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Old 10-02-2020, 08:51 PM   #1
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2015 25' Flying Cloud
Gainesville , Florida
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Water Heater Flange Repair

I-75 in a Georgia traffic jam, the lady in the truck next to me rolled down her window and said, "Your WH door is open". I immediately pulled off to discover many of the segments that hold the heater to the flange had broken. I suspect it was a progressive failure over a couple trips. At home - I removed the heater, spot welded new sheet steel to repair the flanges and refitted the heater. Several points worth mentioning:

1. AS clearly installed my heater from the inside during original construction. The inner skin opening was smaller than the styrofoam insulation. It was a real fight getting the unit out. I had to trim the inner skin before installing the repaired heater. I replaced the damaged insulation with styrofoam. Dometic /Atwood P/N 93100

2. I removed & cleaned the HW mixing valve screen as part of the work.

3. I also replace the FW Tank Drain Valve as part of the repair (because it was partially broken).

This project was a real challenge. Suffice it to say that AS does not make a lot of items very "maintenance" friendly.
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Old 10-02-2020, 09:08 PM   #2
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Was there a wooden block assembly on tje floor supporting the tank on the inside? There is supposed to be. 6 gallons of water plus the tank is a lot of weight just hanging by the flange.
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Old 10-02-2020, 09:19 PM   #3
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There was nothing supporting the heater which in part contributed to the failure. The first year I towed, my TV rear suspension used to bottom out badly on bad sections of road. I believe this contributed to the failure over time.

The replacement insulation came with a styrofoam shim, that I wedged under the new styrofoam insulation after I reinstalled the heater. My sense is that this problem will not happen again.

I upgraded my TV last year, so I have no more challenges with suspension bottoming out anymore. With my old TV, I had added helper air bags, but I think the damage already started before that. Not a lot of metal supporting the heater with those "bend to fit" flanges.
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Old 10-03-2020, 06:12 AM   #4
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Looks like a healthy repair, lost count of the spot welds

And Rich, another thing to check I can't say I saw/knew about the tank support.

Been a good series of repairs at home here that's an inspection I'll look at.

Gary
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Old 10-03-2020, 09:52 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GCinSC2 View Post
Looks like a healthy repair, lost count of the spot welds

Gary
When I saw what needed doing, I immediately headed to the local Harbor Freight to pick up their (relatively cheap) 120V spot welder. When I started spot welding, my thoughts were to "get my money's worth" out of that little unit. Have to say that little welder did a great job once I tweeked tip alignment. The heater sheet metal is 22 gage. The spot welder handled that without blinking an eye. It does pull AMPS, so you have to plug it into an outlet on a nearly unloaded circuit for best results.
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Old 10-03-2020, 09:41 PM   #6
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We experienced the same issue in my '16 25'. I thought it was from hitting a set of RR tracks in Deming NM, I took a look at the underside of the water heater and found no support so added 1x4 and wedge glued in. Six straps riveted to top and sides of flange and all seems well.

Jeff
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Old 10-04-2020, 06:42 AM   #7
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Jeff -
I'm pretty sure my situation was a progressive failure. The last time I winterized, I thought the bypass valve was a little out of place. (closer to the floor). The styrofoam insulation on the bottom was flattened. This situation is making me wonder how many other owners of the 2015-201X vintage will face the same issue? So much for AS famous (or infamous) QA.
Paul
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Old 10-04-2020, 07:37 AM   #8
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So, I mentioned wood above. OEM on my 2007 was a piece of 2 x 4 screwed vertically, on its 4 " side, to a piece of plywood. The plywood is toe screwed to the floor.
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Old 10-04-2020, 08:55 AM   #9
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Rich,

I checked mine, piece of wood supporting as you mentioned.

Gary
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