Basic Water Heater Operation

[ADMIRALPUSH]

I just purchased a 2019 Bambi Sport 22. It has an LP only hot water heater. I cannot find basic operating instructions anywhere. My concern is whether the tank automatically fills with water when connected to city water or the side fill tank? I get that the lp tank must have gas and be open and the switch in the bath must be turned on. Also, when getting ready to leave the campsite does the tank need to be drained?

[Dennis C]

If your water heater operates the same way that mine does, then it should automatically fill when you connect your Airstream to a water source. There’s no need to empty the water heater other than winterizing.

[Mollysdad]

Yes, the tank fills when connected to a water source. UNLESS the WH is in bypass. Always a good question on the walk through. "show me..."

[62olander]

https://highskyrvparts.com/new-airst...gnition-107168

Here is a link to the water heater you likely have on your trailer (according to the bambi parts list from airstream). This link include links to the operating and service manuals for the water heater.

As mentioned above, you need to find out if a bypass valve was installed, it makes a big difference for winterization.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

When you put the trailer in storage for the winter, you will completely empty the hot water tank before it goes in storage. You also will flip some valves to protect it. Coming out of storage you will flip the valve back to the "use" settings.

When you take it out and connect to water for the first time you will flush out all the lines. This same process fills the hot water tank with water. That water sits in there all summer long. If it's been a while since you last used hot water, doing a bit of a flush is probably a good idea. It may pick up a bit of a funky smell / taste from sitting there.

Propane wise, turn on the heat when you expect to need hot water. Turn it off once you are done. Double check that both the heater and the water pump are turned off whenever you get ready to go back on the road with the trailer.

Bob

[ADMIRALPUSH]

Thanks for the response. After unhooking the city water hose, opening the faucets in the galley and head, and running the 12-volt pump to "drain" the water lines everything seemed empty. However, when I opened the main line drain valve water came out of the hoses under the front port bed. I captured the water to measure it. I got over 5 gallons. I am guessing that is from the hot water tank that did not drain even though I thought it was empty because of the protocol I followed. I guess I should add the in-line valve opening to my protocol before hauling. Any ideas are welcome.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There is no need to dump the fresh water before hitting the road. One of the great things about towing a trailer is having it there for use in route. Being able to do this or that on your own ( toilet, nap, snack, ....) is a very nice feature. If you are stuck in completely stalled traffic for 4+ hours, who knows which of those will come in handy .... We travel with water in the system all the time.

When trying to empty the lines, the pump will stop working when air gets to the intake. The water lines are nowhere near empty at this point. The pump will not move air very well and may be damaged by running dry for more than a short while.

The only way to be sure water is out of the lines is to hook up an air compressor and blow it out. You need a reasonably high volume compressor to do it quickly. A light weight compressor may "fake you out". The low flow rate does not move as much water. You may not notice there's still a bit left ...

Bob