Atwood 6 gal water heater not working

[Barefootdog]

The 6 gallon Atwood water heater in our 2013 flying cloud is no longer putting out hot water. The max temp with only the hot water faucet on is 106 degrees. It used to be much hotter. The dealer suspected the mixer valve as did I but Airstream would only authorize warranty replacement of the thermostat. 106 is barely hot enough for a shower. Can someone tell me what temperature you're getting for your hot water faucet? Thanks.


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[cwf]

so... what is temp at the lavatory?

[Barefootdog]

Originally Posted by cwf

so... what is temp at the lavatory?

106 F



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[cwf]

Then the water from the WH is low temp because it doesn't go through the mixer. Sounds like a temp sensor may be faulty and shutting off.

Is temp same on gas and electric?

[n2916s]

On my Atwood the thermostat is marked 160 and I believe it considering how hot the tap water is. The ECO (Emergency Cut Off) is marked 190 and is there obviously in the event that the thermostat fails in the closed position.

If you are handy, a quick check would be to fire it up, let it run until it shuts off, verify low temperature of 106' pull the leads off the thermostat and measure the resistance. Should be zero. If it is open, then the thermostat has failed.

You could jumper the thermostat and see if it fires right back up but I don't recommend it for safety reasons.

Mike


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[idroba]

Originally Posted by Barefootdog

The 6 gallon Atwood water heater in our 2013 flying cloud is no longer putting out hot water. The max temp with only the hot water faucet on is 106 degrees. It used to be much hotter. The dealer suspected the mixer valve as did I but Airstream would only authorize warranty replacement of the thermostat. 106 is barely hot enough for a shower. Can someone tell me what temperature you're getting for your hot water faucet? Thanks.


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This is still a warrantee issue, and Airstream and the dealer should fix it. As you say 106 is not hot enough water and the repair should be covered, no matter what the problem.

[Barefootdog]

Problem has been solved. It wasn't the thermostat which they suspected and replaced. Turns out the mixer valve now comes with a screen filter that had become clogged with hard water sediment. This was preventing hot water from mixing with cold resulting in the lower temperature of 106. We had also noticed that the hot water pressure was not as good as cold which should have been a clue as well. Technician simply removed the mixer valve (after draining some water from the hot water tank), cleaned the screen and put it all back together. Now the temp out of the hot water faucet is back to 135 degrees.

[cwf]

this doesn't explain why the water at the lavatory was low ... hmmm..

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by cwf

this doesn't explain why the water at the lavatory was low ... hmmm..

Channing, the mixer they're talking about is a bit of hocus-pocus that lets Atwood overheat the water heater but then mix the water heater's output with a bit of cold water to make a 6-gal water heater perform more like a 10-gal, I think Atwood calls them "XT" models. It's not the mixing valve at the shower, it would affect water at the galley sink, the bathroom sink and the shower.

[cwf]

ah.. I thought he meant the mixing valve in the shower... thanks!!