Water Heater Questions

Hi Folks,
I finally got around to testing the water system in my new Hawk and I realized I should have taken notes when I had the delivery walk-through. I actually have two questions: One, does the hot water heater have a built in thermostat that will cycle the burner on and off? When i fired it up it just seemed to go and go and the water was definitely hot enough. Two, does the pump have to be shut off prior to back draining the water heater (by opening the drain valve inside the camper) into the main tank? Thanks, and any other tips on the use of this system would be most appreciated. Out big road trip starts in a few weeks and I am a bit nervous.....
Cheers,
David

Well I found the answer to my second question in the "winterizing" section of the owners manual, but no info on first question.

The hot water heater has a thermostat.

We will turn ours on so we have hot water to do dishes. We don't keep it on more than 20+/- minutes. Water will stay warm for hours. At breakfast and dinner we turn it on when we are doing meal prep work and turn it off when we do the dishes.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app

We run our water heater for 10 minutes max. We've found we don't need it to house hot just not chilly.

David
Yes the water heater does have a thermostat but unlike most water heaters it is not adjustable. The water can and does get very very hot. At a four wheel rally I brought up that my water heater gets so hot that water drops come out the pressure relief valve just as it stops heating. I was told that they all do that or that many do. Does yours? The solution I was given was to turn of the water heater before it gets to that point. I had to laugh as at that point as someone said that was a salesman answer, not a real solution.

I try to turn it off when it is hot enough for use. If I want a shower I warm it until it is just the right temperature then I don't need to mix the hot and cold. For dishes at full hot it is way to hot so I turn it off early. Often enough I forget to turn off the water heater and remember as I see the water dripping down the side of the camper from the water heater. It does stop dripping as soon as the water heater shuts itself off or I shut it off. It does no harm to just leave it on and let it get that hot just don't burn yourself.

If your hot water heater is full of water and you run out of water in your 20 gallon tank you can drain the water into the tank then close both of those valves. Your water pump will now not pump that water back into your water heater but only to the cold water side and that is how you access 6 more gallons of water.
David

Very helpful info-thanks guys! I guess I will manually turn on and off as needed to save propane.

FWC told you that? It is adjustable just like your home unit is. Mine didn't need adjusting, I wonder if someone screwed up. Well maybe they changed units, still not adjustable? Somethings not right.

Our water heater would super heat the water too. I bought a remote reading thermometer with alarm for cooking. The remote sensor is slid under the foam of the water heater so I can read the temp as the water heats up. When it reaches the right temp the beeper goes off and I shut the water heater off. Saves gas and the showers are just right. Good luck, Bigfoot Dave

Bigfoot Dave said:

Our water heater would super heat the water too. I bought a remote reading thermometer with alarm for cooking. The remote sensor is slid under the foam of the water heater so I can read the temp as the water heats up. When it reaches the right temp the beeper goes off and I shut the water heater off. Saves gas and the showers are just right. Good luck, Bigfoot Dave

Click to expand...

Most of the water heaters require an air bubble to accomodate the expansion of the water as it heats. If you lose the bubble, you will frequently get a dribble out of the pressure relief valve. When I get to a desk top, I'll try and remember to to post a link.

Just so I would know, I fired up the water heater yesterday to see just how hot it does get.
141 on my meat thermometer. It feels so hot I thought that it was hotter than that.

I don't have a water heater but was puzzled by the posts above and started looking for more info on temperature control in Atwood RV water heaters.

If I understand correctly (from reading manuals and watching YouTube videos), an Atwood 6 gallon water heater may be a pilot model or an electronic ignition model. According to this thread, the standard model installed in Four Wheel campers (as of the January 2015 date of the thread) was the electronic-ignition one, model G6A-8E. According to this 2012 article, the electronic model was a $155 option (and may have been for some time before and after). Note that the electronic one has an 'E' in the model number.

If it's the pilot model, it will have either a Robertshaw or White-Rodgers temperature control. The pilot-model with the Robertshaw control is a dial-type temperature control and the White-Rodgers one has a lever-type temperature control. (see top of page 4 in this installation, operations and maintenance manual)

The electronic-ignition model (also known as the DSI or 'direct spark ignition' model) does not have a temperature control. (Or perhaps I should say I can't find any temperature-adjustment instructions in that section of the manual.) However, Atwood makes an optional adjustable thermostat, part number 93105 which allows temperature adjustment and, according to this web page, fits the G6A-8E model.

And here's a YouTube video with a sample installation of it and shows how it's adjusted.

According to this Atwood pdf, it's adjustable for a water temperature between 110 and 150 degrees.

The 93105 is about $26 on Amazon and there are some reviews there but it doesn't appear to be a popular item.

If any members have installed the adjustable thermostat (or decided it's not a good idea), please chime in.

-OC

PS- Again, I'm just reading online info and looking at YouTube videos. If I've posted any incorrect info, please let me know and I'll be happy to edit this post.

Has anyone asked FWC to comment on control of water temp in the water heaters they install [-ed]?

Phil

Excellent sleuth work Old Crow. I know that the newer ones come with an electronic ignition version. The adjustable thermostat is definitely something that seems valuable, but I'm not sure I like the way it's retained on the panel based on the info in the video. I'm surprised that Atwood just doesn't make thermostats with different temperatures set-points?

Don

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Have to admit I'm surprised some aren't adjustable.

We only run our water heater with the pilot on, never turn it to "On". After the first couple of hours after lighting it, the pilot keeps that 6 gals of water plenty hot for dishes and for a quick shower. Saves all that propane for the fridge. Try it.