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Antique Pedaler · 03-25-2015, 10:15 AM

If your owners manual is like mine, there is a drawing of the bypass valves and how they should be set.

**jcanavera** · 03-25-2015, 10:42 AM

I just looked up the manual on the Airstream site for your 2012 CCD. Here is the link. http://www.airstream.com/wp-content/...tional2012.pdf

Unfortunately it is a drawing that is not perfectly clear showing the piping. It does note however, that you only have one valve and it is clearly shown in the normal and bypass settings. The fact that you have tried both settings without satisfactory results I'd have to say you do have a problem somewhere in the water system. The manual shows no other valves other than the low drain valves. I assumed you have checked those valves to make sure that they are fully turned off, once you pressurize the city water hookup.

Another thing would be to check all of the water outlets in the trailer. I assume you are getting full pressure from all cold water outlets and poor pressure in all the hot water outlets? If my assumption in the sentence above is correct, then it sounds like you have some type of problem that is in the area of the valve. I know a long time ago on my SOB I had low pressure throughout my system and I found that I apparently was hooked up to a water supply with heavy sediment. The water screen at the city inlet was brown with sediment.

You may be at the point of needing some professional help if you are uncomfortable in disassembling some of the piping to further diagnose your problem. Let us know what you find.

Jack

gnowlin · 03-25-2015, 05:22 PM

thanks Jack..

I will check out the link for the piping on the 2012 Intl.. for information that may be useful. I guess there are no other in-line filters in the hot supply lines, and any loose particles from the tank should have been passed on to the faucet screens, I did have quite a bit of sand etc. in the screens from the cold side, all screens at faucets are clean. we have a double filter for water supply which should have caught any crud from the camping parks water .

yes, I get full pressure from all outlets(bath, kit sink and shower) on cold side. and the 10% on full hot. I am hooked up to the water at the house now, just to do checking. I did open the hot drain ( curbside at wheels) and the drain volume was about 30% of normal.
I do think the problem is a restriction somewhere in the hot water lines. again it could be that when I left the drain plug out after winterizing(2nd time) that something came in thru the water heater and nested in the outlet line. I may just start taking apart the lines at the by-pass area and maybe I could "blow" the lines back thru the WH..

will post another reply with hopefully some good results.

thanks again for your continued help.
have a GREAT day.
gregg

**jcanavera** · 03-25-2015, 06:12 PM

Leaving the drain plug open shouldn't have caused any issues. I leave mine out at the end of each season. The only other thing might be a build up scale inside your tank. I bought this tool years ago at Camping World and was surprised how much crud is in those tanks, dependent upon the minerals in the water where you camp. Water Heater Tank Rinser - Camco 11691 - Water Heaters - Camping World Cleaning out the tank at least once a year will extend the life of your tank. This could help you if that tank has a lot of crud in it.....although if it's stuck in the lines or valve, disassembly may be your best course.

Jack

xrvr · 03-25-2015, 06:20 PM

It takes a long time for the water to get hot! How long are you waiting? Jim

gnowlin · 03-26-2015, 06:26 PM

tks guys...
right now I am doing a vinegar and water soak in the WH tank. tried to disassemble the mixing valve and the TPR valve but no leverage and looks like both are in tight. just funneled in the vinegar thru a hose thru the TPR valve. recommendation is to cycle the heater 4-5 times to break any crud up. I have done 2 heat sessions so far and tap the mixing valve about 10 times with a small hammer to help break any crud loose. will probably get 'er all done sometime tomorrow or next day.
will post another reply when I have results.

gregg

gnowlin · 03-29-2015, 12:56 PM

thanks to all with your comments on my water heater issues. I did do the vinegar solution ( 3 gal vinegar and 3 gal water) in the water heater ( had to pour it into the tank thru the TPR valve, u need a pipe thread to a hose thread fitting to accommodate the std. water hose and funnel system that I used) and cycled the WH for about 2 1/2 days . then drained and flushed several times. never saw any crud coming out of the tank. did refill and energize WH and now have about 50% flow on "hot" water side ( not warm any more) 100% on cold as before. shower seems to have a very decent flow ( enough to take a good shower). SO, maybe this solved the problem>>>? I can only guess that the mixing valve was clogged in some way.? right now it's good enough and the 50 % flow on hot maybe the amt I am supposed to get, it's better than the original 10% flow with only warm water.
happy trails to all!!!!!
gregg

Protagonist · 03-29-2015, 01:18 PM

You may have to "burp" the water heater.
1 - Turn off the water heater and let it cool down. Doesn't have to be cold, just tepid. This is an important safety point, so don't ignore it. You could get a painful scald otherwise.
2 - Make sure you have water in the fresh tank and the pump turned on. You could do this while hooked up to municipal water, but it's better if you can hear the pump running.
3 - Go outside to the water heater, and manually open the pressure relief valve at the top of the heater. You should hear the pump come on as soon as the open valve causes a loss of pressure.
4 - After just a few seconds, but before water comes out the valve, shut the valve again. The pump should shut off.
You will then have a smaller bubble of air at the top of your water heater, and the heating elements in the heater should be more fully covered.

Why did you have to shut off the heater first? The way an Atwood heater works, it heats 6 gallons of water to about 165°F, hot enough to burn you. The heater has a built-in mixing valve so that as the 6 gallons of 165°F water flows out of the tank it's mixed with 3 gallons of "cold" (actually ambient temperature) water, thus making 9 gallons of water at approximately 125°F.

gnowlin · 03-30-2015, 08:20 AM

OK tks for the info. still learning! I have never really operated the fresh water tank, other than put about 10 gal in b4 a trip ( just in case) always have hooked up to city water while camping. so will the water supply from the fresh water tank ( with pump operating) give me more pressure on the hot side? as I mentioned b4 I have 100% flow on cold with about 50% of that out of hot. ( ditto on the curb side drain as far as the flow goes) it's actually enough hot for sinks and shower. just wondering if I need to do anything else for a normal operation. b4 we just got a 10% flow on hot side with "warm" water coming out vs. hot..... I usually open the TPR valve just to check to see water is coming out and to see if we got it hot.
also on turning off the water heater in the cycling process. just thought it would be better to let the water go from hot to warm in trying to heat up the vinegar solution. just trying to let it soak as long as possible. as I mentioned, i'm still learning and it is a GREAT thing to have people like you to help us out in that learning curve.
happy trails. Gregg Nowlin

BASE729 · 03-31-2015, 03:27 PM

figured this would be a good thread to tag onto... having issues with the hot water de-winterization. Brand new 2015 27FB EB. I picked it up winterized from the dealer since I knew it would be after winter until I used it.

I'm hooked up to city water and all the drains run fine with equal pressure (hot vs cold).

The hot water is milky and soapy looking. I haven't turned on the hot water yet, so its not a function of heat. Its been running this way for a while... doesn't seem to be decreasing or getting any better. Thoughts?

dznf0g · 03-31-2015, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BASE729

figured this would be a good thread to tag onto... having issues with the hot water de-winterization. Brand new 2015 27FB EB. I picked it up winterized from the dealer since I knew it would be after winter until I used it.

I'm hooked up to city water and all the drains run fine with equal pressure (hot vs cold).

The hot water is milky and soapy looking. I haven't turned on the hot water yet, so its not a function of heat. Its been running this way for a while... doesn't seem to be decreasing or getting any better. Thoughts?

It will be foamy until all the antifreeze is flushed out of the lines. Since you see this on hot only, was the heater bypassed for winterization, or did they fill the heater with antifreeze?

BASE729 · 03-31-2015, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

It will be foamy until all the antifreeze is flushed out of the lines. Since you see this on hot only, was the heater bypassed for winterization, or did they fill the heater with antifreeze?

I didn't get detailed info... but the bypass was closed and hot water tank was open. So perhaps it was just full of antifreeze. I'm just continuing to purge without heat so I'll see how long it takes.

dznf0g · 03-31-2015, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BASE729

I didn't get detailed info... but the bypass was closed and hot water tank was open. So perhaps it was just full of antifreeze. I'm just continuing to purge without heat so I'll see how long it takes.

This might make your life a lot easier.

Camco RV Hot Water Heater Tank Rinser Wand Spray Clean Calcium Deposits Camper | eBay

Just running water through the heater and plumbing, I think it will take a LOT of water to get it flushed, as you are just continually diluting the AF in the heater and not performing a "direct" flush like AF moving through a line.

Remove the drain plug and use this wand to get most all of it out quickly.

drairstream · 10-04-2016, 10:57 AM

I'll add one more that is in some other posts.
Check the in and outflow valves by taking the valve stem out. The o-ring can become unseated and stay in a persistent almost closed position, Had very low flow, checked this first after reading some and it was the problem. Quick, easy fix. If you lose the o-ring no panic, you will have wide open flow. Replace it prior to winterization.