Hot and cold water reversed when on city water

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Let us know what you find.

I repaired electronic equipment all my life and more than once I've worked on problems that "Couldn't happen...impossible." But they happened.

I know what you mean but I haven't a slightly different take. I have about 35 years in electronics and worked on problems that, "I thought couldn't happen." In the end, almost everything makes since.

[bobmac]

Do you have a "Winterize" valve for your HWH and is it set for "Normal" - and not winterize? Sounds like that's your problem!

[KeysVal]

Originally Posted by bobmac

Do you have a "Winterize" valve for your HWH and is it set for "Normal" - and not winterize? Sounds like that's your problem!

Not sure if there is a winterize valve. It was never mentioned during the walkthrough.

The water heater is under the kitchen sink, behind a partition. The outdoor shower and city water inlet is in the same area.

What does the winterize valve do? If I understand what it does, perhaps I can follow the plumbing lines and determine if we have one, and if it is open.

[YC1]

When all else fails, read the owners manual.

I suspect there is a section on Winterizing that needs close attention.

[bobmac]

The winterize valve blocks cold water from entering the HWH preventing it from filling up with antifreeze when you a winterizing the coach. I believe there should be back flow valves but they or may not be there. Check your owners manual. It is called a "water heater bypass valve" by Thor and is likely in the wrong position.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by Crankshaft

Well, here's a crazy question. Does the toilet flush with hot or cold water?

.

Did this question get answered?

Is the toilet water always cold or does it change to hot like the faucets?

[KeysVal]

Originally Posted by bruceisla

Did this question get answered?

Is the toilet water always cold or does it change to hot like the faucets?

I didn’t let the toilet flush long enough for the water to get hot when we were on city water. I assume it was hot since all the other cold water faucets were running hot water, but I can’t say for sure. Next time I am hooked up to pressure water, I’ll verify.

[KeysVal]

Originally Posted by bobmac

The winterize valve blocks cold water from entering the HWH preventing it from filling up with antifreeze when you a winterizing the coach. I believe there should be back flow valves but they or may not be there. Check your owners manual. It is called a "water heater bypass valve" by Thor and is likely in the wrong position.

I’ll look at the owners manual, but I suspect I don’t have the correct manuals. The manuals they gave me are for 2017 models and ours is a 2018 model. I went to the manual to get information on our dash radio (Axxera), but the manual only listed Jensen and Sony radios. Also, the chassis manual is also labeled 2017.

I asked the dealer to check and get the correct manuals for us.

[keymastr]

The chassis manual is likely correct. Many 2018 coaches, especially early in the model run, are built on 2017 chassis.

[bruceisla]

Interesting thread. I can't for the life of me figure out how you could swap 2 different supplies (hot and cold). The tepid water (crossflow) is well known but this one is weird. It's as if the city water is already hot at the hose .... but that doesn't explain why the water from the hot water heater is cold (when on city water).

[ThePowells]

Originally Posted by KeysVal

I’ll look at the owners manual, but I suspect I don’t have the correct manuals. The manuals they gave me are for 2017 models and ours is a 2018 model. I went to the manual to get information on our dash radio (Axxera), but the manual only listed Jensen and Sony radios. Also, the chassis manual is also labeled 2017.

I asked the dealer to check and get the correct manuals for us.

In one of the bedroom cabinets is a build sheet. Take a pic and save it a couple of places and print one out. Then go through the stack of manuals and make sure you have one for everything on that list. If one or three are missing, google search for them and print them out. I hav put all of mine in an accordion file and keep them in a drawer along with receipts and emails about any issues. They use too many variables to include every one in the Thor manuals.

[bobmac]

The water heater bypass valve is a generic feature in all RVs to facilitate winterizing. It is a "house" item and totally independent of the chassis or RV year. It should be located in very close proximity to the side of the HWH that the supply and output tubes are located. Typically, it is on a piece if tubing that runs between the supply and output tubes. That valve should be closed to eliminate what you are experiencing. It is likely open now as it should be when the coach was winterized. If it hasn't been winterized, then someone has opened it. Your best bet as others have suggested is to read an owners manual. The year of the manual is not material as this valve is a generic item that hasn't changed for years. Good luck!

[KeysVal]

I was asked by several people to give an update on this issue. I corresponded with someone on a FaceBook forum who had the same issue as us in another Hurricane. So apparently ours was not an isolated case.

We brought our RV in to our dealer for various warranty items, one of them being the hot water being reversed while on pressure water. We left the RV overnight and when we picked it up today, the technician who worked on that issue was off. The issue is fixed and everything is working properly, but unfortunately I don’t know what was causing the issue.

[ThePowells]

TYVM for letting us know.