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Old 11-27-2017, 09:39 PM   #1
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2018 30' Flying Cloud
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Water Heater Help

Hello,

After working no problem for 3 months full time the hot water heater is no longer working when electric is on (plugged into shore 50 amp).

Works fine when switched to propane.

Thanks in advance for any troubleshooting advice.

Also (possibly related) I've read conflicting info on whether you can/should or should not turn the pump on when hooked to city water (to increase pressure). Curious as to whether that may have mucked something up.

2018 30 foot flying cloud bunk.

Joe
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Old 11-28-2017, 09:25 AM   #2
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Hi Joe,

Congratulations on your new Airstream and sorry to learn about the issue you mentioned in your post.

Please feel free to send us a private message or reach out to our customer service and technical support team at*1 (877) 596-6111, option 2 if you need additional assistance.
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Old 11-28-2017, 10:16 AM   #3
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The first thing to check is power at the heating element while in electric mode. If there is power there and the heater is not heating the element is Open. If there is not power at the element check the fuse. If the fuse is good then the control board of the heater may have failed and it is time for a serviceman.

As for turning the pump on while hooked to city water that will have no effect unless you have a source of water for the pump. If you have water in the fresh water tank the pump will make up for low city pressure. I use this often while at a Rally that has Daisy Chain water connections while everyone is using water as they first get up.
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Old 12-17-2017, 09:21 AM   #4
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Hi My question Hot water heater, when winterize the A/S and have the hot water heater in bypass, I winterized the unit with air.Do I have to leave drain plug out or leave it in unit. Thanks
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Old 12-17-2017, 11:13 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiffin View Post
Hi My question Hot water heater, when winterize the A/S and have the hot water heater in bypass, I winterized the unit with air.Do I have to leave drain plug out or leave it in unit. Thanks
I put the drain plug in a thread or two with my fingers, loose enough that water can drip out, tight enough that bugs cannot get in.
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Old 12-21-2017, 12:21 PM   #6
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Hi I Have a 2018 f/c 25 ft, last week I winterized the unit both by air and rv antifreeze, My question is I remove from the water tank Plug and found rv antifreeze in the tank, I turned the bypass valve to bypass, so did i did something wrong.need some advice on this tks Merry Christmas
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Old 12-26-2017, 08:26 AM   #7
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HI Merry Christmas, My question is on my 2018 F/C 25, I have winterized both ways with air and antifreeze, and placed the hot water heater valve in bypass, which i think there is only one bypass valve. But when i open the Plug antifreeze came out so i really did not bypass the water heater. What did I do wrong?
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Old 12-26-2017, 08:54 AM   #8
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With the new trailers, the "bypass valve" isn't really a bypass. It is a cold water shutoff. Antifreeze can still get into the drained tank through the hot water line. If you look at your manual in the winterize area you will see that for winterization the "bypass" valve is closed for winterization in contrast to the older trailers wher the hot and cold water valves are closed and the bypass valve is open.

Al
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Old 12-26-2017, 10:03 AM   #9
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First lets review the sequence you should have used.

Put the heater in by pass mode. There are likely 3 valves required to do this on newer trailers. one each as shut offs in the hot and cold water lines. The handles are turned to be across the line. One between the hot and cold water line. That one is opened so the handle is parallel to that pipe. The system in then in by pass.

Open the heater drain and drain the water.

At this point you can go ahead and blow down the system. I like to start with the faucet closest to the city connection and work away from that. Blow each faucet till you are getting mist. Any remaining small amount of water in that line will be displaced when you add the Anti freeze. Once finished with the blow down you can attach a tubing to the input side of pump filter if equipped or at the input of the pump.

While you man the anti freeze have someone turn on the pump and open a the cold water side of a faucet till anti freeze is visible. Close the cold an open the hot side. Turn off the pump and move to another faucet repeat while the pump is on. Do this at each faucet, shower and toilet fixture.

If you follow this and have reasonable reaction timing on the management of the pump you should use about 3/4 of a gallon to do the trailer.

Pour about 4 oz. of anti freeze in each drain trap and cover the toilet valve with about a 1/2 in. of antifreeze.

If you saw anti freeze coming out of the heater I assume you had one of the valves attached to the heater still open when you added anti freeze.
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Old 12-26-2017, 10:21 AM   #10
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Quote:
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First lets review the sequence you should have used.

Put the heater in by pass mode. There are likely 3 valves required to do this on newer trailers. one each as shut offs in the hot and cold water lines. The handles are turned to be across the line. One between the hot and cold water line. That one is opened so the handle is parallel to that pipe. The system in then in by pass......
Referring to page 8-12 of the 2018 FC manual, there is only one valve, the "bypass" valve which is really a cold water shutoff as I posted above. The three valve system apparently is no more.

The winterizing process for the new trailer (page 8-15) no longer recommends antifreeze in the water lines, only the drains. This avoids getting antifreeze in the water heater. They don't say this but I wonder if getting the antifreeze in the heater tank is perhaps not good for the tank interior.

Al
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Old 12-26-2017, 04:18 PM   #11
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The older Airstreams did in fact have a single multi port valve on the hot water heater. That single high quality valve by passed the heater and seriesed the cold water line to the hot water line. More recently units were made with 3 quarter turn shut off valves, as described above, as a cheaper method of by passing the heater. If your unit now has only a single valve I would suggest installing, the currently available from any RV shop, 3 valve system and continue to use anti freeze in the system.

I have used the above described method of winterizing my Airstream for 23 years, frequently more than once a year without a problem in the heater.

The manuals are not always written with the interests of the user in mind but rather resolving some legal consideration.
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Old 12-26-2017, 04:28 PM   #12
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I am still not sure thefactory recommends using af, only blowing out the lines, with af only in drains if needed.
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Old 12-26-2017, 04:47 PM   #13
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If you have enough air volume at a reasonable pressure, blowing out the lines completely is the best way to go. RV Antifreeze does leave a funny taste that takes time to go away. Putting some in the traps is all that is necessary of the lines are dry.

Some folks simply use cheap Vodka as antifreeze in the lines....and I suppose they also use the first few shots from the faucets to top off their glass of orange juice!
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Old 12-26-2017, 09:30 PM   #14
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Look what I found

Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
The older Airstreams did in fact have a single multi port valve on the hot water heater. That single high quality valve by passed the heater and seriesed the cold water line to the hot water line. .....
Thanks for that, Howie. I looked, and Camco sells such a valve. If I ever have to replace my heater I'll install one. It would go right in front of the heater, easily accessible, in contrast to my current situation where the hot, cold, and bypass valves are on the side of the heater up against the side of the sink cabinet. I can barely see them much less reach them, and I have to use a hook tool to operate the bypass valve.

It is available at Camping World, Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, and probably other places.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-By-...anent/21781705

Al
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Old 12-28-2017, 10:04 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by Al and Missy View Post
Referring to page 8-12 of the 2018 FC manual, there is only one valve, the "bypass" valve which is really a cold water shutoff as I posted above. The three valve system apparently is no more.

The winterizing process for the new trailer (page 8-15) no longer recommends antifreeze in the water lines, only the drains. This avoids getting antifreeze in the water heater. They don't say this but I wonder if getting the antifreeze in the heater tank is perhaps not good for the tank interior.

Al
Thanks for information, i looked at the 2018 f/c manual you are wright there is only one valve,, So i should have used air not the antifreeze, which i used both.Next winter I will used air system only. Thank again, Happy new Year
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Old 12-28-2017, 06:57 PM   #16
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Referring to page 8-12 of the 2018 FC manual, there is only one valve, the "bypass" valve which is really a cold water shutoff as I posted above. The three valve system apparently is no more.

The winterizing process for the new trailer (page 8-15) no longer recommends antifreeze in the water lines, only the drains. This avoids getting antifreeze in the water heater. They don't say this but I wonder if getting the antifreeze in the heater tank is perhaps not good for the tank interior.

Al
Thanks for information on Hot water heater, My 2018 f/c 25 ft, I should have looked at the manual before i winterized the unit, I did air and antifreeze played safe, first time..all new to me.. If you can add anything to this would appreciate it . Have a Happy New year Thanks Tiffin
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Old 12-28-2017, 09:22 PM   #17
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Airstreams have been winterized with air and/or antifreeze for years. Airstream did their customers no favor by calling the cold water shutoff to the water heater a bypass valve. It leads one to believe that the plumbing configuration is as it has been and therefore to expect that what we did in the past for things like winterizing is still appropriate. Whether the valve is open or closed it does not bypass anything.

Had I been writing that manual section I would have highlighted the diiferences between the old plumbing configuration and the new, I would not have called a shutoff valve a bypass, and I would have been more explicit about not using antifreeze.

Al
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Old 12-30-2017, 09:06 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiffin View Post
Thanks for information on Hot water heater, My 2018 f/c 25 ft, I should have looked at the manual before i winterized the unit, I did air and antifreeze played safe, first time..all new to me.. If you can add anything to this would appreciate it . Have a Happy New year Thanks Tiffin
It is too late for this year. Just keep your fingers crossed till spring.

With a single valve in the cold water line you can only protect the cold water lines with anti freeze and may still have water in the hot water lines, depending on how well you blew down the system. Even if you followed this sequence, you drained the heater, then replaced the plug, then blew out the lines hot and cold, then shut off the single valve, then added anti freeze you would only have anti freeze on the cold water side. Now that said plastic piping is a lot more forgiving than copper when it comes to freezing but not worth the risk for $3.00 of anti freeze.

In stall a bypass system before next year. There is always some water remaining after blow down and if you don't dilute it with anti freeze you could have a problem. That problem will most likely be under the floor, at a low point, where piping crosses from side to side. Not where you want a problem.

The reason Airstream is closing off the heater is if you do get anti freeze in it you would have to drain the heater in the spring and have a tough time getting the last evidence of anti freeze out of the hot water side. Anti freeze in your shower water would be a bubble bath.
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Old 12-30-2017, 10:44 AM   #19
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Tiffin, you have not done any long term damage to your HW tank by accidentally filling it with AF. I did this years ago on a different trailer I had. On that trailer I had a nice little hose that I used to suck AF into the system. I was not blowing out anything. One particular fall I forgot to bypass the HW tank and got a good amount of AF into it before I figured out the mistake. That spring I had a devil of a time getting all the foaming residue out of the tank. It is not harmful but it did have a little odor to it and the foam that came out the faucet was amazing.

Now with my 2006 25FB there is no little hose to use so I followed the recommendations of the dealer and use only air. Works well and the AF only goes into the traps.
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