can you say except live and learn - right? All of these problems have actually taught us a lot about our RV and that's a good thing.