Quick water heater question before 1st trip?

Starfire5 · 04-21-2011, 08:39 AM

We are heading out tomorrow for our very first trip in our 2009 Outlook. I hope this isn't a really dumb question, but do we have to turn on the water heater or does it just come on automatically? And if we have to turn it on, where on earth do we do that? Yikes! We're going to have my 86 year old mother with us - hope this goes somewhat smoothly! LOL

Arch Hoagland · 04-21-2011, 09:08 AM

It will not come on automatically. You should have a control panel inside the coach somewhere on a wall that will have your furnace and air conditioning controls. There should also be a switch for the water heater.

Our coach has 110 volt water heating and also the option of LP gas water heating. We can turn on both or either one. We normally use the 110 volt at campgrounds and save our LP gas.

Starfire5 · 04-21-2011, 10:22 AM

Thanks! I'll look for that switch when my hubby brings home the RV from storage today!

slick60 · 04-21-2011, 01:45 PM

I guess you did not buy from a dealer or he did a lousy job of walking you through your new rig. If you have many questions likew thismit would be worth your time to go to a dealer and ask if they would aquaint you with how things work in an RV.

DRosedale · 04-21-2011, 02:08 PM

Don't turn on the hot water until you have water in it, if you do, you will burn out the element and there goes any hope of hot water.

If you are at a Camp Ground, hook the water hose to the coach, turn on CG water, I then go inside and run water out of the hot water side in the sink, not sure you need to do this, but it makes me feel better, then I turn on the hot water heater. If at a CG with shore power, I always use the electric side of the hot water heater to heat my water.

If you have any further questions about your coach, post them on the forum, there are a lot of good people on this forum willing to help.

Many safe and happy miles.

PS - Welcome to the forum.

Martind4 · 04-21-2011, 02:21 PM

One word of caution about RV water heaters, because the size of the tank is usually only 6 or 10 gallons, the temperature of the water is hotter than a stick home, so when it's blended with cold water it will "last longer".

Bottom line, keep a close eye on mom when using hot water because older people have trouble sensing the hot temperature quick enough to keep from getting burned. Straight hot water from a RV water heater will burn before you realize it.

Midniteoyl · 04-21-2011, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martind4

One word of caution about RV water heaters, because the size of the tank is usually only 6 or 10 gallons, the temperature of the water is hotter than a stick home, so when it's blended with cold water it will "last longer".

Bottom line, keep a close eye on mom when using hot water because older people have trouble sensing the hot temperature quick enough to keep from getting burned. Straight hot water from a RV water heater will burn before you realize it.

"007" · 04-21-2011, 04:08 PM

Make sure the water bypass valves are open for summer as you see in this picture.
The hot and cold valves are open and in line with the pipes.
The bypass valve is closed and across the pipe.

Starfire5 · 04-21-2011, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick60

I guess you did not buy from a dealer or he did a lousy job of walking you through your new rig. If you have many questions likew thismit would be worth your time to go to a dealer and ask if they would aquaint you with how things work in an RV.

We DID buy from a dealer, but it was in Chicago in December and I wasn't there with my husband when he picked it up. HE didn't pay attention, because all he wanted to do was drive it home. We did get a quick briefing at a local place where we took it to be de-winterized, but I just wasn't sure about the hot water. There's SO much to remember and I'm trying. I THINK I have everything I need to know, but I just want to be sure, ya know?

motohomer · 04-25-2011, 08:07 PM

In case you cant find the owners manual, keep a copy on your computer:

http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource.../09Outlook.pdf

saj · 07-11-2011, 08:39 PM

We just bought our first rv its a 1996 Winnabago Chieftain.The control panel over the stove is worn but we can still make some words.Right now iam working on getting hot water heater going .Its hooked up tp LP but how do I know if its also electric?When I push the switch on the panel a red light comes on then goes off after a couple of times it stays red.is it ok to leave it on and see if the water out of the faucet gets hot? Thanks

Jack R · 07-11-2011, 08:45 PM

SAJ

There should be two switches for the WH. The one on the left is for lp the one on the right for electricity. just push the one on the right on, the light should come on, wait about 20 minutes check to see if the water is getting warm. It it is it's working.

jack

wildtoad · 07-11-2011, 08:55 PM

The '88 Superchief I had was gas only and there was a switch on the rangehood to turn it on. Most of the units at that age were NOT dual. If you turn on the switch it should show red for a second or two then go off. If it stays on then it did not light. turn it off wait a few minutes and try again. try several times. If the same thing occurs then get the unit serviced. One possible is that there is air in the line. Try to light the stove or the furnace to get the gas flowing. Could be that the gas line has air in it.

saj · 07-12-2011, 05:27 PM

Thanks Jack and Wildtoad for the help. It turned out to be air in the lines. It's working great!

dirko · 07-12-2011, 08:00 PM

Hi Ho: You have received good advice. I don't know if your coach has motoraid or not, but it is pretty cool. It takes coolent from the engine and uses it to heat water so that you always have water when traveling and immediately when you arrive.

It also provides a way to remove excess heat from the engine when it works hard.

If you have both 120 volt and LPG heaters use the 120 volts as much as possible but if you need lots of hot water really fast turn on the LPG. You can use both if you want to. We do this if a lot of people are having showers one after another. Then just turn off the LPG when done and go back to electric.

Dirk