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Camper Bob View Drop Down
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Joined: 26 Sep 2011
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Posts: 913 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Water heater element
    Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 8:19pm
In my experience, that is about the finest answer that you will ever get.  Covers it all.  Way to go furpod.  Safe travels.
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Joined: 25 Jul 2011
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 7:00pm
Originally posted by Footslogger03



So did you ever get your question answered - - in other words, is it a GAS or ELECTRIC hot water heater - - and/or do both the inside (gas) switch AND the outside (electric) switch need to be turned on in order for the hot water heater to work.

Thanks     ...just a newbie with dumb questions :-)

MJ


The water heater is both electric and gas. It can be used as either, or both, as your needs and hook ups allow.

To run it in electric mode, you must be hooked up to a 30amp supply. Open the outside water heater cover, and in the lower left corner area, BEHIND the gas burner plumbing, you will see a small black on/off rocker. Switch to ON. You should now be heating with the electric element.

If 30amp 120v is not available, the switch on the INSIDE needs to be turned on. That turns on the gas burner system. The valve on the propane tank must be turned on, and you have to have 12v available to run the brain. But you need 12v to run the pump also.. so no big deal. Or if you have water, but not power hook ups.. something I have never seen. Electricty and no water, seen that.

If you have teenagers or something, (I ain't saying who uses all our hot water..) and they used up all the hot water.. for a faster "recovery" time, you can run both systems at the same time.
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Joined: 21 Jul 2011
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Posts: 362 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 6:14pm
[QUOTE=greynomad] Can we get back to the basic's here on the hot water system before we cook another element?Before you do anything you fill the water tank, which I didn't.........Before I get to far ahead of myself, I am hooked up to a 30 amp system. You then walk inside the POD and there is a switch which say's," Water Heater", now is this sucker for gas or electric?   Some where in the forum I am reading that the switch for Electric heater is outside in the heater control panel?aloha from Hawaii

================================

So did you ever get your question answered - - in other words, is it a GAS or ELECTRIC hot water heater - - and/or do both the inside (gas) switch AND the outside (electric) switch need to be turned on in order for the hot water heater to work.

Thanks     ...just a newbie with dumb questions :-)

MJ
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Posts: 913 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 5:39pm
As a suggestion, in the instruction manual how to maintenance manual, what about a step by step on how to replace the water heater element with pictures.  Seems that quite a few folks have "smoked/cooked" their electric water heater element over a period of time.  If its already done, I doff my hat to you.  Safe Travels.
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 5:26pm
Bottom left.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 77 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 7:11am
Yup, that's the gas switch, the electric switch is outside on the bottom right of the water heater panel, just behind the brass tubing.
   
'07 Dodge RAM 1500 ST Longbed QuadCab 4.7L V8 --- '10 Forest River R-Pod 172
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Posts: 22 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jun 2012 at 6:55am
Can we get back to the basic's here on the hot water system before we cook another element?
Before you do anything you fill the water tank, which I didn't.........Before I get to far ahead of myself, I am hooked up to a 30 amp system. You then walk inside the POD and there is a switch which say's," Water Heater", now is this sucker for gas or electric?   Some where in the forum I am reading that the switch for Electric heater is outside in the heater control panel?

aloha from Hawaii
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Jun 2012 at 12:48pm
I just updated the "instruction and maintenance manual" thread with this info.  This post has info on other areas of the pod that should be checked:
 
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Jun 2012 at 12:43pm

Flushing the system by using the city water connection won't clear out the water pump, you also don't want to send any antifreeze or bleach into the water heater.  First change into clothes that you don't care about, then:

1. Fill the fresh water tank, adding 1/2 cup of bleach during the fill process.
2. Open 1 of the low-point drains, turn on the pump until it runs clear, turn the pump off, close the drain (turn the pump off first or you will spray yourself with bleach water trying to get the cap on).
3. Open the other low-point drain, pump on, run clear, pump off, close the drain.
4. Pump on.  All the remaining steps assume you keep the valves open until they run clear.
5. Hold the toilet flush valve open.
6. Open the shower cold valve, close, then do the hot water side.  Don't do both at the same time, you won't know if one has run clear and the other hasn't.  If your pod has the mini-sink in the shower, do the same with it.
7. Do the same with the kitchen sink.
8. If you've added any other water connection (I added an outside shower), do the same with it.
9. Turn off the pump.
10. Top off the fresh water tank.
11. Wait at least 3 hours, preferrably overnight.  You now have bleach in every possible nook which will sanitize the system.
 
After 3 hours or the next day:
1. Drain the fresh water tank using the drain hole on the bottom.
2. Refill the tank.
3. Repeat steps 4-9 from the last checklist (I would skip the low-point drains, but you may not want to), waiting about the same time on each valve that you did when you were waiting for the pink to disappear.
4. You may want to repeat steps 1-3 once or twice more, I don't.  I let the remaining bleach odor just work its way out during the first trip of the season.
5. Now change the valves on the water heater - hot and cold lines parallel to the water pipe, the valve in the middle perpendicular.
6. Open the hot water valve on the kitchen sink.  Wait for the air sputtering to stop.  Your water heater is now full.  I would let it run another minute to flush it out.
7. Either top off or drain the remaining water in the fresh water tank as desired.
 
Seems like a lot of steps, but the "day 1" checklist only takes 10-15 minutes.  "Day 2" is maybe 15-20 depending on how many times you rinse the system.
 
All that said, I plan on cheating this year.  The RV antifreeze is in the alcohol family (which is why it doesn't freeze), so everything but the fresh water tank should be sanitized already.  I drain my fresh water tank and the feed line to the pump just as much as possible in the fall so I'll probably just fill it, clear out all the antifreeze in the pump and water lines using that water, and then drain it.  There's little opportunity for something to grow in the tank and certainly no way for it to grow in the water lines.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 362 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Jun 2012 at 10:00am
Excellent topic    ...since we are just about to get our 177 ready for its first "shake down" trip next weekend.

So    ...sounds like the first thing to do is set the water valves to the proper position (non bypass)

Then hook up to city water supply, open the faucets on the sink and start water flowing through the system get the anti-freeze and air out of the lines.

Then I should be ready to go ?

MJ
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