Anyone had this happen?

missourijan · 12-03-2009, 02:06 PM

There's no hot water coming out of any of the faucets, it just dribbles. There is definitely hot water in the water heater, can see no leaks under the bellypan. DH found a mouse in a trap behind the sliding door in the basement, a coincidence?? Anyone have any suggestions what to look for? We have the 2007 Select. I called the mobile rv repair, they can come out tomorrow. Just thought I would check to see if anyone else has had this happen.

Carny Bill · 12-03-2009, 03:03 PM

have u changed the water filter lately, there is a bypass swivel valve near the filter that can get bumped and it will shut off the hotwater.....

Huck · 12-03-2009, 05:06 PM

I would check the check valve on the inlet side of the water heater.

One way to test would be to open the pressure relief valve on the water heater. This will tell you if any water is getting into the water heater tank.

Motor31 · 12-04-2009, 10:46 AM

Look at the hoses at the rear of the water heater. One of them will have a single handle valve that controls the water flow into the heater. If it is close you won't get water flow. Open the safety valve at the top outside portion of the water heater and change the position of the handle on the valve in the rear. If it starts flowing that fixed the problem. It worked for me as vibration during travel when we first got the unit kept closing the valve on us. It didn't help that the factory plumbed the black tank outflow in hard contact with the handle either. I had to cut the valve handle down to get it to clear.

Remember to keep a small air space in the water heater or it will dribble water outside while heating it.

BobW · 12-04-2009, 06:54 PM

Look at the manifold and see if all the handles are in the on position.

Carny Bill · 12-04-2009, 09:36 PM

How do u keep air in the heater....mine dribbles quite often.

Dick D · 12-04-2009, 10:51 PM

I recently had this same problem. I took a shower and everything was fine, A few minutes later the DW went to take a shower and suddenly no hot water.
What I found is that there is a check valve on the hot side of the heater (red line) where the line hooks to the water heater. what you need to do is unhook the red line at the back of the heater, then turn on the water for just a second, this will cause the check valve to pop out far enough for you to get hold of it (it looks just like an a car engine valve but only about a inch long and made of white plastic) with the line off, you may be able to feel the top of the valve on the heater side of the connection.
Oh, and you will get some water it the basement so you may want to cover your converter so it won't get wet.
It took me several hours to find this, but only 10 minutes to get back in operation after I figured out what the problem was. It's a bad backflow preventer. After I got the valve out, I actually had better water pressure than I had before, so I am going to leave it out.

Motor31 · 12-05-2009, 11:07 AM

When I drain and flush the water heater annually (to remove scale, check the anode and clean it out) I have to refill it. Once the plug and anode rod are back in place I open the valve in the back to allow water to flow into the heater. The relief valve is propped open and when water starts to come out of it I shut it. I again turn the inflow valve off and reopen the safety relief valve (top outside spigot looking gizmo) to allow a bit of water to come out. Once that is closed again there is now plenty of air in the tank to prevent dribbles as it heats up.

If the dribbles are coming from the bottom opening plug that's a different story. You just have a leak that needs attending to then. I use plumbers sealant putty ( comes in a small tube and used on water and gas lines) rather than teflon tape there.

Carny Bill · 12-05-2009, 03:49 PM

Thanks Mike, mine is the popoff that drips with hot water.

Bill

missourijan · 12-10-2009, 09:03 PM

Our problem turned out to be the check valve on the back of the water heater. Something inside the check valve had broken off and the technician had to fish it out of the tank. After insisting that there was a way to get to the water heater from inside the rv he finally sort of crawled across the fresh water tank to get to it. It took him only a few minutes to change it out. We would have never thought it was the check valve. All fixed!

RonS · 12-13-2009, 12:15 PM

What real good does this check valve due, except humm when using the hot water. I'm thinking of removing it and just replace with a 2 inch pipe. What is its real purpose, and is it needed?

Motor31 · 12-14-2009, 10:36 AM

It keeps the water heater from trying to heat all the water in the lines too. It isolates the water heater from the lines when not drawing water from it. Otherwise the water in the lines will act like a heat sink and keep the water heater far more active trying to maintain hot water with an open line into it.

Huck · 12-14-2009, 07:06 PM

Or when you are running the water it could suck the hot water out of the inlet of the hot water tank into the cold line.

2 DA WDS · 12-17-2009, 01:24 PM

I thought it was there for winterizing to keep the antifreze out when you turn the valve??