Hot water heater lighting - Jayco Jay Flight 174BH

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi all,


I have the Jayco Jay Flight 174BH 2019 TT.


I cannot for the life of me figure out where/how to "turn on" the water heater.


I understand the pilot light, and how to operate it and where to attempt to light the pilot light at, but the problem is, I don't get ANY gas smell when I depress the pilot light button. I am however, able to light get the stove burners going, no problem.


I think the problem is that I just don't know what I'm doing!



Which is true! Any help is greatly appreciated!


<edit>
I got it lit!!! And now the gas is burning and it is lit. But now my next question, how do I fill the water heater with water, or is that automatic?




JR

[LuckyDuck]

If you’re not sure it’s filled, DON’T have the burner on! It should fill when you hook up to City Fill assuming you’re bypass valves are set correctly.

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi LuckyDuck,


First of all, thanks a lot for your help!

Okay, I may have messed things up.

The water heater was lit and going like crazy and all seemed well, but no hot water was coming from the tap. Water was flowing out of the hot spigot, but it was not hot. My water tank was/is full.

Question: Do I need need to hook up to City Fill if my water tank is full? Can I just heat the water coming from the water storage tank?

Question: I cannot even locate my bypass valve, let alone the water heater. The area under the mattress is empty, nothing but storage there.

Thoughts?


JR

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Hi LuckyDuck,


First of all, thanks a lot for your help!

Okay, I may have messed things up.

The water heater was lit and going like crazy and all seemed well, but no hot water was coming from the tap. Water was flowing out of the hot spigot, but it was not hot. My water tank was/is full.

Question: Do I need need to hook up to City Fill if my water tank is full? Can I just heat the water coming from the water storage tank?

Question: I cannot even locate my bypass valve, let alone the water heater. The area under the mattress is empty, nothing but storage there.

Thoughts?


JR

Yes, you can use water pumped from your freshwater tank. Your WH burner vent should be visible on the outside of your trailer. Typically, the bypass valves are inside, directly behind it. I’m not familiar with the specifics of your rig — hopefully someone with one can chime in.

[mrmojo]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Hi LuckyDuck,


First of all, thanks a lot for your help!

Okay, I may have messed things up.

The water heater was lit and going like crazy and all seemed well, but no hot water was coming from the tap. Water was flowing out of the hot spigot, but it was not hot. My water tank was/is full.

Question: Do I need need to hook up to City Fill if my water tank is full? Can I just heat the water coming from the water storage tank?

Question: I cannot even locate my bypass valve, let alone the water heater. The area under the mattress is empty, nothing but storage there.

Thoughts?


JR

The bypass valves are further back under a 2nd piece of plywood. I think it’s held down with 2 screws that you’ll need to remove.

[Florida Ranger]

It will take approximately 30 min. When you first light up water heater to get hot water at the spigot..

[JohnnyRockets]

Thanks guys! New information, the unit seems to overheat and turn itself off!


I bet it would heat the water, but it doesn't stay on long enough to do so.



I heard it shutoff while I was near it. It seems to need to cool down and then the (relay? guessing?) in the "Hot/Warm" temperature control will work (trigger-click!) again and I can relight it. Until then the Hot/Warm relay seems kind non-functional. I wait, it cools and then I can light it again, but it just triggers again and turns off.


Strange!


Thanks!

[MontanaRick]

OK, let's start from the beginning. I'm pretty certain you have the same Atwood hot water heater that I do in my 195.

1. If hooked up to city water, the tank should fill automatically. If you are not on city water, turn on your water pump, and if the tank isn't full, the pump may run a while to fill the 6 gallon tank.

2. Make sure your tank has water and is pressurized before lighting anything (always do this to avoid burning things up). In the bay where you lit the pilot, you will see up above a pressure release valve. Lift it just a little bit. If water comes out, you have water in your tank, if not, you don't.

3. If per #2, you don't have water in the tank, now go check your bypass valves. They should all be pointed parallel to the tubes they are on so they are not bypassing the hot water tank. If you need to reorient them, repeat steps 1 and 2.

4. Now you can light the pilot. Wait a few seconds, then turn the dial to on (this makes sure that the sensor for the pilot is properly heated, otherwise it assumes the pilot is off and will not turn on to prevent propane pouring out). It will take, in my experience, up to 1/2 hour to heat the water, depending on water temp and ambient temp.

5. If now you still don't have hot water, you might have an issue.

Hope this helps. Others might chime in that I missed something.

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi MontanaRick!


That is a great post, thank you! I will be using this checklist today to test things out and I'll get back to you all.





Thanks to ALL for helping me!

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi all,


Okay, I found the water heater! I was looking under the wrong bed! AHHH!


Here are some pictures that may help me with asking questions.


Question 1: All valve were in the off position, they are now on (turned parallel to the hoses) - is this how they should be when not winterized (all circled in yellow)









Question 2: What is that clear hose (red arrow)? It appear to be just a cut off piece of hose just going into mid-air. This could be for draining antifreeze after the winter? If so should I make sure that that valve (yellow circle, last picture) is closed so that nothing flows out into midair through this clear hose?








Thank you all GREATLY for your help!




JR

[MontanaRick]

It's a little hard for me to tell in these pics, but I think you've got it right. Think of the tube between the two valves as the bypass. When the valve handles are pointing along the bypass tube, no water can go into the water heater (goes in cold through the blue line) or out of the water heater (comes out through the red line). Instead, water is shunted through the bypass by these valves.

The clear tube is for pumping antifreeze into your system for winterizing (lots of good threads here on how to do that). So yes, you want that turned off during the season. (Antifreeze comes out during dewinterizing through the taps, you use this same tube to draw in fresh water for that purpose).

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi MontanaRick,


GREAT! I believe I understand it now. I will try it out again tomorrow.


Sidenote: Can the WH run off of electric also? That'd be better it seems as most campsites we go to have electric.

Lastly (maybe!): Does one just turn on the WH propane to heat the water and then turn off the WH propane? I can't see leaving the propane burning all day (???)


Thanks A LOT!




JR

[MontanaRick]

No electric option on this model, assuming yours is the same as ours (pretty sure it is). It really is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

The one change I did make was to the outside latch holding the door closed, which I found unpleasant to use (it was quite tight and difficult to get a comfortable grip on). I replaced it with an eyebolt with two nuts on the inside, reusing the spring. It's now much easier for me to open and close that door.

[JohnnyRockets]

Thanks a lot again MontanaRick!

You've been SUPER helpful!

I can really appreciate the eye bolt idea, because that little door area can get VERY hot.


Now I think I got it.





JR

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by MontanaRick

OK, let's start from the beginning. I'm pretty certain you have the same Atwood hot water heater that I do in my 195.

1. If hooked up to city water, the tank should fill automatically. If you are not on city water, turn on your water pump, and if the tank isn't full, the pump may run a while to fill the 6 gallon tank.

2. Make sure your tank has water and is pressurized before lighting anything (always do this to avoid burning things up). In the bay where you lit the pilot, you will see up above a pressure release valve. Lift it just a little bit. If water comes out, you have water in your tank, if not, you don't.

3. If per #2, you don't have water in the tank, now go check your bypass valves. They should all be pointed parallel to the tubes they are on so they are not bypassing the hot water tank. If you need to reorient them, repeat steps 1 and 2.

4. Now you can light the pilot. Wait a few seconds, then turn the dial to on (this makes sure that the sensor for the pilot is properly heated, otherwise it assumes the pilot is off and will not turn on to prevent propane pouring out). It will take, in my experience, up to 1/2 hour to heat the water, depending on water temp and ambient temp.

5. If now you still don't have hot water, you might have an issue.

Hope this helps. Others might chime in that I missed something.

Not correct. If three valves must be 2 parallel and the center one must be 90 degrees to the pipe.

If two valves they would both be parallel.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Hi MontanaRick,


GREAT! I believe I understand it now. I will try it out again tomorrow.


Sidenote: Can the WH run off of electric also? That'd be better it seems as most campsites we go to have electric.

Lastly (maybe!): Does one just turn on the WH propane to heat the water and then turn off the WH propane? I can't see leaving the propane burning all day (???)


Thanks A LOT!




JR

When we know we want hot water, we flip it on about 30 minutes beforehand. The burner will turn off when it reaches max temperature (20-30 minutes). Once we are done using it, i.e. taking showers, washing dishes etc, we turn the unit off. No need to let it keep cooling and cycling on and off to heat water you’re not using. Once it is fully heated, you’ll get warm water for 6-8 hours in normal weather.

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Hi MontanaRick,


GREAT! I believe I understand it now. I will try it out again tomorrow.


Sidenote: Can the WH run off of electric also? That'd be better it seems as most campsites we go to have electric.

Lastly (maybe!): Does one just turn on the WH propane to heat the water and then turn off the WH propane? I can't see leaving the propane burning all day (???)


Thanks A LOT!




JR

Leave it on. It is just like the one at home. It has a thermostat. it will turn itself on and off as needed.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Cavie

Leave it on. It is just like the one at home. It has a thermostat. it will turn itself on and off as needed.

True. For me, though, I don’t like having propane burning when I’m away from the TT. Same reason I flip my water off at the pedestal when we leave. To each his own.

[rigger4343]

Just saw this thread while getting ready to go to work. I have the same camper. Let me know if you have still not gotten it to work correctly and I will try and give you a hand with it.

Good luck

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi all,
Good news, the water is heating!


Two things (okay three!) :

1) Boy does it smell!

2) How long does it take to fill that WH, it seems like forever!

3) Also, it kind of seems like hot is coming from the Cold/Hot spigot!

Thanks all,

JR