Water Heater question (Newbie)

Hello Fellow RV enthusiasts!

My family and I just recently bought a brand new 2020 Jayco Flight SLX 184BS travel trailer. This is our first time owning a travel trailer. When my wife and I did our PDI, the person that did the walkthrough rushed the whole process and I felt I didn't get a chance to ask questions especially in regards to water heaters.

I am coming to this forum hoping that I can get some insights from novice and expert alike regarding how to operate a water heater the right way. We took delivery of the travel trailer last week and brought it home for few days before we took it to the storage. Before we brought the trailer home, the person who did the walkthrough told us that the water tank is full and should be ready to go. Verified it using the onboard water gauge. When we got home, I want to try the water heater so I turned the propane to OPEN position, turn the electric, propane, and water pump switch to ON position. I turned ON the gas range to test the propane line and it worked fine. I noticed that the water heater unit turned on so I went outside to take a look. I can see that the flame is burning and the unit is working properly. I let it sit to heat the water so I can try using it later. I went inside the house and about 30 minutes later came back out to check on it. I noticed that the unit turned off and flame is not burning anymore. I ran the water on the faucet to check if it has warmed up. It did not. I turned off the switches (Water pump, Gas, and Electric) inside the trailer. Went back out again to try and replicate the same process I did the first time. Turned the knob on the propane to CLOSE then OPEN (all the way), went back inside the trailer and turn the switches back ON (Water pump, Gas, Electric), and lit up the gas range to make sure the propane line is clear. This time the water heater unit did not turn on. I tried to restart it 2 more times and still no go.

I am sure I am doing something wrong or probably missing a step.

Feel free to reply or post comment.

Thank you!
Greg

The water heater has a thermostat, so it doesn't light the burner (or use electric, if a dual type) unless needed.

If water came out of the hot faucet but it wasn't hot, there is a good chance the water heater has been bypassed. That means a valve is turned to shunt cold water around the tank and into the hot lines, a function meant to be used when preparing for winter storage (aka "winterizing").  There is probably a valve at the tank (usually back side or below), or sometimes a set of 3 valves.

You can determine if the heater has actually warmed water by [cautiously] touching the pressure-temperature relief valve on the face of the heater. Just open the access door in the outside wall and it will be top center (see arrow in attached photo). It will be very hot to the touch - maybe 130 degrees!

Time to get intimate -- with your owner's manual. Gary's suggestion that the water heater tank is by-passed is most likely spot-on. Read your manuals. Then read them again. Then go out to your trailer and read them again as you physically find everything and put a hand on it.

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you Gary and ChasA for your quick response. I will definitely look in to it when I bring back home the trailer from the storage before our camping trip next week. I would assume that the dealer would have prepped it out of bypass and set for regular usage knowing we are brand new owners of a travel trailer. Do I need to have my main water hooked up to the trailer while performing these operations? or can I just fill up the main tank all the way to full and then perform the functions listed?

Also, what steps should I take when turning on the water heater? Should I turn on both LP gas and Electric switches or either one would be fine? How long does the water heater typically runs while heating the water? I am assuming that the unit will turn off automatically once the desired temperature has been reached.

I apologize for all the queries, just want to make sure I am not hurting the water heater unit that can lead to malfunctions.

Hopefully there was water in the tank. If not, it may have damaged the electric heater. Propane side is likely okay. If probably did not start because the thermostat to control it likely was not calling for heat if the tank itself was hot even if no water in it. You could check for water in the tank by pressurizing your water system (hitch up to water supply or turn on your water pump with water in your onboard fresh water tank) and pulling the relief valve pictured a little to see if you get water out of it. Do this before you try to heat the water again.

Finding your bypass valve might be a little bit of a hunt. Look for a cabinet panel inside that corresponds with the location of the back side of the water heater. You may find a few screws that hold the panel in place to remove and gain access.

Your dealer has some warranty work to do for you if your find the tank was empty and damage occurred to the hot water heater.  At a minimum, they should have told you about the bypass valve.

You said the walk through tech told you the water tank was full. but did you turn on the WATER PUMP before you turned on the water heater?  If not you may (or not) have done damage.. I do not know for sue.

Now Is the water heater a Surburan or an Atwood.? (I suspect Atwood from your description)

How to tell
Open the outside door. on the lower left there is a plug. Metal o white nylon? (Atwood is nylon) or read the label

Surburan has two thermostats for electric and two for gas. One is the "Emergency cut out"

Atwood uses one for each and if the ECO trips the FAULT light comes on till you cycle the power switches.

That is as far as I will go with this post.
NOTE: when new it sometimes took 2 or 3 or 4 tries before my atwood would wok on GAS.. no problem on electric) 
Since I replaced the control board it's been way better.

You mentioned running it on propane and electric. Keep in mind, you can run it on just propane like if you're boon docking, or just electric if you are at a campground and they provide the electricity as part of the lot fee or you can run it on both. Some people do that if they want a quick recovery.

Do I need to have my main water hooked up to the trailer while performing these operations? or can I just fill up the main tank all the way to full and then perform the functions listed?

Click to expand...

Neither the water heater nor anything else cares whether the fresh water source is pump & tank or city-inlet & hose. They are identical as far as the rest of the water system is concerned.

Also, what steps should I take when turning on the water heater? Should I turn on both LP gas and Electric switches or either one would be fine? How long does the water heater typically runs while heating the water? I am assuming that the unit will turn off automatically once the desired temperature has been reached.

Click to expand...

You can use either gas or electric, or both. Using both at once heats the water more quickly, but in general just select one or the other. Most people use electric when available and gas when there is no external electric power or only limited power.  Gas heats slightly faster than electric because the burner has more BTUs than the electric heat element. 


The heater run time depends on the temperature of the water in the tank. If freshly filled with 50 degree water from a deep well it is going to take longer than when the tank is sitting with water at the ambient outdoor temperature on a summer day.  I'd say the range is typically 20-30 minutes for start-up. Once it reaches temperature, it will cycle occasionally to stay warm and the cycles are probably 2-4 minutes..
You won't hear anything in electric mode - totally silent!

viceprice said:

Hopefully there was water in the tank. If not, it may have damaged the electric heater. Propane side is likely okay. If probably did not start because the thermostat to control it likely was not calling for heat if the tank itself was hot even if no water in it. You could check for water in the tank by pressurizing your water system (hitch up to water supply or turn on your water pump with water in your onboard fresh water tank) and pulling the relief valve pictured a little to see if you get water out of it.

Do this before you try to heat the water again.
Finding your bypass valve might be a little bit of a hunt. Look for a cabinet panel inside that corresponds with the location of the back side of the water heater. You may find a few screws that hold the panel in place to remove and gain access.

Click to expand...

Thank you VicePrice for your input. The dealer filled up the tank and I know it is full because when I was trying to run the water on the faucet and bathtub the indicator/gauge went from full to 3/4 and so on. Will definitely pressurize the water system before I try to start the water heater again.

After reading comments/suggestions from several RV Forum members, I believed that the bypass valve is located under the bunk bed in the back of the trailer which is where the water heater compartment is located. The dealer rep that did our PDI never mentioned anything about bypass valve nor where it is located in our trailer.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Neither the water heater nor anything else cares whether the fresh water source is pump & tank or city-inlet & hose. They are identical as far as the rest of the water system is concerned.

You can use either gas or electric, or both. Using both at once heats the water more quickly, but in general just select one or the other. Most people use electric when available and gas when there is no external electric power or only limited power.  Gas heats slightly faster than electric because the burner has more BTUs than the electric heat element. 


The heater run time depends on the temperature of the water in the tank. If freshly filled with 50 degree water from a deep well it is going to take longer than when the tank is sitting with water at the ambient outdoor temperature on a summer day.  I'd say the range is typically 20-30 minutes for start-up. Once it reaches temperature, it will cycle occasionally to stay warm and the cycles are probably 2-4 minutes..
You won't hear anything in electric mode - totally silent!

Click to expand...

Thank you so much Gary!

Your input is invaluable.

After hearing from you and other comments/suggestions in this post, I really believed that the bypass valve has been set to "winterizing" directly from Jayco and the dealer rep that did our PDI never bothered turning the valves to ON position. It just remembered that when he was discussing hot water while he was running the faucet he keeps saying that the water will get hot eventually but it never did.

To think that I paid $695 for the PDI is highway robbery in my opinion  :'(

viceprice said:

  At a minimum, they should have told you about the bypass valve.

Click to expand...

Cannot agree with you more 

John From Detroit said:

You said the walk through tech told you the water tank was full. but did you turn on the WATER PUMP before you turned on the water heater?  If not you may (or not) have done damage.. I do not know for sue.

Now Is the water heater a Surburan or an Atwood.? (I suspect Atwood from your description)

How to tell
Open the outside door. on the lower left there is a plug. Metal o white nylon? (Atwood is nylon) or read the label

Surburan has two thermostats for electric and two for gas. One is the "Emergency cut out"

Atwood uses one for each and if the ECO trips the FAULT light comes on till you cycle the power switches.

That is as far as I will go with this post.
NOTE: when new it sometimes took 2 or 3 or 4 tries before my atwood would wok on GAS.. no problem on electric) 
Since I replaced the control board it's been way better.

Click to expand...

Mine is Atwood brand.

Rene T said:

You mentioned running it on propane and electric. Keep in mind, you can run it on just propane like if you're boon docking, or just electric if you are at a campground and they provide the electricity as part of the lot fee or you can run it on both. Some people do that if they want a quick recovery.

Click to expand...

Noted!

This a separate thought on hot water problems that sometimes come up after winterizing: If the bypass valve is set to normal, hot water tank is full, heaters are working, it does not seem right still and you have an outdoor shower, make sure both faucets are closed on the outdoor shower or it could act as a mixing valve reducing the water temp at other hot faucets depending on your design.

viceprice said:

This a separate thought on hot water problems that sometimes come up after winterizing: If the bypass valve is set to normal, hot water tank is full, heaters are working, it does not seem right still and you have an outdoor shower, make sure both faucets are closed on the outdoor shower or it could act as a mixing valve reducing the water temp at other hot faucets depending on your design.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your input. I saw this exact recommendation from a guy on YouTube when I was searching for solution to my problem. Our rig does not have an outside shower which is a good thing. Less troubleshooting to worry about.  )

guwapo16_1999 said:

Thank you VicePrice for your input. The dealer filled up the tank and I know it is full because when I was trying to run the water on the faucet and bathtub the indicator/gauge went from full to 3/4 and so on. Will definitely pressurize the water system before I try to start the water heater again.

After reading comments/suggestions from several RV Forum members, I believed that the bypass valve is located under the bunk bed in the back of the trailer which is where the water heater compartment is located. The dealer rep that did our PDI never mentioned anything about bypass valve nor where it is located in our trailer.

Click to expand...

Filling the water tank is not the same as filling the water heater. If you tried to run the electric element with the water heater bypassed, and no water in the heater, then you have almost positively burnt up the electric element.

No need to fear tho. Those elements are available at any hardware store for less then $10.00. Probably cost more than that in gas to haul it back to the dealer, so just get a new element and put it in if you need to. Do check to see that you have water in the heater tank, and that it doesn't heat first. But don't get too exited if the electric side won't heat. 

sadixon49 said:

Filling the water tank is not the same as filling the water heater. If you tried to run the electric element with the water heater bypassed, and no water in the heater, then you have almost positively burnt up the electric element.

No need to fear tho. Those elements are available at any hardware store for less then $10.00. Probably cost more than that in gas to haul it back to the dealer, so just get a new element and put it in if you need to. Do check to see that you have water in the heater tank, and that it doesn't heat first. But don't get too exited if the electric side won't heat.

Click to expand...

Hello Sadixon49, what do you call this electric element? part#?

I am assuming you can get this on Amazon?

Please advise.

Get it right at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's a 110 volt AC heating element. It's about 6/7" long. They also sell a el-cheapo wrench to remove the old element and install the new element

Rene T said:

Get it right at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's a 110 volt AC heating element. It's about 6/7" long. They also sell a el-cheapo wrench to remove the old element and install the new element

Click to expand...

@Rene T, is this what you mean?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Water-Heater-Screw-Element/3693202

If so, where is this located?

Outside where the heater is located?