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Old 05-25-2015, 06:24 AM   #1
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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)
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Old 05-25-2015, 06:37 AM   #2
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Old 05-25-2015, 06:46 AM   #3
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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?
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Old 05-25-2015, 07:29 AM   #4
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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
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Old 05-25-2015, 08:59 AM   #5
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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.
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Old 05-28-2015, 01:21 PM   #6
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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.
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Old 05-28-2015, 06:19 PM   #7
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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?
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Old 05-28-2015, 06:27 PM   #8
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Did you check the winterizing valves? If they are open there'll be a constant flushing of fresh water through the system.

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Old 05-28-2015, 06:31 PM   #9
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doesnt seem like a bad idea to shut the valve at the pedestal just in case. IMO
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Old 05-28-2015, 07:21 PM   #10
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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.
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Old 05-29-2015, 07:25 AM   #11
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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.
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Old 06-15-2015, 06:11 PM   #12
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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.
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Old 06-15-2015, 06:40 PM   #13
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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.
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Old 06-16-2015, 06:27 AM   #14
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You only need to change the valves when you winterize or switch back to normal use.
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Old 06-16-2015, 05:57 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPBeck View Post
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.
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Old 06-16-2015, 06:15 PM   #16
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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.
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Old 06-17-2015, 06:35 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by arkhillbilly View Post
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.
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Old 07-07-2015, 09:18 AM   #18
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Quote:
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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.
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