Daily Pill
Water heater problem
I haven't really felt like posting lately. Lots of absolutely nothing happening...
Today I went to light the hot water heater and noticed that there was some water staining on the side of the RV. I figured that the drain valve or possibly the blow off valve was leaking, so I opened everything up to take a look. Turns out that the tank itself is leaking from inside the heat chamber. Nothing I can do to fix it. I took a look inside the trailer to see if any of the water was making it inside the compartment and sure enough, the insulation and floor of the compartment was wet. There were a couple of valves inside the compartment on the back of the hot water heater for bypassing the tank, but only one of them worked (kind of) and the other was broken off inside and rusted solid... Ahh the joys of old crap... So, I spent an hour or so draining the tank, removing and re-routing lines to bypass the entire hot water heater so we could at least have running water in the RV.
I have the water heater removed from the plumbing system now. something is still leaking - I'm hoping that it's just left over water from the tank, so I have a couple of pieces of aluminum foil acting as catch pans to figure out where the water is coming from.
This is the second suburban hot water heater that I have had to remove and replace in my relatively short lifetime. I find that most RV appliances are very poorly constructed and more or less designed for occasional use. In a way I am glad that it crapped out. These junky hot water heaters go through propane at an alarming rate and are about as inefficient as you can design something...
That being said, we like having hot water and I really don't want to live without for very long. I did some searching on the internet for a better solution and after about 2 hours gave up. There seems to be a ton of crap out there that is overpriced and underdesigned. I was really hoping to find a solar hot water heater (or something similar) for RVs. We're hanging out where it's 80+ degrees during the day and sunny for at least part of the day every day. So, I guess it's up to me to design a solution. I like experimenting, so at least I won't be bored all day for the next week or so.
I'd like to build a solar hot water heater. It has to be passive (or at least make use of the existing water pump). It has to be light weight and built to outlast the RV. I am OK if it's only useful on sunny or slightly overcast days. Free hot water at any time is better than paying for propane or huge amounts of electricity...
Hopefully nothing else will crap out until I get this project done. Next project to tackle is figuring out a better way to refrigerate than our unreliable Dometic gas fridge... I want to be able to get off the grid again...
Today I went to light the hot water heater and noticed that there was some water staining on the side of the RV. I figured that the drain valve or possibly the blow off valve was leaking, so I opened everything up to take a look. Turns out that the tank itself is leaking from inside the heat chamber. Nothing I can do to fix it. I took a look inside the trailer to see if any of the water was making it inside the compartment and sure enough, the insulation and floor of the compartment was wet. There were a couple of valves inside the compartment on the back of the hot water heater for bypassing the tank, but only one of them worked (kind of) and the other was broken off inside and rusted solid... Ahh the joys of old crap... So, I spent an hour or so draining the tank, removing and re-routing lines to bypass the entire hot water heater so we could at least have running water in the RV.
I have the water heater removed from the plumbing system now. something is still leaking - I'm hoping that it's just left over water from the tank, so I have a couple of pieces of aluminum foil acting as catch pans to figure out where the water is coming from.This is the second suburban hot water heater that I have had to remove and replace in my relatively short lifetime. I find that most RV appliances are very poorly constructed and more or less designed for occasional use. In a way I am glad that it crapped out. These junky hot water heaters go through propane at an alarming rate and are about as inefficient as you can design something...
That being said, we like having hot water and I really don't want to live without for very long. I did some searching on the internet for a better solution and after about 2 hours gave up. There seems to be a ton of crap out there that is overpriced and underdesigned. I was really hoping to find a solar hot water heater (or something similar) for RVs. We're hanging out where it's 80+ degrees during the day and sunny for at least part of the day every day. So, I guess it's up to me to design a solution. I like experimenting, so at least I won't be bored all day for the next week or so.
I'd like to build a solar hot water heater. It has to be passive (or at least make use of the existing water pump). It has to be light weight and built to outlast the RV. I am OK if it's only useful on sunny or slightly overcast days. Free hot water at any time is better than paying for propane or huge amounts of electricity...
Hopefully nothing else will crap out until I get this project done. Next project to tackle is figuring out a better way to refrigerate than our unreliable Dometic gas fridge... I want to be able to get off the grid again...
posted by VirP at
12:58 PM
1 Comments:
I would love to build a solar hot water heater from what you learn Gary. I consider that the logical answer for full timers. Using a concentrated energy source to do something free passive energy would do is nuts.
One thing you might add in your list of characteristics would be that the hot water be close, within a few feet, to where it will mostly be used. I hate wasting precious on board fresh water, letting it run right to the grey water tank while I wait for it to arrive at the faucet.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home