city water hookup

[bmarrison]

Hi! I have a 2004 Keystone Sprinter that I bought last year. This is my 1st 5th wheel and a much new camper than what I previously had. I am testing everything on the camper before we go camping next week and learning what is what. I ran into an issue when I hooked up my my garden hose to the city water connection - when I turn on the water from the house, it is dumping on the other side of the camper. I looked and there are 2 nozzles. I don't know if these are overflow nozzles or if there is suppose to be a line that connects these 2 together. We did have the camper winterized last year before going to storage. Thank you for any help!

[sourdough]

Low point drains. They should have either caps on them or valves; close the valves or screw on the caps. Make sure the drain plug/anode rod is in the water heater and the drain valve for the fresh water tank is closed as well.

[bmarrison]

Thank you for the reply! I'll look for the caps. There isn't a valve on either one of these.


bill m

[JRTJH]

"Standard practice" is to store the low point drain caps in the outside water heater area. You'll need to open that door to check the anode rod and the pressure relief valve, so the majority of people, from factory shippers to service techs started putting the drain caps there as a "standard place to store them so everyone knows where to look"....

[bmarrison]

And that's exactly where the caps were! Thank you so much. I seen an anode rod there - it's really corroded. I'm thinking it was replaced. I'll verify before taking off.

[wiredgeorge]

Anode rods should deteriorate as they pull stuff out of the water that would otherwise bond to the metal lining of your tank. The rods are often removed when a camper is winterized to allow the water in the tank to drain as much as possible. There is a valve on the inside of your camper at the back of your water heater that must be turned in the direction the water will flow into the tank to get water in the hot water tank. It is there because if antifreeze was used, it isn't great to fill the hot water tank with it.

Typically you will have a Suburban water heater from that era. There is a label on the outside of the unit when you have that water heater door down. The actual model will tell you how the water heater heats. It will surely have a switch on your inside idiot light panel where the tank levels lights are. When you turn this on AFTER filling the tank (replace anode and set the bypass valve as explained), you can check the tank fill by opening the pressure relief valve on the outside a bit. Water will come out if the tank has water in it. Then you go back in after making sure your propane is on (light the stove to be sure) and push the rocker that says water (or something similar). A red light will come on indicating it is trying to light and will go out when the pilot light is lit. You will then need to open a drain to get water circulating through the hot water tubing. It usually takes awhile for the water to get hot.

On many Suburban hot water heaters of that era, there is a black toggle switch on the outside that also heats the water with 120VAC heating element. Make sure your breaking in your power center for the water heater is on as many use this to turn off electricity to the hot water heater rather than mess with the toggle on the outside. Higher end water heaters have that toggle on the idiot light panel. You should never turn on the electrical parts of the water heater without water in the tank as they burn up fairly easily if dry.

[JRTJH]

Below are some photos to give you a "start on understanding your water heater"...

First is a drawing of 4 anode rods, All are "considered good except the last one". You can replace earlier, but ALWAYS replace when the anode is depleted. Most people choose to replace the anode somewhere between 25% and 75% depleted. I shoot for around 50% depleted and replace at that time.

Second is the electric heating element switch on the water heater front panel. NOTE that it is mounted in the heater "upside down" so up is off and down is on...

Next is the "2000-2015 water heater bypass system" prior to that, many trailers did not even have a bypass or it was a "3 valve system". In yours, you'll probably find a single valve on the bottom (cold water inlet) and a "one way valve" on the top (hot water outlet). One of the photos shows the hot water outlet (disconnected connection) with the one way brass vavle still in the water heater outlet. That valve does cause some problems when it calcifies and starts sticking.

DO NOT TURN ON THE WATER HEATER UNTIL YOU HAVE VERIFIED THAT IT IS FULL OF WATER.