Water Heater Expectations?

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RichInMO

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
Posts
8
I just bought a new Forest River A-Frame and it has a Suburban SW6D Water Heater.

It is producing hot water - but not much. When I turn the switch on the reset light comes on for about a minute (or less) then I can hear the flame is on. After a half hour or so I can turn on the hot water faucet and get a few seconds of pretty hot water then only warm water, with an occasional 2 to3 second burst of hot water. The resulting sink full of water is slightly warm.

Is this what I should expect or should I be looking for a problem?

Thanks,
 
No, you should have hot water. The water heaters are set at 140 degrees and that's too hot to keep your hands in without some cold. A couple of thngs to check. Make sure you're not mixing cold and hot at any of your faucets. This can happen at places where you can leave both hot and cold faucets open and close a shower head or nozzle, like in a shower or outside faucet. There could also be an air bubble in your hot water tank. Open the pressure temperature valve at the top of the hot water tank slowly, and bleed off any air in the tank.
 
Sounds like you have a problem. I can take a nice hot shower with my six gallon heater

MOST COMMON PROBLEM with Water heaters is external.. that is the External shower (I call it the dog shower cause if I had a dog.. Well, you get the idea)  These often have a mixer valve set (The valves you use to adjust how hot) and a cut off valve on the head.. Leave the mixers open and the cut off closed and..... Well 

Same is true of the internal shower but since you are more likely to use that one you are less likely to forget it.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The water system in this A-Frame is very simple - a sink on the inside with Hot and Cold separate faucets and a shower outside with Hot and Cold controls and a main shutoff valve. I have checked inside and out for additional mixer valves but I am not finding any.

I will check the water heater for an air bubble later this morning.
 
First, the air bubble is supposed to be there. It cushions the shock of the pump. If its not a mixer, the likely problemnis the check valve at either the entrance or edit ofcthe wh. Try tapping gently to seecifvyou can free it.

Ernie
 
Ernie n Tara said:
First, the air bubble is supposed to be there. It cushions the shock of the pump. If its not a mixer, the likely problemnis the check valve at either the entrance or edit ofcthe wh. Try tapping gently to seecifvyou can free it.

Ernie

I agree with Ernie totally on both. I would tend to think it would be a check valve. You said it is a brand new RV, then take it back to the dealer. Don't let them tell you it's normal because it's not.
 
I did vent the pressure valve, no luck. Can you give me any description on what to look for on the check valve? I will look for it.

I will contact the dealer this week.

Thanks to all for the help.
 
RichInMO said:
I did vent the pressure valve, no luck. Can you give me any description on what to look for on the check valve? I will look for it.

I will contact the dealer this week.

Thanks to all for the help.

Look at the top outlet pipe. The pipe is held onto a fitting by a plastic nut. That fitting is screwed into the threaded boss of the tank. That fitting is a check valve. It will most likely have a arrow on the side of it pointing away from the tank. It will be made out of brass or plastic. 

Note: if you have a three valve winterizing set up, there's a possibility you won't have a check valve. How many valves do you have to actuate to winterize?
 
It will be mid week before I get time to get back to this. I believe I will have to remove a panel inside the trailer to access the back of the heater where the lines are. When I removed the outside access panel I could not see any water lines going in or out.

Regarding winterizing, I just bought this and have not winterized it. The instructions provide different options whether it is equipped with a bypass valve or not. In this there is only reference to one valve. I have not found anything in the documentation defining if I have a bypass valve or not.

Thanks again,
 
The other possibility could be, since you mentioned an outside shower, is that the shower has to be turned of at the unit itself. Turning it of with a button the the shower head will result in mixing of the hot and cold. The same is true of any inside shower.

Before pulling the output one way valve try tapping it lightly with a small hammer, wrench etc and see if anything changes. They tend to stick sometimes.

If there is only one valve for winterizing then there is a check or one way valve in the tank output for sure. (It looks more like a fitting!!). You likely have another one on the input of the tank, but the output is most likely the problematic one.
 
Easy fix!!

Although this is described as a single valve installation in the manual, when I contacted the dealer they checked a similar unit on their lot and it is a 3 valve system. When I removed the access panel inside the problem was clearly the valve between the cold in and the hot out was on, allowing cold water to mix with the hot.

This stuff would be a lot easier for a newbie like myself if the manuals were specific to the unit built, included a detailed trouble shooting guide for each system and were simply more detailed.

That said - the staff at Coleman RV / The Boatdock in Springfield, IL were helpful with this.

Thanks to all for the advice. Groups like this are a big help!!

Rich
 
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