Community Forums

chuckholcomb · 03-19-2005, 01:10 PM

after geting the camper out and ready for another camping year, i hooked up the water hose to check for leaks, i found no leaks but i couldn't get any water to my sink from the hot water tank. i've got plenty of cold water. the water is hot at the hot water tank, i checked the pop off valve, but know water from the hot water valve at the kitchen sink, bath room sink, or shower stall. did not close any valves for the winter, just removed hot water drain pluges. made sure to let all air out of the hot water tank when i filled it back up. can't figure it out.
SOME ONE PLEASE HELP.

CHUCK
5TH WHEEL WILDERNESS 35' 2000 MODLE

chuckholcomb · 03-19-2005, 01:10 PM

after geting the camper out and ready for another camping year, i hooked up the water hose to check for leaks, i found no leaks but i couldn't get any water to my sink from the hot water tank. i've got plenty of cold water. the water is hot at the hot water tank, i checked the pop off valve, but know water from the hot water valve at the kitchen sink, bath room sink, or shower stall. did not close any valves for the winter, just removed hot water drain pluges. made sure to let all air out of the hot water tank when i filled it back up. can't figure it out.
SOME ONE PLEASE HELP.

CHUCK
5TH WHEEL WILDERNESS 35' 2000 MODLE

R.G.Wise · 03-19-2005, 02:18 PM

If you didnt turn your bypass valves at the hot water tank, it would either have to be an air lock, or something plugging the outlet line. Do you even get cold water from the hot valves? If you do, its the bypass valves. Also, you shouldnt displace all air, you need an air pocket at top for expansion.

TXiceman · 03-19-2005, 03:30 PM

Chuck, did you leave the hot water valve open at the sinks and hear air rushing out? It takes a while to purge the 6 to 10 gallons of air out of the tank and get clear water to the sink.

Ken

chuckholcomb · 03-20-2005, 06:09 AM

thanks for responding, and no i don't get any cold water from the hot water taps, and i have tried to find the bypass valve on my tank but can't find an opening to get to the back side of the hot water tank. to day i'm going to get an air compresser an blow back to the hot water tank from one of the hot water taps, maybe it's pluged somwhere. would'nd that be the next step?<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by R.G.Wise:
If you didnt turn your bypass valves at the hot water tank, it would either have to be an air lock, or something plugging the outlet line. Do you even get cold water from the hot valves? If you do, its the bypass valves. Also, you shouldnt displace all air, you need an air pocket at top for expansion. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

C Driver · 03-20-2005, 06:19 AM

Almost bet that the bypass is closed.. I would be careful if blowing out the lines .... the system is designed for 40 to 50 psi and you could pop a seal if not careful.
I'd pull the HW drain plug and run the water to see if it is getting into the tank ... if not it sure sounds like the bypass is closed ...

chuckholcomb · 03-20-2005, 06:20 AM

thanks Ken, can't remember if i did or not but i will now start all over again and will leave the taps open for sure this time, if that doesn't work i'm going to get an air comp. and blow back from one of the hot water taps to the hot water tank, thanks again, Chuck.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TXiceman:
Chuck, did you leave the hot water valve open at the sinks and hear air rushing out? It takes a while to purge the 6 to 10 gallons of air out of the tank and get clear water to the sink.

Ken </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ParTheCourse · 03-20-2005, 06:23 AM

Careful how much air pressure you're using. Most of these systems are not designed to handle more than 50 / 60 lbs.

SuperGewl · 03-21-2005, 09:01 PM

If you got NO water coming out of the hot water faucet then your valve line is incorrect. If you got cold water out then your bypass valves are shut. Are yo sure that your hotwater heater is full of water? If you aren't getting any water out on the hot side of a faucet then you won't be able to fill the hot water heater so DON't turn it on because you will TOAST it real quick like. Your by pass valve are normall near you hot water heater or the pump, usually about the same place as your fill valve for the potty water tank. Check under the kitchen sink or call your local dealer for help

John Harrelson · 03-22-2005, 03:57 AM

I think a very important clue is being overlooked in this mystery..

The "By-Pass" valve.... cannot be the problem..

Remember Chuck said " after getting the camper out for another year" ...
"HE" is de-winterizing the camper.. hooking up water hoses, etc...

This tells me that Chuck is the one that put it away last fall..
If there had been a bypass valve, Chuck would remember it or if he did not know there was one, he could not have turned it off ...

therefore the valve would be in the same position as it was last year.. and the camper obviously worked OK last year.. right Chuck ??

Boy am I smart .... quick !! someone pat me on the back.... move over Sherlock, I'm the new smartarse..whoops, I mean smart detective on the block.. heh heh heh

But seriously Chuck, I suspect it is "scale" from the tank interior that has come loose during the winter months when the water heater was left dry and the scale has been forced into the water lines when you recharged the system this year..

Using either air or the water hose, a good back flush might solve the problem..

good luck,
John

PS: please forgive the BS at the beginning, you can tell I am bored out of my skull..

FOGOWE · 03-27-2005, 07:00 AM

This happened to me when I was at Orangeland RV park in Anehiem. I'm a plumber so I used my inferior skills of deduction to track down the cause of the blockage. What happened was some debris from the water tank clogged the inlet to the water heater. To fix it I unhooked the water pipe to the water heater and it back flushed itself out. This was easy for me because the back of the water heater can be reached from under my kitchen sink. hope this helps.

NCHornet1 · 04-25-2005, 12:21 PM

I think that would have to a huge piece of scale to completely block the water line, not very likely at best. I think he simply is not leaving the faucet open long enough. As already stated it takes awhile to purge 6 gallons of air out!!!

skipper · 06-29-2005, 12:22 PM

The valves are under the sink in the kitchen. the three valves are hot cold block or bypass .most are set up like a H the center of the H is the valve that is the bypass bet it is open and the hot one is closed. Last winter was a long time back now. Skipper entry level over fifty years.