No hot water and no bypass..help please!

CaptTest · 05-24-2021, 07:49 PM

New to RVing. On my maiden voyage with a 2021 3134rl and can't get the hot water to work....

I can't find a bypass valve (see attached for what I'm working with). Please help I want to shower. No clue what I need to do?

Blastvalve · 05-24-2021, 08:06 PM

I’m admittedly not familiar with your setup but there appears to be 2 white valves in your pic with a tube in between. I’d speculate those 2 valves divert water from the tank and through that tube instead to bypass the heater. Turn both to let water flow in and out of the tank and you should be I’m business?

My two cents anyway, your mileage may vary.

imnprsd · 05-24-2021, 09:10 PM

I have never done this before, but the principles of any hot water tank are the same...

* Cold water and water pressure enter the bottom.

* Your hot water tank heats the water and hot water rises to the top.

I'm guessing one valve on the bottom shuts off that loop water line on the left, but it's not working right or you don't have the valve in the right position.

===> START by making sure the top valve is "open."

==> Then try putting the bottom valve in one position or the other... and see if you get hot water out the top line to the faucet or shower after your purge the cold water in the line. (5-7 seconds)

If you still can't take a hot shower...

AS A SHORT TERM FIX so you can get your hot water working.

Try putting a clamp on that hose that joins the bottom nipple (cold water in) to the Upper nipple (hot water out). Then leave both valves open.

If you don't have a pair of vice grips to pinch the line, maybe you can pinch the line with a pair of pliers to test this theory out while your partner turns on the faucet to get hot water out.

...then go borrow a pair of vise grips from a neighbor to get you thru the next day.

===

If the above does not work, then you might check out this thread to see if your hot water tank is like this other owners who was experiencing water pressure problems and he explains how he fixed it.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...-361133-2.html

09busaman · 05-27-2021, 06:34 AM

It looks like the valves are on bypass (in line), turn the handles towards (90 degrees) the hot water tank. That should allow water to flow into the tank and out.

Marine359 · 05-27-2021, 08:17 AM

Also, go outside and open the wh pressure relief valve. On some models, If the tank is full of air it can be difficult to get water into the tank, in which case the automatic heater shut-off wii activate.

09 harley · 05-30-2021, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 09busaman

It looks like the valves are on bypass (in line), turn the handles towards (90 degrees) the hot water tank. That should allow water to flow into the tank and out.

Sounds right to me. Please don’t clamp the line like mentioned earlier. This could damage the lines and they would need to be replaced. Open a hot water line to let the water in if necessary when filling the tank.
Look at your manual, I would assume it has the procedure to go from normal use to bypass as far as valve orientation. Also go on the water heater website to see if they have information. It should be a simple valve position change.

imnprsd · 05-30-2021, 08:35 PM

If one of your valves is not working right, that left loop line is passing cold water to the top hot water valve. However, I'm guessing the OP figured out how to properly position his valves and that's why he or she has not replied. I.e., they are on the road and have hot water again.

Just the same, I still stay "AS A SHORT TERM FIX so you can get your hot water working.
camp it with a pair of vice grips if you want to take a hot shower when you are camping." Then you can deal with it when you get home. Plus you will not hurt the water line.

Some people drive 55 all the time on a 65MHP highway. Why, I can't tell you that, but the do.

So people ride without a helmet. Maybe because it's the law. Maybe because they are smarter than the rest of us who do not.

...But when you have the choice of taking a hot or cold shower? ...Come on, get real!

09 harley · 05-31-2021, 12:44 PM

For all those out there that want to clamp their PEX pipe or whatever type you have with a vice grip please go ahead and follow the advice you have been given. Then tell your dealer what you did and be prepared to pay for the repair. I carry extra pipe in blue and Ted it case of trouble. I carry extra valves that will help me in these cases. I carry an extra Thetford valve and foam gasket for the same reason. I could go on but one thing I don’t carry is a vice grip to do a shoddy repair of cause damage. I wear a helmet but so what. The attempts of false equivalencies escapes me. The correct answer is to figure out how to correct the problem without causing further damage. He was unfamiliar with the valve set up which is under stable. Most people have to have others do any repairs for them. Looking at the manual or contacting the manufacturer would have solved the problem but we would have missed out on all this fun.
Notice that I didn’t use any red letters. That’s an instant loss when you see that.

imnprsd · 06-01-2021, 12:14 AM

I stand corrected... if that is a PEX pipe on the left looping up. However, if it is a soft hose, you can clamp-it.

OP: Is that hose PEX or just a soft reinforced hose?

4x4van · 06-02-2021, 05:20 PM

09busaman has the answer; The valves are in the bypass position (clamping that hose between the valves will simply stop the water from flowing out of the hot faucet completely). Change the position of both valves 90 degrees and enjoy your shower.

imnprsd · 06-03-2021, 12:44 PM

4x4van: That looping hose is a cheap way to bypass the tank. The hot water pressure is created by cold water entering the bottom of the tank and pushing hot water out the top of the tank. Note: Hot water rises to the top.

Therefore, normal operation is to block that looping hose from passing water by putting those shutoff valves in the correct position.

So if there is a problem with the cold waster shut off valve (on the bottom) then COLD water will pass direct to the top of the tank and out the hot water line to the faucet... and it will be mostly cold.

So I don't think you are correct. The problem is that that cold water bypass valve on the bottom of the tank is leaking/passing cold water thru that looping hose.

Note: Since these are specialty valves to the HW tank, the OP might be able to add a shut off valve to that looping hose if it's not a soft hose and you can't just clamp it off. I.e., the purpose is to block the cold water from getting to the top valve.

The other problem might be that hot water check valve on top is stuck closed. And the reason the OP is getting cold water out of the shower is because the they have a single handle shower or faucet and cold water is back-feeding the hot water side. Those check valves cause all kinds of trouble. And I would drill them out. (Which is a concept your Naysayers will have a hard time understanding.) But I say again: If you want a hot shower, get real!

4x4van · 06-11-2021, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imnprsd

Therefore, normal operation is to block that looping hose from passing water by putting those shutoff valves in the correct position.

Exactly. Some RVs have a 3 valve bypass setup. Some (like the OP) have a 2 valve bypass setup.
And some (like mine) have a 1 valve bypass setup that incorporates a check valve exiting the WH. They all do the same thing: allow the water to enter/exit the tank, or they close off the tank and divert the water past it, depending on the valve positions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imnprsd

So if there is a problem with the cold waster shut off valve (on the bottom) then COLD water will pass direct to the top of the tank and out the hot water line to the faucet... and it will be mostly cold.

So I don't think you are correct. The problem is that that cold water bypass valve on the bottom of the tank is leaking/passing cold water thru that looping hose.

I respectfully disagree that there is a "problem" with the bottom valve. If the bottom valve was leaking as you suggest, it STILL would have no way of getting into the hot water lines because of the top valve. For your scenario to be correct, BOTH valves would have to be leaking, which while possible, is highly unlikely. To clarify, I'm not talking about the one-way check valves at the tank (not all WHs use them), I'm talking about the manual valves that are shown in the picture. And those are not "specialty" valves; they are standard 3-way PEX valves just like those used for winterizing.

It looks to me (from the picture) that both valves are in the bypass position, which means that water cannot flow into or out of the tank at all. Instead the water flows 100% through the bypass hose from the cold feed into the hot lines without ever going into the tank.

imnprsd · 06-11-2021, 01:51 PM

Agreed: It's probably an owner-operator problem.

Cold water goes into the bottom. ...And hot water is supposed to come out the top. It's a simple principle, but you have to have the valves in the correct position.

Maybe if we ever hear from the OP he or she will let us know how they got their hot water shower working again.