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Old 03-30-2014, 06:35 PM   #1
Sherwood
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Hot water bypass

I have taken out the single valve bypass that Keystone has put in our trailers and replaced it with a three valve operation. Doing this should rid the cold blast I get when I turn back on the shower head after soaping up during a "Navy Shower". I usually just turned the shower head away from me while I lathered up but the trickle often splashed back at me. My 2005 Jayco Jayflight had the three valve system and never had a problem with the cold shower blast.
The parts used are Shark Bite push on fittings. A bit on the expensive side but I really don't want cheap junk to potentially flood my camper. I either found them on E-Bay, Amazon or at Home Depot.
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Old 03-30-2014, 07:28 PM   #2
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Looks great..... Sometimes "un-inventing" the "new and improved" model is better in the long run. I question why (other than money) the RV manufacturers went to a single valve/one way valve system.... I'm sure you'll enjoy the warm shower and I'm betting your heart will appreciate it too LOL
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:47 AM   #3
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I would like to thank jsmith948 for catching my mistake. I had to take out the valve system and re-route my pex pipes in front of my sink drains and doing so, I put in the valve system backwards thus rendering my bypass useless. Fortunately, it only takes less than a minute to do so as its just 4 connections and the whole thing comes out, turn it around, and pop it back in.
I couldn't edit my original picture so I added a new one. If the old one can be deleted by a moderator to help avoid confusion or leave it to help avoid mistakes, that's cool too.
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:51 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
Looks great..... Sometimes "un-inventing" the "new and improved" model is better in the long run. I question why (other than money) the RV manufacturers went to a single valve/one way valve system.... I'm sure you'll enjoy the warm shower and I'm betting your heart will appreciate it too LOL
Yes, I agree. I don't see why they didn't add another valve at the other end of the bypass. Maybe they didn't realize what that would do to our showers. And maybe(hopefully) they will correct it with enough complaints. I might just go out there tonight and take a shower and find out if it works! haha
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:54 AM   #5
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I hope this works for you. I have the new single valve as well but in our previous trailer with the 3 valve system and the home everyday shower, I always get cold water if I shut the shower head off and not the water itself. I will be interested in how it works.
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Old 03-31-2014, 08:22 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
Looks great..... Sometimes "un-inventing" the "new and improved" model is better in the long run. I question why (other than money) the RV manufacturers went to a single valve/one way valve system....
I'm guessing they did it to make winterizing easier. One valve instead of two. Where my valve is, it would be noticable harder to turn 2 or 3 valves vs. the one I have. Until I drilled out a big hole, I had to reach in under the stove a full arms length back to get the valve. Now I take a bottom drawer out and can reach in through a hold I addedd (took away???).

Quote:
I'm sure you'll enjoy the warm shower and I'm betting your heart will appreciate it too LOL
I doubt I can get in there to make the mods, but how does this change the shower workings? I'd love to fix that.
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Old 03-31-2014, 10:36 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMcKenzie View Post
I'm guessing they did it to make winterizing easier. One valve instead of two. Where my valve is, it would be noticable harder to turn 2 or 3 valves vs. the one I have. Until I drilled out a big hole, I had to reach in under the stove a full arms length back to get the valve. Now I take a bottom drawer out and can reach in through a hold I addedd (took away???).



I doubt I can get in there to make the mods, but how does this change the shower workings? I'd love to fix that.
I believe it has to do with the check valve on the hot water supply side of the hot water heater and the single 1/4 turn valve on the cold bypass side. I read that the pressure difference from the hot water check valve is not as great as the cold water pressure and when you switch the shower head to off, the cold water pressure is greater than the hot water pressure thus creating the cold water burst when you turn it back on. Now, I could be wrong as that is what I read. I personally did not take out the check valve on mine yet because I would like to see if in fact that was the problem. Besides, it is very tough to get out as it seems to be wrenched in there pretty good. I did not want to break anything if it did not need to come out. I will check it later when I have the time to fill it and turn on the heater and go to shower and verify.
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Old 03-31-2014, 12:44 PM   #8
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Sherwood,

That is also my understanding. The cold water supply pressure is greater than the hot water supply so when the shower is turned to "trickle" the cold water seeps into the hot water supply line (through the HWH bypass pipe) and when the shower is turned back on, it is cold for a moment...

As for the one way valve at the top hot water supply fitting, it's my understanding that you don't need to replace the one way valve, just take out the insides and it becomes a conventional 1/2" nipple fitting. So, if what you have now works, great, if it still seeps cold water, you might want to look at just removing the "innards"..... I think Bob Landry did that a couple of years ago.... (Might have been someone else, but I believe it was Bob)
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Old 03-31-2014, 03:02 PM   #9
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Kudos for doing your project with quality materials. I'm always amazed at the people who will spend tens of thousands of dollars on a truck and trailer then buy the cheapest accessories and the cheapest parts for projects that they can find.
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:26 PM   #10
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JRTJH, I will definitly do that. I seen the insides you are talking about.

Bob Landry, are you the one who took out the insides of the check valve? If so, did you have to take out the whole valve to do it or did you pull out the guts while it was still in the water heater?
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Old 04-02-2014, 05:55 PM   #11
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Nice mod, looks very durable and much easier to turn those 1/4 turns than the 1" plastic handle on mine
I have two HWH issues-the water is extremely hot (I understand the reason why), but it can burn the kids. The other is that we dry camp so water conservation is key. I've fooled around and come up with a decent solution that worked ok last year. If I adjust the single, plastic bypass knob to a certain 'sweet spot', I can then do dishes or take a navy shower and use straight hot water at a temperature warm enough to clean but cool enough not to burn. This eliminates the constant adjustment of the hot/cold to get the right temp for dishes, thus saving water. Basically it sends some cold water up through the bypass line and mixes it with the hot. It isn't perfect, and you do get some cold shots here and there, but the pros seemed to outway the cons. I did this because I could not find a suburban adjustable thermostat. My old TT had an attwood HWH which makes an adjustable Tstat that was very easy to install. Can anyone advise me if having that bypass partially opened could cause a problem for me in the future???
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Old 04-03-2014, 06:56 AM   #12
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Quote:
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Nice mod, looks very durable and much easier to turn those 1/4 turns than the 1" plastic handle on mine
I have two HWH issues-the water is extremely hot (I understand the reason why), but it can burn the kids. The other is that we dry camp so water conservation is key. I've fooled around and come up with a decent solution that worked ok last year. If I adjust the single, plastic bypass knob to a certain 'sweet spot', I can then do dishes or take a navy shower and use straight hot water at a temperature warm enough to clean but cool enough not to burn. This eliminates the constant adjustment of the hot/cold to get the right temp for dishes, thus saving water. Basically it sends some cold water up through the bypass line and mixes it with the hot. It isn't perfect, and you do get some cold shots here and there, but the pros seemed to outway the cons. I did this because I could not find a suburban adjustable thermostat. My old TT had an attwood HWH which makes an adjustable Tstat that was very easy to install. Can anyone advise me if having that bypass partially opened could cause a problem for me in the future???
After checking around a little bit, I cant find anywhere that you can change out your T-stat for one with a lower setting. As for the way you bypassed it, I dont see a problem with that as long as it works for you. Its too bad they did not install an adjustable one but that may be an additional cost that Keystone did not want. I wonder if there is a way to install an adjustable one?

On a side note, I filled the HW tank, heated it up and checked the shower. It seemed to have worked as the temp of the water only dipped slightly to luke warm when switched off at the shower head. But to avoid any problem at the camp ground, I took the check valve/nipple out and gutted the pieces to do away with the check valve. Works even better. No more cold shower problems.
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