No hot water

missileer · 02-12-2021, 02:28 PM

I took a shower last Monday night and 30 minutes later we had no hot water. It was really cold but it shouldn't have froze up that fast, should it? Now when my wife runs the cold water in her bathroom and I open up the hot water faucet in my bathroom water runs out of the faucet. Can someone tell me why? I called the dealer who we take it to for repairs and he told me to put a space heater in the bay and it should keep the cold from freezing and thaw the hot water pipes. I opened up the access to the low point drains so the water heater would get some heat. We have a 2017 Jayco Eagle 336fbok. We have an Atwood electric/gas water heater Model # GC6AA-10E. I read somewhere that it could be the check valve. Just trying to figure out what to check. I can't do anything until this cold spill goes away. We live in it full time and live in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Thanks

CAG · 02-12-2021, 02:41 PM

How cold is it outside?

RobPotter · 02-13-2021, 05:43 PM

Are you using propane or electric hot water heater? If Propane, can you hear the heater start/burning outside at the heater?

CAG · 02-13-2021, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobPotter

Are you using propane or electric hot water heater? If Propane, can you hear the heater start/burning outside at the heater?

I don't think that is the problem. He froze up someplace.

75462 · 02-13-2021, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missileer

I took a shower last Monday night and 30 minutes later we had no hot water. It was really cold but it shouldn't have froze up that fast, should it? Now when my wife runs the cold water in her bathroom and I open up the hot water faucet in my bathroom water runs out of the faucet. Can someone tell me why? I called the dealer who we take it to for repairs and he told me to put a space heater in the bay and it should keep the cold from freezing and thaw the hot water pipes. I opened up the access to the low point drains so the water heater would get some heat. We have a 2017 Jayco Eagle 336fbok. We have an Atwood electric/gas water heater Model # GC6AA-10E. I read somewhere that it could be the check valve. Just trying to figure out what to check. I can't do anything until this cold spill goes away. We live in it full time and live in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Thanks

If she ran cold water at one faucet and had the hot water valve open it could push cold water into to hot side and come out at another open hot water faucet. This would mean hot water is frozen somewhere, but not between the two faucets.

missileer · 02-14-2021, 04:08 PM

Really cold today. Right now it is 1 degree with a wind chill of -15. This is unusual for this area and it is suppose to be cold until next week sometime. We have a space heater in the bay facing an access door to the low point drains where the water heater is. It is warm in there. We do get some hot water for about 10 minutes out of our faucets once a day. We have plenty of cold water.

missileer · 02-14-2021, 04:09 PM

We are using electric. We have never used propane.

missileer · 02-14-2021, 04:16 PM

Thanks that explains what is happening there.

missileer · 02-19-2021, 07:29 PM

Well it has thawed out and I turned the propane on and it works but still not much hot water. It seems like we get enough hot water to take one shower. My wife took one today but after she took it there was no hot water. We turned the electric back on to save on propane. It seems like the hot water comes and goes. Does that mean that the Check valve is only letting so much hot water out and then it stops?

ALJO · 02-19-2021, 07:56 PM

Are the WH valves in the correct position? e.g. bypass closed and cold and hot valves open.

**JFlightRisk** · 02-19-2021, 09:57 PM

snip...

Quote:

Originally Posted by missileer

I read somewhere that it could be the check valve.

Thanks

My experience with the check valve, you get normal cold water pressure at a faucet, but the hot side is extremely low.

missileer · 02-20-2021, 08:15 PM

The control panel is set for City water. The only bypass switches are in the control panel for winterization. I double checked them. I'll call a RV repair place on Monday I guess. There is one about 45 miles from here in Guymon, OK. I don't know what else to do. Thinking maybe a tankless water heater if I can convince my wife.

missileer · 02-20-2021, 08:17 PM

That's about what is happening. It seems that we get hot water once in a while but then no water from the hot side at all. Cold water runs fine.

pconroy · 02-20-2021, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missileer

The control panel is set for City water. The only bypass switches are in the control panel for winterization. I double checked them. I'll call a RV repair place on Monday I guess. There is one about 45 miles from here in Guymon, OK. I don't know what else to do. Thinking maybe a tankless water heater if I can convince my wife.

A tankless will bring a new set of challenges. We like ours, but heads up.

If there are bypass valves, they are often directly **behind** the heater. Their job is to take the heater out of the water loop when you winterize. You don't want to have to fill the heater with six gallons of RV antifreeze when you winterize. On our old RV they were small in-line valves in the lines behind the heater. I had to remove a panel inside the RV to access the back of the heater.

Perhaps your control panel is the bypass, but if so - that's a new one for me.

Your heater should also have a drain valve and pressure release valve. You could try those -- carefully -- to convince yourself that water is making it into the tank. Be careful, the water will be 120*F!

Or turn it off, let it cool - then open the drain valve and turn the water on - see if the tank was filling.

Another suggestion is to check around for a *mobile* RV tech. Ask around, call around. We've got one we like and trust. He comes to us and when he fixes something, it stays fixed.

pconroy · 02-20-2021, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missileer

Really cold today. Right now it is 1 degree with a wind chill of -15.

I just saw this part. That's really cold for an RV. We've survived with no frozen water lines down to the high teens.

One time it hit 14*F and we froze up.

missileer · 02-22-2021, 11:01 PM

There isn't an access door to the water heater. I don't know what Jayco was thinking. The only access to the water heater is a small access to the low point train in the bay. The only other way to access the back of the water heater is to take it out from the front or take the whole side of the bay out as far as I can see. When I winterized the 5th wheel in the past all I had to do is connect a hose to a port in the Control panel and put the hose in the antifreeze, set the dials to winterize and turn on the pump. Today I dumped the water heater and then turned on the water and let water run out. Water poured out of it so I know it is getting water.(I let the water cool overnight before I opened it..) Tomorrow I will check other things like the control board and other connections. I let the propane run today but it didn't do much good. I called an RV repair service today and he told me several things to check. He won't come here to check on it so I may have to take it there but want to check other things out first before I take it in. Thanks for your response PCONROY

missileer · 02-22-2021, 11:07 PM

We survived except for the no hot water problem which is still going on. We had a space heater in the bay to help keep things warm. We are learning from our mistakes. Didn't think that we needed skirting because we had no problems last winter but this was a severe cold this year. Same thing that hit Texas. We are in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

missileer · 02-22-2021, 11:27 PM

Yes all levers are in the correct position.

RVingNOLE · 02-24-2021, 01:23 PM

Check the temp relay. I have tankless and sometimes when it is very cold and I up the water temp thermostat is causes the relay to trip after use. Mine is located in the outside panel for the water heater. It is located just behind the on/off switch and is a small white cylinder with black center button.

Underway · 02-24-2021, 05:47 PM

Missileer, I have a 2019 336FBOK, full-timer, and recently had a similar problem but in warm spring weather. It was the HW output check valve. Symptoms were hot water worked, then it didn't, one faucet it worked, then another it didn't. Turns out the plastic guts of the check valve broke up inside the cartridge and sometimes it would restrict flow and other times it would not. Once I changed with a new solid metal one off Amazon, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it has been working fine ever since. I accessed the inboard side of the HW heater by coming at it through the Portside compartment just forward of the water bay controls. The aft wall has a few screws along with the centerline wall, once those are clear you crawl through to the starboardside to access the back of the water heater.

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