No RV Anti-freeze to Hot Water Lines

October99 · 10-09-2021, 10:53 AM

Hello- hoping someone has seen this before and can offer some guidance!
I have a new to me 2012 Jayco Pinnacle 36KPTS. We bought it this spring, and the RV dealership de-winterized it before we took possession. This is my first time winterizing the unit. I have set the valves to the heater by-pass position as per the owner's manual. I have set the other valves to "Sanitize/Winterize" positions. I am using the City Water connection to suck the antifreeze into the system. All Low Point drains are closed. The water tank Valve is closed. I can get the antifreeze to flow to all of my cold water outlets. No antifreeze flows from my hot water outlets.

Topperace · 10-09-2021, 10:57 AM

Sounds like maybe the water heater bypass valve is not operating properly...
if you open the water heater drain plug do you see anti-freeze coming out?

October99 · 10-09-2021, 11:21 AM

Thanks for that. The pump takes up the antifreeze and stops when it is fully pressured. The pump kicks in again when I turn on a cold water tap- in this case I am using the outside shower tap and antifreeze begins to draw out of the jug. . If I turn on the outside shower hot water tap, the pump remains off and there is neither flow from that tap nor antifreeze flowing out of the hot water tank- I have removed the Anode and released the pressure tab.
I have tried this will all hot water outlets in the RV in case the issue was isolated to the outside shower tap.

Grumpy · 10-09-2021, 11:33 AM

Did you change 2 or 3 valves on the water heater? There may be a 3rd on a piece of pipe connecting the cold side to hot side that you need to open.

October99 · 10-09-2021, 12:04 PM

Hi- I have three valves- I am posting some photos of my system.
Shown are the valve positions on the front panel and the piping on the back of the panel.

Thanks

Topperace · 10-09-2021, 12:13 PM

Observation from the first picture of the valve knobs...looks like the one on the left of the row of three in the middle, is not in the right position according to the label.... IF the arrow part of the knob is opposite of the long arm of the knob ??

According to the label, should be pointing 180 legs opposite of where it is in the picture?? Looking at the other two knobs middle one, and right one, the long part of the knob arm is in the right postion with the arrow end pointed up for the middle and to the right for the right valve knob... but the left valve knob is pointed to the right, where it should be pointed left.... ?? am I seeing that wrong?

October99 · 10-09-2021, 12:18 PM

Yes- I tried to spin it to 180 degrees opposite as well- but it will not move that way- I can select horizontal as it is, or vertical. When in the vertical position, the hot water tank begins to fill.

Topperace · 10-09-2021, 12:51 PM

Well from looking at the hoses, back side picture from what I can tell...can see no pink in the water heater inlet hose, which is good...if I'm seeing that correctly, but would expect to see pink in the hose coming of the middle valve to the left...?so maybe the middle valve isn't engaging....again, if I am seeing the pictures right...it looks to me as there is no pink in the hose coming from the middle bypass valve....which I think there should be...that should feed the hot water hoses once bypassed....

BUT don't turn switches/valves if the lines are pressurized....most manuals and pros advise that that could damage the valves...at least the ones we have on our Nautilus
Wet Bay....

October99 · 10-09-2021, 01:00 PM

Yes- I have been trying to trace the flow of the antifreeze and agree with your observation- although it's a hard to tell what flows where with the hoses being opaque.

Topperace · 10-09-2021, 01:12 PM

Good copy, understand...I can't see much else from the pics, unless there is a blockage in the middle bypass hose assembly somewhere...I wish my wet bay
was as neat/simple as yours is in the back...ours is a rats nest, hoses/fittings right next to each other...just breath on one and it starts leaking...
sorry couldn't be of further assistance!

October99 · 10-09-2021, 01:25 PM

Thanks anyways- I appreciate you giving it a try!
Cheers

Grumpy · 10-09-2021, 01:56 PM

I'd pull the handles to be sure the valve is turning. If the set screw loosened up it may be slipping. There have been a few reports of that happening too.

RedHorse1 · 10-09-2021, 02:38 PM

Our water panel looks identical to yours and the settings look correct to me. As Grump suggests, make sure the handle is turning the valve. I don’t know the answer but I wonder if one of the handles is mounted 90 deg off. If the valve stem is square that could be the cause but if the stem has a rounded side and is matched to the handle to make it mount only one way. I may be over thinking this but in the second pic it appears the left-hand handle screw has a shiny finish and the others appear black. Repair by the dealership or PO?

Did the water system work properly when you are camping? Were the bypass valves in their reverse positions while camping (before you started winterizing)?

I agree with Topper, the back side looks really neat. My first thought was the PO tidied things up and changed the way things worked but other than looking orderly it appears original.

Another thought, with the WH in bypass and the source valves set to city fixtures and connected to city water do you get water (cold) from the hot taps?

October99 · 10-09-2021, 04:30 PM

Hi- the water system worked as it should this summer- no issues.
I pulled the valve handles from the left and center valves- but as fate would have it, the valve handle screw head is stripped in the right (hot) valve handle. Without cutting off the the plastic handle itself I am hoping that because our system worked this summer, that the valve is in the correct position- certainly the valve handle does not seem to be spinning.
I did try the City Fixtures position of the Source Valves- using RV Antifreeze as the source input, and the water heater in by-pass.

When I set the source valves to "City Fixtures" the pump runs but does not draw antifreeze. There is nothing coming out of the hot water outlets.

RJR · 10-09-2021, 06:59 PM

We also own a 2021 Pinnacle and when delivered last March from the factory to the dealer our on demand water heater was frozen and broke. The dealer discovered that the winterize mode for some reason inadvertently bypasses the hot water system and does not allow antifreeze to flow through the hot water side. DO NOT use the winterize setting. My dealer added a valve and line directly to the pump behind the panel in the storage compartment and then put the settings to "DRY CAMPING" mode running a hose to RV Anti Freeze directly from the pump which will then flows through the entire system. This allows the entire system to have anti freeze, I assume this has been resolved on later models but some models including mine have this issue.

RJR · 10-09-2021, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJR

We also own a 2021 Pinnacle and when delivered last March from the factory to the dealer our on demand water heater was frozen and broke. The dealer discovered that the winterize mode for some reason inadvertently bypasses the hot water system and does not allow antifreeze to flow through the hot water side. DO NOT use the winterize setting. My dealer added a valve and line directly to the pump behind the panel in the storage compartment and then put the settings to "DRY CAMPING" mode running a hose to RV Anti Freeze directly from the pump which will then flows through the entire system. This allows the entire system to have anti freeze, I assume this has been resolved on later models but some models including mine have this issue.

I now see you unit is 2012 not 2021, dyslexic. Maybe the unit has been plumbed to winterize directly off the pump like mine?? Nothing is ever as easy as it should be, sorry about any confusion I may have caused.

October99 · 10-09-2021, 08:44 PM

No Worries! Your problem sounds exactly like mine. I have wondered if there is some way to bypass the valves and pump directly into the system myself.
Anyways thanks for the reply.

RedHorse1 · 10-10-2021, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by October99

When I set the source valves to "City Fixtures" the pump runs but does not draw antifreeze. There is nothing coming out of the hot water outlets.

Yes, that’s what I’d expect. “City fixtures” assumes you are connected to city water (pressurized).

October99 · 10-10-2021, 12:52 PM

Alternatively, I do have a compressor and could blow down the system following the Owner's Manual guidelines. But if I can't get antifreeze to flow through the hot side, would air also be blocked?

Greg58 · 10-13-2021, 01:43 PM

This may or may not help, I pushed antifreeze in the hot line from the low point drain to the water heater. A pump up sprayer and a piece of hose the right size works.

You may also like: