2018 cougar 29RKS water heater bypass valve location...

[Dssmith1839]

For the life of me I cannot find access to the water heater bypass valve in our new 29RKS 5th wheel...can anyone help?

Thanks:banghead:

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum !!

Once you know the location of the water heater, take note of its location on the outside. If the bypass isn’t located in the convienence center it will directly behind the tank. You should have a panel with squarehead screws holding it in, if it’s located up front then you may have to remove the rear wall of the basement.

[MerlinB]

I have a 2016 28SGS and I just looked at some pictures of your model and the layout is very similar to mine. The WH bypass valve is on the backside of the WH. You will have to take down the back wall of your basement storage compartment to get access to it.

While you have it down you might want to install some kind of opening to access it in the future. This photo shows what I used:

[JRTJH]

I believe the 29RKS water heater is in the same location as our 27RKS, under the shower next to the road side basement door. If so, look inside the basement, you'll see two #2 Roberts (square drive) screws holding a panel on the rear of the basement storage. Remove those two screws, then crawl into the basement and you'll find 2 more screws on the other end of that panel.

Here is a picture of how I modified that panel so I no longer need to remove it to access the bypass valve

[JRTJH]

MerlinB,

Awesome mod you've got there !!!!! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/yellow-hd/celebrating-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/)

[Dssmith1839]

thank you, no wonder I couldnt find it. I love your mod! Where did you pick that up?

[JRTJH]

I bought mine from Amazon about 6 years ago. That particular one is no longer available. I chose the 6" cutout, but there is also an 8" cutout if you want to go larger for more access. Here is a link to the 6" one similar to mine. For $10, not a bad buy. You can look over the available access panels and decide what you prefer. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFWSNUK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_8?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00MFWSNUK&pd_rd_wg=zHGKV&pd_rd_r=7F3Y0QE3MHKD7T8J77WA&pd_rd_w=KxFIJ

[Steveo57]

I made a similar mod to allow access to my water heater and bypass valve. It's a 12*12 access panel from Amazon in the wall in my bathroom on my trailer. 1585915860

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[MerlinB]

thank you, no wonder I couldnt find it. I love your mod! Where did you pick that up?

Mine is a 4 inch diameter; plenty big enough to get my hand in there. You can see the bypass valve handle in JRTJH's middle photo.

Also got mine from Amazon last year.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KE7CHCI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[crrscott]

Mine is under the kitchen sink. Small peice of panel with 2 screws

[Cougar1957]

It should be on the backside of the water heater. You will need to remove an enormous panel in your basement to access it. After removing it, do yourself a big favor and install some sort of hatch. Here are some pics of my upgrade.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=988&pictureid=5496
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=988&pictureid=5499