Water Heater Issue

leahabtx · 03-31-2015, 10:21 AM

Hello - we are 2 ladies out camping alone and are having an issue with the hot water heater. We are in a 2012 Itasca Impulse & de-winterized just before leaving home. Our problem is the hot water tank will not fill with water. The water valves are in a very inconvenient place under a drawer. There are 4 valves, 1 being the water heater bypass. It is now in bypass mode which to me means water is bypassing the tank but when I move it to the other position water pours out the bottom of the MH. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Clay L · 03-31-2015, 10:29 AM

Was the drain plug re-installed in the water heater?
The operating position for the diverter valve is pointing towards the water.

narampa · 03-31-2015, 10:30 AM

Sounds to me like the water tank drain. You say you have 4 valves is there a chance you could post a picture of the valves?

leahabtx · 03-31-2015, 07:40 PM

Thank you for your responses. Yes, the drain plug is installed. I wish I could post a photo but the valves are so hidden it is hard to even find them. The only one visible is for the water heater. The other 3 are located along a water line but under wires and something that looks like a vacuum hose- you have to literally follow the water line until you "feel" the valve and then work very hard to move it either up or down depending on whether you are draining the water for winterization or the opposite. This is an extremely poor design & I have the bruises all over my arm to prove it - just from trying to get to the valves! Oh, and you first have to remove 2 drawers under the range to even get to this area. I found a very good RV repair person in the Dallas area who comes to my storage space & am seriously considering asking her if there is some way to change this.
I should also say last year a friend camped with me & decided to be nice & do the de-winterization for me. I later told him I had no idea he knew those kind of words :-)

leahabtx · 03-31-2015, 07:46 PM

Clay - when the diverter valve is pointing towards the water line and the other valves are positioned to allow the water to flow thru the lines, this is when water pours out of the MH under the area where the valves ate located. The only way to stop the water is to move the diverter line for the water heater in the opposite direction - and this prevents the water heater from filling. Very confusing & frustrating!

Ray,IN · 03-31-2015, 07:54 PM

Does one of these pictures resemble your valves?RV Water Heater Bypass Systems

nothermark · 03-31-2015, 08:24 PM

FWIW You could also have a cracked valve from a bad winterization. It depends where the water is coming out of.

grtharris · 03-31-2015, 09:20 PM

leahabtx, without know which model Impulse you have I guested at a picture. The 3 valves under the drawers are system drain valves and need to be turned off. The ones with pipes pointing down are the drain valves. The other one is the water heater bypass valve. I belive the drawing shows the drain valves in the drain position.

leahabtx · 04-01-2015, 10:11 AM

This drawing looks about right. Model is Impulse 31C. On my coach the 3 valves shown are in the down position to allow water to flow. The one off by itself (water heater) is now pointed in the opposite direction because if other 3 are closed & wh valve is pointed the other way, this is when water pours out the bottom of the MH in a single stream. I moved other 3 in different directions & when in "up" position I get additional streams of water.
I'm beginning to agree it could be that a line cracked during the winter as this is our first trip since then. The place we are now staying is mostly concrete but we hope to move to a park today where there is grass. If we are able to do this (a LOT of rain), I may do some more tests.

mel s · 04-01-2015, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leahabtx

This drawing looks about right. Model is Impulse 31C. On my coach the 3 valves shown are in the down position to allow water to flow. The one off by itself (water heater) is now pointed in the opposite direction because if other 3 are closed & wh valve is pointed the other way, this is when water pours out the bottom of the MH in a single stream. I moved other 3 in different directions & when in "up" position I get additional streams of water.
I'm beginning to agree it could be that a line cracked during the winter as this is our first trip since then. The place we are now staying is mostly concrete but we hope to move to a park today where there is grass. If we are able to do this (a LOT of rain), I may do some more tests.

leahabtx
Me thinks either whoever winterized your RV "did it wrong"..or whoever de-winterized your RV left a "drain valve open", (or a "drain cap/plug off").

(Unfortunately RV owners all to often pay $100+ an hour for substandard service work).

Mel
'96 Safari

leahabtx · 04-01-2015, 11:21 AM

And, ME Thinks you are right - especially since I am a do-it-yourself person and did both of these! Always seem to learn the hard way - next year think I will call someone.
We are getting by - heating water in a collapsible tea pot; a little inconvenient but it works.

grtharris · 04-02-2015, 07:39 PM

When to the hardware store today and looked at the center drain valve. Full counter clockwise in the normal position and full clockwise is the system drain position.

leahabtx · 04-15-2015, 02:41 PM

We finally gave up on getting hot water and just came home. GRTHarris - I apologize for not acknowledging your note earlier and really appreciate the extra effort you went to in order to help us. The MH is is storage now but I plan to try to bring it to the house one day next week and try what you suggested from your visit to the hardware store. As of now I have been moving the valves in one of two directions - either straight up or lying down along the waterline to the left. I will try to move it the other way. The issue I am having is it is extremely difficult to move the valve even after squirting it with WD40 - guess I'll have to try something else.

Thanks again everyone - will let you know if I am successful now that I've finally figured out how to get back to this forum!