Missing or broken hot water bypass valve for water heater?

[vtadv]

Hi all - we're getting ready for our first trip in our new 21C next weekend.

The trailer arrived winterized. While going through the de-winterization process and attempting to set the water heater out of bypass mode, I'm stumped.

The manuals and videos all show valves for both hot and cold bypass. We have no valve (or no valve lever) for the hot water bypass. Is it possible the tank design was changed to only require shutting of the cold water going into the heater? Or does this look like a broken / missing valve that needs to be fixed.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kathytony1985]

Looks like the handle is missing? Look around on the floor in there and see if you can locate it.

 

[vtadv]

Thanks! Yeah - I thought that could be the case, but I couldn't find anything like it in the area. But helpful to know that it should look just like the cold water one, since I might still be able to turn the valve until I can get it fixed.

 

[brroberts]

Mine is on the back side of the pipe. Looking at it, you can’t see it, but mine is there.

 

[edlynnrich]

There should be 2 valves located behind the HW tank. You can access them via the under bed cabinet inside the r trailer.

 

[vtadv]

Mine is on the back side of the pipe. Looking at it, you can’t see it, but mine is there.

Ah - thank you! I was in the right place, but since all the manuals / videos showed both handles on the front side, I hadn't even thought to check the back. Cold was on the front, hot on the back.

 

[brroberts]

Yeah mine is just the opposite. Cold on back, hot on front.

 

[Ron in BC]

Now that is just downright strange. That's probably tripped up a few folks.

Ron

 

[Donna D.]

Is there a reason or point why the handles are on opposite sides? My Ex would say an unhappy employee did it just to "F" with trailer owner's. The handles on my water heater are on the same side.

 

[vtadv]

Agree. Hard to imagine it was supposed to be done that way.

Also not the only plumbing issue in our new trailer. First time putting water in yesterday I found a leak under the kitchen sink. Unfortunately a lot of water made it into the cabinet and onto the floor before I discovered it.

I found some other threads that describe a similar issue, so I'm hoping I can find time to fix it before we leave on our first trip Friday. Or at least shut of water to that area so we can use other fixtures. But we're going just down the road and will be comfortable enough even if we have to dry camp the first trip. I'm just excited to finally get to enjoy it!

 

[Donna D.]

Agree. Hard to imagine it was supposed to be done that way.

Also not the only plumbing issue in our new trailer. First time putting water in yesterday I found a leak under the kitchen sink. Unfortunately a lot of water made it into the cabinet and onto the floor before I discovered it.

I found some other threads that describe a similar issue, so I'm hoping I can find time to fix it before we leave on our first trip Friday. Or at least shut of water to that area so we can use other fixtures. But we're going just down the road and will be comfortable enough even if we have to dry camp the first trip. I'm just excited to finally get to enjoy it!

This has been mentioned before so it's just a reminder. RVs are like moving earthquakes going down the road. Any fastener that's hand tightened can just as easily come loose due to vibration. Make it a habit to periodically check ALL those connections. More often than just the once-a-year maintenance.

 

[kathytony1985]

We had a small water leak under the kitchen sink when we got our new trailer in 2021. Caught it before it went anywhere. The plastic connection that connects the faucet to the hoses wasn't all the way snapped together. Took a second to snap it in place.

 

[brroberts]

Now that is just downright strange. That's probably tripped up a few folks.

Ron

It stumped me for a few seconds the first two times I used the valves. I found it pretty quick, and now know where they are.

 

[Kingfisher]

Our trailer also has the handles on opposite sides. Annoying and a little difficult to operate the handle facing toward the water tank.

Installing bypass valves that have both handles facing the same direction require two different versions of the valve. Bypass valves facing in opposite directions require only one version of the valve.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The top may be a simple tee fitting. The lower shutoff valve closes off water going into the tank and bypasses it to the hot water side, and the tank most likely has a check valve at its outlet (though I'm not seeing it),

so water from the hot system cannot re-enter the tank. In this situation, only one valve is needed.

Charles