|
05-25-2015, 06:24 AM
|
#1
|
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Shepherdsville
Posts: 79
|
Water heater question
Hey everybody. I just got to the fort at Disney yesterday and it's awesome. However my water heater is giving me a little bit of a headache. It's an atwood with the unitrol thermostat. I fired it up last night and it seemed liked it burned forever and didn't shut off until I turned the thermostat down. We're pretty new to camping and I don't remember from last year how long it took. Can anyone who has an atwood 6 gallon heater advise how long it normally takes for there's to cut off when first lit? Also where do you guys normally set the thermostat? Thanks in advance. I'm going to shut it down for now and go play with a 6 year old at "Mickey Mouse's House" (I'm trying to post a picture of the thermostat but all I have is a cell phone so I'm not sure if it will work)
|
|
|
05-25-2015, 06:37 AM
|
#2
|
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Shepherdsville
Posts: 79
|
Pic
|
|
|
05-25-2015, 06:46 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Elizabethtown, PA
Posts: 1,560
|
Normally I would set mine at the midway point shouldn't take longer than 1/2 hour to get to temp.
How old is the heater?
__________________
2004 Jay Feather 25E
2001 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.55 rear
2004 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.73 rear
|
|
|
05-25-2015, 07:29 AM
|
#4
|
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Shepherdsville
Posts: 79
|
The camper is a 2013. It's the original water heater. Thanks for the help. When you say half way. Is that between the two vertical marks on the thermostat? I'll have to time it next time so I know. At 0100 everything seems like its taking a lot longer!
Thanks
|
|
|
05-25-2015, 08:59 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Elizabethtown, PA
Posts: 1,560
|
between the hot and warm setting you will see a small vertical bar. Line the up with the RED mark on the outside of the dial. One other thing is you should hear the main flame make a slight roaring sound. If not it could be that the orifice may be slightly clogged. That tends to happen if spiders etc. get into the burner.
__________________
2004 Jay Feather 25E
2001 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.55 rear
2004 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.73 rear
|
|
|
05-28-2015, 01:21 PM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Campbell Hall
Posts: 2,835
|
That setup was on my old trailer and it would take about 1/2 hour to get to my setting (just above body temp, the word WARM positioned at 10:00) from cold tap water.
__________________
TT 2015 19RD "TheJayco"
TV 2003 F-350 "Montblanc" - Housebroken chore truck
Sitting in The Cheap Seats.
And proud of it!
|
|
|
05-28-2015, 06:19 PM
|
#7
|
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Shepherdsville
Posts: 79
|
Thanks for all the replies. I have it set significantly hotter than that, so I guess it just takes longer than I remember. On a somewhat unrelated note, I turn the water and water heater off when we leave the camper for a significant amount of time. Anybody else do this, or am I just being overly paranoid?
|
|
|
05-28-2015, 06:27 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Southern California
Posts: 527
|
Did you check the winterizing valves? If they are open there'll be a constant flushing of fresh water through the system.
__________________
Regards,
JP
2007 20BH Jayco JayFlight
2009 F150 5.4L SCrew Cab XLT
|
|
|
05-28-2015, 06:31 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: oneonta ny
Posts: 534
|
doesnt seem like a bad idea to shut the valve at the pedestal just in case. IMO
|
|
|
05-28-2015, 07:21 PM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Elizabethtown, PA
Posts: 1,560
|
Always a good idea to shut off the main supply to the camper when you are going to be away for any length of time. I have seen hoses burst and even though it may not cause and damage to the camper it sure can cause a waste of the campgrounds water.
__________________
2004 Jay Feather 25E
2001 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.55 rear
2004 Ford Expedition 4X4 EB 5.4 3.73 rear
|
|
|
05-29-2015, 07:25 AM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Campbell Hall
Posts: 2,835
|
Shutting the water off when the camper is unattended is always a good idea.
Just remember to turn it back on when you get back.
As long as you don't mind relighting the pilot, turning off the water heater is OK too.
__________________
TT 2015 19RD "TheJayco"
TV 2003 F-350 "Montblanc" - Housebroken chore truck
Sitting in The Cheap Seats.
And proud of it!
|
|
|
06-15-2015, 06:11 PM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: KENOSHA
Posts: 120
|
2 follow up questions: 1. Where would the thermostat be on an Atwood combo elec./propane, 6-gallon water heater in a 2012 Jayco Feather Ultralite (I've searched but found nothing like what's on our home water heater), and 2. There was mention here of winterizing valves, which I assume is a reference to a bypass valve -- I closed it and opened the supply line to get water INTO the heater, but should I close the supply line and reopen the bypass valve after the water is heated and I want to use the hot water? We're getting water that's good and warm but not shower temperature. Thanks for any comments, John K.
|
|
|
06-15-2015, 06:40 PM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Campbell Hall
Posts: 2,835
|
1) on my 2015 Atwood water heater, the fixed-value thermostat is behind the sticky insulation to the left of the electronics.
2) There are 3 valves. 2 to connect the water heater to the water system and a 3rd to flow antifreeze past the closed off heater.
__________________
TT 2015 19RD "TheJayco"
TV 2003 F-350 "Montblanc" - Housebroken chore truck
Sitting in The Cheap Seats.
And proud of it!
|
|
|
06-16-2015, 06:27 AM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Chicago
Posts: 269
|
You only need to change the valves when you winterize or switch back to normal use.
__________________
2015 Jay Flight 31 RLDS
2015 F250, Reese straightline
Ham Lic: W4TFB
|
|
|
06-16-2015, 05:57 PM
|
#15
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: KENOSHA
Posts: 120
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPBeck
Did you check the winterizing valves? If they are open there'll be a constant flushing of fresh water through the system.
|
For JPBeck: Your posting suggests shutting off the cold water inlet into the water heater so as not to dilute/cool already-heated water. Do I read you correctly? If so, and the inlet pipe is closed, in what position is the bypass valve -- open or closed? Thanks in advance, John K.
|
|
|
06-16-2015, 06:15 PM
|
#16
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: north az
Posts: 305
|
Am I wrong, or do the newer rv have an auto pizzo type igniter that will fire up the main burner as thermostat demands? I never have to re light mine. Should you tire of scalding water temp from no adj dial, I think the wh mfg has a plug in control that only takes a few mins to install.
|
|
|
06-17-2015, 06:35 AM
|
#17
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Campbell Hall
Posts: 2,835
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by arkhillbilly
Am I wrong, or do the newer rv have an auto pizzo type igniter that will fire up the main burner as thermostat demands? I never have to re light mine. Should you tire of scalding water temp from no adj dial, I think the wh mfg has a plug in control that only takes a few mins to install.
|
It's not piezoelectric. That was developed for portable lighters. Piezo has to do with converting short bursts of mechanical energy into electricity.
The modern gas water heaters, refrigerators and furnaces use a high frequency, high voltage power supply (from the 12VDC system) to create a spark that ignites the gas only when heat is needed. No standing pilot: saves fuel and is safer.
-----
I will totally agree with you that the water is WAY TOO HOT! 140F is excessive. And Atwood should include an adjustable thermostat for those of us that like 110F hot water.
__________________
TT 2015 19RD "TheJayco"
TV 2003 F-350 "Montblanc" - Housebroken chore truck
Sitting in The Cheap Seats.
And proud of it!
|
|
|
07-07-2015, 09:18 AM
|
#18
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Rancho Mirage, CA
Posts: 713
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPBeck
Did you check the winterizing valves? If they are open there'll be a constant flushing of fresh water through the system.
|
Thanks JPBeck for the very clear photo of the bypass valve and to all others that commented on this subject. It helped a great deal for us.
We're in the 5th week of our inaugural trip. This entire time we have used the shower each day and we have had water that was luke warm at best. It finally occurred to me that I should search the forums for related items.
All posts that I found were about water that is too hot. Ours was the opposite. Our new trailer has the non-adjustable thermostat on the water heater that should heat to 140 degrees.
After looking at your pic above, I grabbed a flash light and crawled half way into our rear storage compartment. I found the hot & cold water lines (ours are red and blue respectively) and the bypass valve behind the water heater. Our bypass was opened all the way. So I closed it about half way and now we have hot, hot water instead of warm. In fact I went back in and opened the valve a little more so that our water isn't too hot. So far so good.
__________________
Diego the German Shepherd & Family
2021 Ford F-250 Crew Cab, 7.3 Gas-10 speed
2006 Toyota Sequoia-Sold
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 23MB Elite
Previous RV's, 1988 33-foot Barth Class A and 1994 Flagstaff Pop-Up
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|