New owner-wondering about Hot water Heater

[thomsonr]

Fired up the pilot just now but am wondering if this is something you can leave on or do you start and stop as needed for hot water? How long does it usually take to get hot water?

Thanks!

Robert

2010 jay Series 1007

[chrisb]

You can leave it on with no problems although i shut mine off to save propane. It only take a few min to warm up. Dont forget to drain it after each trip so it doesnt get a rotten egg smell

[thomsonr]

The dealer that sold me the trailer must not of drained it, the water stinks of hydrogen sulfide. How do you drain it? Would I need to fill it with chlorine solution or something else to get rid of the smell? I am camping with it now for next two days at campground.

[highlife4me]

If I forget to drain the water heater I will run the outside shower if I am connected to a hydrant otherwise I will just drain it and refill from freshwater tank and add more water if needed.

[mcfarmall]

There is a pipe plug near the bottom of the WH when you open the cover. Mine's plastic and takes a 15/16" socket if I remember correctly.

[outofhere]

Hi one thing to remember is DO not drain the tank when it is hot it is under pressure and the hot water will come shooting out. Open up the outside shower if it is closed up or the faucet on the inside to relieve the pressure (trusty me) Also you can buy a small wand for your garden hose that's curved on the end that is used to spray the inside of the water tank out it will get most of the sulfur stuff One last thing don't forget to replace the Sacrificial annoid rod every other year at lest. Thanks and happy camping

[thomsonr]

Originally Posted by outofhere

Hi one thing to remember is DO not drain the tank when it is hot it is under pressure and the hot water will come shooting out. Open up the outside shower if it is closed up or the faucet on the inside to relieve the pressure (trusty me) Also you can buy a small wand for your garden hose that's curved on the end that is used to spray the inside of the water tank out it will get most of the sulfur stuff One last thing don't forget to replace the Sacrificial annoid rod every other year at lest. Thanks and happy camping

Oh no, that's exactly what I did (and worked for me). I drained the hot water from the valve until it ran cold. Then I turned on the shower, drained until cold and did the same thing with the inside faucet. It took about 4 attempts and now I have water that doesn't smell.

How would you spray the inside of the water heater directly? If I had known that perhaps I could of saved myself a lot of time. And where would you get at the sacrificial anode rod to replace?

Camping is a learning experience for sure....

Thanks to all for your replies.

[BrunoB]

Examples on how to flush a hot water tank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKg0R...1CBA6040D79E45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKg0R...1CBA6040D79E45

Bruno

[thomsonr]

Thanks, very helpful as I totally missed the drain valve which in my Jayco is tucked down underneath. I'm not sure the tent trailer has a divert valve though. Will check out shortly before last trip of the season.