Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > iRV2.com COMMUNITY FORUMS > Vintage RV's
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-27-2008, 06:50 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
RedneckExpress's Avatar
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sauvie Island, OR
Posts: 2,596
Well, here's the follow up on the water heater replacement. I bought my new water heater, along with the gas line conversion kit (Basically the right length of flexible gas line and a 90 degree brass elbow to attach it to the original water heater connection ), and the flush water heater door. I also picked up a tube of ProFlex, and a roll of buytl tape both of which I used the majority of up installing the water heater. I also picked up a can of injection foam to fill in around the water heater to give it a good air/water tight seal.

Here you can see the old water heater sitting next to its replacement:



The old water heater was housed in a sheet metal box, the sides of which were stapled along the edges and the back. As far as I can tell, its made out of wood. The water heater itself is in the center wrapped in some kind of white insulation that looks a bit like fiberglass. I didn't open it up to look, as I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be Asbestos-based insulation. I had long ago filled in all the openings in the sheet metal housing with expanding foam to prevent any dust or fume leakage.

Here's the opening it came out of:


A little closer inspection revealed (The water on the bottom of the compartment is runoff from when I unhooked the plumbing):



That the little 1x2 that sits underneath the edge of the water heater had begun to dry rot. Fortunately, its not structural, its just stapled in between the bigger 1x4s that are on either side that run along the top of the wing. All it does is support the edge of the water heater.

Since I didn't have anything to replace it with, or the time to do it, I packed it in a bed of butyl tape and sealed the laps in the siding to prevent any further water damage. The wood on either side and below it are fine and the water damage doesn't extend past the one 1x2 that was directly under the water heater. Odds are this was caused by water wicking back from the bottom edge of the water heater compartment, the water heater didn't have any caulking around it when I bought the camper, and I sealed it up at that point. Since the wood was dry when I checked it, I'd wager the water penetration had been stopped at that time and had progressed no further.



Since the water heater really didn't have any particular screw-down-here spots on it, I drove some two inch screws into the vertical members running on either side of the water heater to secure it in place. These I had salvaged from the removal of the original water heater and were still in good condition.

Unlike the Radius edged door you can get for this water heater, the Flush mount has no screws that actually drive into the sides of the camper. It has several screws on the inside that screw into the water heater itself and suck the face plate down. To make certain it was sealed tight, I put a double bead of proflex around the flange that slides into the water heater itself and put a thick coat of butyl tape along the edges of the door assembly. The caulk on the flange will seal the door to the water heater to prevent water from wicking between the two. Once the face plate was sucked down, I caulked around the door frame and sealed her up tight to the camper.



A couple of quick shots of spray paint, and the water heater install is done.

Thanks for reading!
__________________
'92 Dodge W250 "Dually" Power Wagon
'74
KIT 1106 Kamper Slide-in Truck Camper
'06 Heartland Bighorn 3400RL Fifth wheel
Follow along with me in the The Journey of
RedneckExpress is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 10-27-2008, 06:50 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
RedneckExpress's Avatar
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sauvie Island, OR
Posts: 2,596
Well, here's the follow up on the water heater replacement. I bought my new water heater, along with the gas line conversion kit (Basically the right length of flexible gas line and a 90 degree brass elbow to attach it to the original water heater connection ), and the flush water heater door. I also picked up a tube of ProFlex, and a roll of buytl tape both of which I used the majority of up installing the water heater. I also picked up a can of injection foam to fill in around the water heater to give it a good air/water tight seal.

Here you can see the old water heater sitting next to its replacement:



The old water heater was housed in a sheet metal box, the sides of which were stapled along the edges and the back. As far as I can tell, its made out of wood. The water heater itself is in the center wrapped in some kind of white insulation that looks a bit like fiberglass. I didn't open it up to look, as I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be Asbestos-based insulation. I had long ago filled in all the openings in the sheet metal housing with expanding foam to prevent any dust or fume leakage.

Here's the opening it came out of:


A little closer inspection revealed (The water on the bottom of the compartment is runoff from when I unhooked the plumbing):



That the little 1x2 that sits underneath the edge of the water heater had begun to dry rot. Fortunately, its not structural, its just stapled in between the bigger 1x4s that are on either side that run along the top of the wing. All it does is support the edge of the water heater.

Since I didn't have anything to replace it with, or the time to do it, I packed it in a bed of butyl tape and sealed the laps in the siding to prevent any further water damage. The wood on either side and below it are fine and the water damage doesn't extend past the one 1x2 that was directly under the water heater. Odds are this was caused by water wicking back from the bottom edge of the water heater compartment, the water heater didn't have any caulking around it when I bought the camper, and I sealed it up at that point. Since the wood was dry when I checked it, I'd wager the water penetration had been stopped at that time and had progressed no further.



Since the water heater really didn't have any particular screw-down-here spots on it, I drove some two inch screws into the vertical members running on either side of the water heater to secure it in place. These I had salvaged from the removal of the original water heater and were still in good condition.

Unlike the Radius edged door you can get for this water heater, the Flush mount has no screws that actually drive into the sides of the camper. It has several screws on the inside that screw into the water heater itself and suck the face plate down. To make certain it was sealed tight, I put a double bead of proflex around the flange that slides into the water heater itself and put a thick coat of butyl tape along the edges of the door assembly. The caulk on the flange will seal the door to the water heater to prevent water from wicking between the two. Once the face plate was sucked down, I caulked around the door frame and sealed her up tight to the camper.



A couple of quick shots of spray paint, and the water heater install is done.

Thanks for reading!
__________________
'92 Dodge W250 "Dually" Power Wagon
'74
KIT 1106 Kamper Slide-in Truck Camper
'06 Heartland Bighorn 3400RL Fifth wheel
Follow along with me in the The Journey of
RedneckExpress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2008, 12:48 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Walkerbunch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Middle of Oklahoma
Posts: 121
Wow. You have been busy! WTG!
__________________
220, 221 whatever it takes.....

Walkerbunch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2008, 06:37 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Wallaby Dan's Avatar
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,241
Wow, great install!! Looks like it was always there!!
__________________
1991 1500 Chevy Pickup
1994 5th wheel 30 foot trailer
I'm lost. I've gone to look for me. If I should return before I get back, please ask me to wait.
Wallaby Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2008, 07:48 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
RedneckExpress's Avatar
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sauvie Island, OR
Posts: 2,596
Had to make two runs to the hardware store for that one. The old water heater had male thread pipe coming out the back of it, where as the new one had female threads. So, I purchased a couple of steel threaded pipe sections and threaded them into the back of the water heater to connect the plumbing to.

Made the mistake of using teflon tape instead of my pipe dope and wound up having to undo the pipes and create a wet mess.
__________________
'92 Dodge W250 "Dually" Power Wagon
'74
KIT 1106 Kamper Slide-in Truck Camper
'06 Heartland Bighorn 3400RL Fifth wheel
Follow along with me in the The Journey of
RedneckExpress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2008, 04:31 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Wallaby Dan's Avatar
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,241
i know how that goes!! I stopped using that Teflon tape last year when it started leaking around my water heater and shower water lines!!
__________________
1991 1500 Chevy Pickup
1994 5th wheel 30 foot trailer
I'm lost. I've gone to look for me. If I should return before I get back, please ask me to wait.
Wallaby Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
KIT Kamper Projects - Project #15, Auxillary Water Tank RedneckExpress Vintage RV's 0 02-22-2009 02:17 AM
Kit Kamper Projects - Project #13, Repairing Wall Paneling RedneckExpress Vintage RV's 1 07-24-2008 09:47 AM
Kit Kamper Projects - Project #12, Stinky Slinky Holsters RedneckExpress Vintage RV's 1 06-04-2008 06:34 AM
Kit Kamper Projects, Project #11, Mirror Extensions RedneckExpress Vintage RV's 1 06-04-2008 06:31 AM
Kit Kamper Projects - Project #10, A/C Cover RedneckExpress Vintage RV's 1 06-04-2008 06:27 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:52 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.