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Old 05-21-2020, 01:29 PM   #41
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On my 5.0 the water heater is under the driver's side dinette window. If window is open, depending on breeze I sometimes get the exhaust smell. Shut the window no smell. Is there a window above the heateron your unit?
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Old 05-21-2020, 01:54 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chotch View Post
On my 5.0 the water heater is under the driver's side dinette window. If window is open, depending on breeze I sometimes get the exhaust smell. Shut the window no smell. Is there a window above the heateron your unit?
There is a pair of windows above the water heater in a standard 21C, however with my frameless windows closed, I still have the problem. Only when the wind is blowing towards the water heater side...
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Old 11-01-2020, 09:37 PM   #43
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finally got around to applying some duct seal around the outside cover of the water heater, see my post 05-20-20 below. appears to have helped the problem, but will be doing some more testing (camping) soon and will report back if still have problem.

pretty easy job, I removed the sheet metal protecting the burner, just have to remove maybe 6 sheet metal screws. I'm concerned the seal will migrate when it gets hot, but we will see. supposed to be designed for this type of application, so I'm hoping will stay in place. cheers
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Old 03-01-2021, 06:05 PM   #44
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my fix didn't completely solve the problem, I still get burned propane smell even after applying duct seal best I could. so, next I want to remove the outside metal frame and reinstall. I'm fairly certain it wasn't installed correctly, and doesn't have the proper seal to block fumes.

one issue is the sealant at the bottom of the outside frame. it looks durable, and maybe hard to remove. anyone know what it is, and/ or have suggestions on how to remove? may apply some heat with an electric heat gun to see if that will soften it enough to remove without destroying the outside frame. any comments welcomed.
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Old 03-01-2021, 06:25 PM   #45
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The factory may be able to help with that issue?
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Old 03-02-2021, 02:43 PM   #46
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excellent idea, I may send them an email. I worked on it some today, and quickly realized removing the door frame was beyond my capabilities. so, I was back to apply duct seal. this time I removed a few more parts for better access and maybe sealed it better, we will see.

another problem: apparently, these water heaters have an issue with altitude and are set to work well up to 4000'. I've experienced the burner being loud, and going out often, but it has always eventually heated the water. the main jet is 61, and I saw recommendations for 65 jet which is smaller, .035" vs .039" maybe. anyway, not easy to find the smaller jet. another suggestion was to just leave the outside door open for more air, so I'll try that next time I'm at higher altitude and it's acting up.

if I could stop the fumes, that would be go enough for me. cheers
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Old 10-07-2021, 03:07 PM   #47
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Did the water heater sealing compound work?

We have a 2019 E21C with the same problem- propane exhaust fumes coming into the trailer under the bed which causes the CO detector to go off. Recent event was camped at 5,500' elevation in Nevada with wind blowing on water heater side of trailer. Our windows were all closed so the exhaust fumes had to be coming in some how from the water heater itself. Fortunately, we had electric power available and switched to that when we needed hot water. I am curious to know if others who posted about using some type of duct seal compound around the inside rim of the WH had success in sealing to eliminate the WH exhaust getting into the trailer? Thanks!
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Old 10-09-2021, 10:18 AM   #48
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hello Chama, sorry you're having same issue. IMO water heater was installed improperly at factory. best fix would be to take it out and reinstall it, however too much for me. returning to factory not an option, too far. I'm sure I could find someone locally to repair it, but have been trying to repair it myself. I'm applied the duct seal 2x's now and seems to have solved the problem, we will see. good luck getting yours fixed. cheers
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Old 10-12-2023, 09:07 PM   #49
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2 years later, I still have same problem with water heater fumes. the plumbing seal helps, but doesn't totally solve the problem. note: the fumes are coming in from under the bed, so whether window is open or not is NA.

I've replaced some outside lights and the shore power plug, so now I'm more confident I can maybe reinstall the water heater and properly seal it on the inside and outside of the trailer body without messing up appearance. if I can't get it out without damaging something, at this point I'm ready to take to RV service center. I'm 99% sure it wasn't properly install at factory. plus I'm not the only one with this issue. I don't plan on contacting Escape, obviously trailer isn't in warranty, and my experience has been they are not very helpful on other issues. so I don't leave the wrong impression, I must say, overall all I'm very happy with Escape, and my trailer.

I reviewed the installation instructions, and appears there is only caulking sealing the water heater to prevent fumes. there are two layers of caulking required, and I'm assuming the inside layer wasn't applied during initial installation.

I'll post update later on how it goes. cheers
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Old 10-13-2023, 09:11 AM   #50
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A little late with my solution since I posted the problem in 2020, but better late than never - I used electrician's duct seal (about the same stuff as plumbers putty) to seal completely around the water heater between the body & the trailer. After this, no problem with CO even with wind blowing against the water heater.
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Old 10-13-2023, 12:57 PM   #51
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thanks Jon, already did the plumbing caulk thing 2X's, still have fumes, so ready to try reinstalling. I just watched 2 vids, looks easier than I thought, appears don't really need to take out unit, just pull the outside frame and reinstall with plenty of caulk, or butyl tape. there are 2 seams to seal, one to the outside trailer body, and 2nd around the water heater unit where the outside frame slips over the unit. the 2nd one is where I think the caulk is missing. we will see, updates coming. cheers
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Old 10-18-2023, 04:34 PM   #52
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OK, I have trailer back at house for 2 days until I take it to RV Tech to try and fix my refrigerator problem. if curious, there's another thread all about this issue.

1st off, I noticed again one of the long screws that holds the outside frame to the water heater housing is missing, it's the top screw. there are 3 screws mounted like a triangle, one on top, and 2 on either side towards the bottom. probably the top screw is the most critical, because that's where the hot fumes will go, towards the top. this alone is probably significant.

screw not easy to find, maybe located one on eBay for approx $10. I'll report back after I get another screw. cheers
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Old 11-08-2023, 12:47 PM   #53
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yesterday, I disassembled the front of the water heater. wasn't too difficult, I used a heat gun to soften the caulking, and took my time so not the bend the sheet metal frame. as I suspected, the inside seal was pretty lame. had some thin foam insulation tape, about the thichness of 2 layers of black electrical tape. plus it was dried out and hard, probably providing zero effect, to stop airflow, fumes.

I cleaned everything up, and used Dap Dynaflex 230 to seal it up. 1st I applied 2 beads on the inside of the sheet metal frame, the side that forms the inside seal to keep fumes out of the trailer. then I applied 1 bead around the side of the trailer where the frame fixs over it to form the outside seal. then I assembled it, and cleaned up the excess where it pressed out. I left extra caulk on the inside bottom of the frame, same as original installation, water often is present in this area. I also installed 3 long screws, whereas before my installation only had 2 long screws, so suspect that was maybe part of the problem.

overall, pretty pleased with my work. we'll see if eliminates fumes inside my trailer, I expect it will. cheers
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