Water Heater Question????

[GaBidcaller]

We are brand new RV'ers and brand new owners of a Keystone Bullet 286QBS. I just de-winterized the travel trailer today as we are going to try and take it out on its' first hop this week. My question concerns the water heater. I know in my unit it runs on both AC and propane - but in the owners manual it cautions me to make sure there is water in the water heater before I turn on the AC power - don't want to burn the rod up.......my question is how do I know if there is water in the water heater......in de-winterizing, I turned on the hot water faucets and water and anti-freeze came out - but I also saw something about a hot water bypass and switching it to "USE"........I am not sure where this is and I want to make sure I have water in the unit before turning the power on.

Can somebody - with a chuckle under their breath - help a first time figure out what he is supposed to be doing.

Thank you in advance and please excuse my ignorance.

[2011 keystone]

The bypass is at the back of the water heater some where inside your TT there will be a removable panle that will let you in to the back side. you should see a valve there.

[raytronx]

Here is a vid clip showing where the bypass is in my Cougar, might give you an idea what to look for.

Cougar Water Heater Video Clip

When I do a clean out of my WH and turn on the water again I can hear it refilling the reservoir.

Ray

[hankpage]

You won't find anyone laughing at questions here. On our Cougar you can reach the bypass by removing one of the kitchen drawers. It is different in each model. With the city water attached or the pump on, turn the valve, if you hear water entering the tank and air starts coming from hot faucets it was in the bypass position. If you do not hear anything it was open, so return it to original position. Some folks will say to open the TP valve on the W/H but that will remove the air pocket that should be there for proper operation. JM2¢, Hank

[GaBidcaller]

Thanks to everybody so far for the great information - in the Bullet 286QBS (which is a bunkhouse model) the hot water tank is under a panel in the right rear lower bunk.....I now - because of your unselfish sharing of knowledge - know how to get to it and I think I can make sure that the tank is full before turning on the power to the hot water heater.

Thank you all so very very much
GaBidcaller
Rome, GA