On Apr 18, 2012, at 3:58 PM, David Tidmore wrote:
> Anne,
> The water heater bypass valves installed when your rig was made were NOT the quarter turn versions used in newer Airstreams. My 99 34fter has the valves where you have to keep turning them until they will turn on further (open or closed), while my '02 Bambi as the quarter turn valves. There is NO visual way to look at your bypass valves and determine whether they are open of closed. In bypass mode, you want the two OUTSIDE bypass valves CLOSED and the one in the MIDDLE open. To use the water heater, you want the two OUTSIDE valves OPEN and the MIDDLE one closed. By the MIDDLE valve I mean the one that is BETWEEN the two OUTSIDE valves.
> Whew. Thank you for this. My only other Airstream was an '04 Bambi, and a quarter turn was all that was needed. Now I wonder if I drained the water heater this winter and then filled it with antifreeze? Yuck.
> As you have attempted to remove the reducer/petcock without any luck, you should pretty much assume that it is permanently seized in place. Attempting to use additional leverage somehow may well just round off the shoulders on the reducer and still leave it firmly seized in place.
I will just let it be for now and look for signs of failure. Hunter is right, I bought an anode, not the Hot Rod, to "lengthen" the life of the water heater. Oh well. Glad it wasn't too expensive. I am still pondering what that drip and leak was that occurred after I filled the fresh water tank, that started this whole thing. If I had just come off a wet road trip I would understand it was blowback, but the trailer has been sitting on the top of the hill for about a month, and was at Camping World in Winchester for two months before that, much of that time inside the bay. However, I now know there is supposed to be a hole there, and once I figure out if there is a permanent drip or not I can start investigating again. But for now, at least SOMETHING in my little world is working again:-)
>
> There is no such thing as a petcock/anode combination. An anode rod looks very similar to the Hot Rod that you purchased except it does NOT have any wires associated (ie it is just a probe that extends into the water heater tank.
I bought the anode. No wires.
>
> (snip)
>
> If the situation arises where a new water heater is in order, you might consider getting the model with the electric heating element built-in by Atwood. The Hot Rod, while good, is not as powerful as the factory version, which btw, is installed from the backside of the water heater. The additional cost in minimal. There would have to be some wiring done to bring the 120V over to the water heater and a new control switch would be in order to switch the electric and/or gas into operation, but these are NOT difficult for anyone capable of installing a new water heater.
You addressed my next question, which was about replacement water heaters. In a 14 year old Airstream, is there an energy-saving improvement that would fit in that same space? What about instant on-demand water heaters? Are they worth the cost over time? Would they work on 12v?
>
> As you mentioned that you suspect that there might be trash in the water heater, understand that the water heater internal zinc lining produces a white deposit that accumulates. This is why that Atwood recommends that you flush the tank every month or so and at least twice a year, remove the overtemp/overpressure valve, pour in a gallon of white vinegar, button things back up, finish filling the tank with water, fire it up and let it soak in the hot water/vinegar solution overnight. Afterwards, drain the tank and flush thoroughly. I got the vinegar suggestion directly from Atwood.
I believe you, and now am faced with what is the lesser evil: build up of sludge, or stripping and possibly breaking off a fitting that wasn't supposed to be there? What would you do?
Thanks again for these very detailed replies. I know they take a lot of time to do.
Anne
>
> David
> On Apr 18, 2012, at 12:45 PM, Hunter Hampton wrote:
>
>> On 4/18/2012 12:34 PM, Anne Pearse Hocker wrote:
>>> Hunter, what did you see that made you think an anode rod was already in there? All I can see is the petcock/drain valve, unless they sell them as a combo unit.
>> Simple... I saw something in there that wasn't the same as the white
>> plug that came with my water heater, and didn't look like my Hott Rod....
>>
>> I couldn't think of what else would be there.
>>
>> Hunter
>>
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