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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hot Water Problem
    Posted: 16 Sep 2019 at 5:49am
I leave the outside switch on too but I've marked and leave the WH circuit breaker off unless I'm plugged in, actually using hot water, and I know for sure that the WH is full of water. That way when I'm plugged in at home to maintain battery charge I'm not wasting energy heating water for no reason. And if you ever do accidentally run it with the WH empty you WILL be replacing the element..... 
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CharlieM View Drop Down
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Posts: 1797 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Sep 2019 at 10:22pm
They do work at hiding that little bugger. You can leave it turned on whether you're plugged in or not. It has no effect on the gas operation. If you ever want to inhibit the electric operation when you're plugged it's easier to flip the circuit breaker inside.  BTW it's good practice to turn off the little black switch when you winterize. It makes you check in the Spring to make sure the WH is filled before you use it. FYI that black oval thing to the right of the switch covers the electric heating element. Just in case you ever have to replace it. 
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w.o.y View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Sep 2019 at 6:14pm
Originally posted by mcarter

It's on the left hand side , directly below the RESET switches, look at rear of cabinet, you will see it. BTW - not visible in your pic.
You would not believe  how many times I had looked for that switch .So I took a close up both above and below where you thought it might be to the left of the resets   but it was not there. . Then I got on my hands and knees  with  a flashlight  and did another search and low and behold I found where they hid that little black buggar. Not visible at all looking  around in that compartment . Had to hold the camera on a crazy angle to get the picture . It was down lower and to the left . So I am all set now with both my bypass problem and with the switch for if I were ever to hook up to 110 V power ..
Thanks to all who participated in this thread . Owners manuals never show this kind of stuff . Great bunch of helpful campers here. Much appreciated .
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Sep 2019 at 5:15pm
It's on the left hand side , directly below the RESET switches, look at rear of cabinet, you will see it. BTW - not visible in your pic.
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w.o.y View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Sep 2019 at 2:24pm
Well , since I got the bypass problem solved  I started checking into if it would work on 110V as well .Some here mentioned there  is a switch in the exterior compartment.I took a picture and I still do not see a switch anywhere in there .Then I took a picture of the fuse panel and indeed , it does show a water heater breaker. So with the absence of a switch for land power , would this mean that it automatically   switches from 12 V to 110 V when it is plugged into a 110 V receptacle ? ? 
Slowly getting to the bottom of this .
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Sep 2019 at 1:11am
It sounds like you may have figured things out.

The first photo is a little hard to read but it kind of looks like the middle valve is not perpendicular to the pipe it's on.  For summer, and proper use of the WH, the two valves on the outside should open; that is turned in line, or parallel, to their pipes.  The one in the middle should closed (perpendicular).  If the middle valve is not totally closed, hot and cold water will mix and you'll get something less than completely hot water from the tap.

The valves are meant to be binary -- either open or closed -- but they are capable of being set somewhere in between.

The water in the WH will be totally hot.  This could explain why the WH only stays on for a short time.  It may only need a few minutes, or less, to heat to the point it's supposed to cut off.

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podwerkz View Drop Down
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 2019 at 10:42pm
Originally posted by w.o.y

I do not have that switch so I am assuming mine is a gas only with electronic start and has no electric element for  shore hookup. 

Its possible I suppose. 

Let's check something. Open the WFCO converter/distribution panel and look at your AC breakers. Is one of the 15 amp breakers labeled 'Water Heater'? (maybe W/H Main or something similar)

If so, the factory wired the camper for an electric element in the water heater. It would then make sense that you have a dual energy water heater.
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furpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 2019 at 10:19pm
As they say... "Bob's your uncle"..
Also, I promise you that you have a 2 way WH. The switch for electric heating is outside, in the WH compartment. No RPod to date has been built with a gas only WH.
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w.o.y View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 2019 at 7:38pm
OK , I decided to give  it one more try before  giving up because I have been thinking about the bypass suggestions  mentioned  in this topic . .So I folded the mattress in half and pulled that big piece of plywood up so I could stand in there and take a picture. When I saw how I had the valves set I could have kicked myself all around the block. The top  red and the bottom blue lines were open but so was the upright one between the two.I closed the upright one and fired up the tank and it didn't kick out real soon as before. I am pretty sure  it heated to it's normal shut off temperature before it shut down  but I could not run water from the sink  to test it  because I had drained the fresh water tank before coming home from camping this past friday.
It is a storage lot now but I am going to bring it home  someday soon  and put some fresh water in the tank so I can pump some hot water through a tap to double check  the temperature . . While I am at it I am  going to cut that big sheet of plywood down to have just the small piece above the furnace and water heater  to come out easily  every spring and fall while leaving the larger piece of it  fastened down in place under the mattress..
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w.o.y View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 2019 at 4:26pm
Originally posted by podwerkz

If you have winterized the camper then you have most likely turned the bypass valves on the water heater...so be sure to check those.

Now....the round rubber covered caps are the tops of the ECOs'.....(energy cut-off)....essentially a safety thermostat. 

If you have not been hooked up to shore power then the switch I am referring to will not do anything....but if you DO hook up to shore power, the switch on the water heater itself will energize the electric element, assuming you have a dual energy water heater. If that switch is on when you are hooked up to shore power, the gas operation may appear not to be working since the water is already hot.

The switch is a small black (or maybe red) switch located on the water heater itself. Not inside the camper. 

It is most likely at the bottom left of the water heater, visible after opening the outside cover/vent.
I do not have that switch so I am assuming mine is a gas only with electronic start and has no electric element for  shore hookup. My tank does not have a variable thermostat  for low , medium , high like other makes  of trailers did in the past  . It must be built in somewhere to shut off on high when it reaches it's safe temperature. The  manual that member offgrid supplied seems to be a general operating one for many makes and models but with   my proper flame and other adjustments  ruled out because the flame is correct when it "is" on , I am assuming it must be an electrical problem with the igniter or with the mystery thermostat "wherever it is" being defective. 
Looks like I will just be boiling a kettle  for hot water and not be able to use the shower. I know a service center would charge an arm and a leg to diagnose  and fix  it so I am not prepared to go that route .When I bypass the tank for  winterizing I will  probably just leave it bypassed year 'round.
My only hope now would be those bypass valves .If I could see a picture of how they are supposed to be turned in open or closed position  for either season it might show I have one set wrong even though the tank is full of water .If I recall I think there are three valves down under there but maybe it is just two .Too bad they are in such a terrible place to even get hands on them to turn them less being able to take a picture of them .
Thanks guys for trying to help but I see no simple solution to the problem  at this time .. 
Happy Camper
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