Community Forums

Mike Canter · 12-13-2011, 11:09 AM

Eric, the easiest thing is to turn on the hot water heater and heat the water and leave it turned on and to turn on the propane furnace(s) and leave them turned on while at the game. Turn the thermostats for the propane heaters down to 55-60 degrees when you go to the game. This way the propane heaters will blow hot air down into the water tank and pipe areas. Also open the doors going under the sinks so the heated air can get there. There is nothing wrong with leaving the propane heaters on and the hot water heater on. that is what they are designed for. The use very little propane after everything has been heated up.

EricGT · 12-13-2011, 02:10 PM

I'm not so worried about when we go to the game. We have a 1 hour drive there followed by 5 hours of tailgating. So the coach is heated for 6 hours.
It is just the night before and night after the game while it is parked at home.

To be honest, we never use the water heater. So maybe I should just drain it and keep it bypassed. Then all I would have are the main lines and pump.
With my limited knowledge, I still think shutting off the valve from the fresh water tank and then opening the drain lines everything through gravity should drain.
I could run the pump for a couple seconds to run it dry.

I would think the fresh water, grey, and black holding tanks would be fine.
Is this sufficient?

Mike Canter · 12-13-2011, 03:23 PM

Not at 20* if the tanks are full. Why not use the heaters the night before and the night after? I do agree if you never use the hot water heater then bypass it and drain it.

EricGT · 12-13-2011, 04:47 PM

I do have a small heater in the water compartment. Maybe next time I will just leave that on.
And you are saying to plug the coach into an outlet the night before/after, open the propane tank, turn the furnace on and set to 55 degrees. Does that sound correct?

I know one thing, my wife would love hopping into a heated coach at 8A.

Mike Canter · 12-13-2011, 06:30 PM

You don't have to plug it in to run the propane furnace because they use 12 volts off the house batteries put plugging in the MB will ensure the batteries stay charged.

EricGT · 12-13-2011, 08:09 PM

Many thanks Mike!

MikeLeavitt · 12-15-2011, 05:33 PM

Forum Members:
I am brand new to this forum. Google Alerts notified me of this thread and I was very intrigued by the advice being given regarding the water heater and leaking TPR valve. I do not own an RV and will have to defer to your expertise there, but I do know water heaters and what makes them explode. My www.WaterHeaterExplosions.com website archives many of the water heater and boiler explosions since 1850, yet I haven’t archived any RV explosions yet.
LEAKING TPR VALVES - A leaking TPR valve should be replaced, period! If you want to flip the testing lever a couple of times to reset the seat and stop the drip, that’s okay for an emergency. The leak shows evidence of corrosion and you need to replace the valve because you want it to work flawlessly when needed... Even smaller 5, 7, 10, and 12 gallon water heaters can destroy an RV.
ANNUAL TESTING - TPR manufacturers recommend at least annual testing. Instructions are on my site.
3 YEAR REMOVAL CYCLE - Manufacturers recommend professional removal and inspection of TPR valves at least every 3 years and replacement if corrosion is present. Documentation is on my site.
But why you would pay for removal and inspection is beyond me... For you guys it would just be easier to replace the valve at least every 3 years since you are shutting down, draining, winterizing, and then dewinterizing systems. Whereas homeowners just get lazy and never check their water heaters until their morning showers are cold.

Now maybe you can enlighten me to RV owner habits. Do you test the TPR valves regularly? Do you flush the water heaters regularly? Do you replace the anode rods regularly? I also run www.Diptube.info which is dedicated to dip tube failures and anode rod replacement. Do you perceive the water heater explosion risks to be lesser and greater than residential water heaters? What else do I need to know when creating water heater related webpages for RV owners.
Thanks in advance!
Michael Leavitt - Master Inspector
Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc.
1145 N. Main Street
Orem, Utah 84057
801-636-6816
Michael@TheHomeInspector.com
www.TheHomeInspector.com
www.WaterHeaterExplosions.com
www.Diptube.info