COLD shower

[wozzukes]

We had our trailer out for the maiden voyage this past weekend and I am happy to report that we had no issues with leaks during the hurricane force winds and rain and no major issues with the trailer itself except for...

A COLD shower! Ok, so it wasn't completely cold, but enough to be an annoyance. I would find the temperature comfortable for me to shower at and turn the shower head off while I lathered up. When you turn the shower head back on the water comes out that temperature, then you get a burst of COLD water, and then it goes back to warm again. What is up with that? I finally learned to turn the head on pointing away from me until that cold burst was over, but I just see that as wasting precious water (don't have water hookups at the state parks here). I don't recall ever having that problem with the shower in our old trailer. Anyone else have this issue? Is it the shower head or the water pump? Any ideas on how to fix it so you get a stream of consistent temperature?

[campingcpl]

This seems to be a common problem with rv's. All the rv's I have had or stayed in have had the same issue. There is a mod that is said to help this problem, though I have yet to do this mod myself. Here is a link to the web sit. I hope you find this helpful. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/04/12/rv-shower-hot-water-supply-check-valves

[wozzukes]

Thanks! I have added that to the list of mods for DH to do, and this one has been moved to the top since I'm not a fan of cold water in the shower! I'm wondering if the previous owners of our old trailer had done something similar that we weren't aware of because it wasn't an issue at all in that trailer so I had no idea it was a common problem!

[ktmracer]

problem is the common use of a WH bypass with one valve and a check valve on the hot water inlet. remove the inlet check valve and replace the WH bypass with a bypass that has a valve on the inlet and outlet. Problem fixed. The problem arises because the inlet check valve has a non liniear flow restriction related to water volume and pressure. so when the flow rate goes down, the restriction goes up and less hot water flows in the line. Hence cold shower. Our dealer parts/service department sells lots of the good old fashioned water heater bypass kits to owners complaining of this problem. BTW this will also fix the problem at all faucets, not just the shower.

the mod shown above will fix the problem, but is IMHO does not really address the root cause, and is much more complex than fixing the problem at the water heater.

[wozzukes]

Thanks ktmracer! That sounds like a much simpler route and it's a bonus that it fixes it at all faucets! Sounds like it should be a pretty cheap and fast fix so I hope we can get it done before our next trip in 2 weeks!

[Windnut]

The problem with the cold water blast is that the shut off valve doesn't close completely and it's biased toward the cold so that the cold keeps leaking a little while shut off so it takes a second to mix again when turned back on. I installed an Oxygenetics shower head for our last trip and it works great almost like a home shower. I also bought the positive shut off that you can add to the either end of the hose. With the positive shut off the shower comes back on the way you set it rather then the original shot of cold water. I bought mine from
http://www.coilnwrap.com/categories/Shop/Shower-Spas/.

[SLIMSHADIE]

I could not stand the burst of cold /hot water also. But I also installed the Oxygentics shower head and it solved most of that problem and having a better spray also with less water. Win,win,win.:D