No hot water in your RV? If this video doesn't solve your problem, check out our blog post for more RV water heater troubleshooting tips: www.thervgeeks.com/no-hot-water-in-rv/
yep, that's what it was. I left the outside shower on. Although the handle was off, the knobs were still turned on. It reduced water pressure, and lowered the water temp. Glad I watched your video..... Thanks again!
Just bought a 2005 keystone 5th wheel. This video saves people money not having to call a professional to come diagnose the problem. Thanks alot brother.
Thank you! We just had a washer & dryer installed in our RV yesterday. Left the dealership, and couldn’t get the water hot. Watched your video & told my husband to check that. We hadn’t used the outside hose, but maybe the installers had. Sure enough, that was it. You saved us untold hours and inconvenience, not to mention the cost of a service call.
Thanks so much for this! You saved me I'm living in my RV right now due to covid19 and living situation. Took a cold shower today but sink water was hot. I watched your video and it fixed my problem. I had just dumped my rv tanks and used the outdoor shower to clean up the area and sure enough left the water valves on. You saved me more than you know. Thanks so much for this video!
I'm on my third RV, so not a newbie. But I made this same mistake today...! Shut off my shower wand in the wet bay but not the faucetts, intending to shut them off after I was done washing down the wet bay...then forgot!!! Then I spent three hours decalsifying my Truma water heater then spent another two hours trying to figure out why I still couldn't get hot water. I'll remember this from now on though. Lucky I found this video. Thank you....
Thank you for the video. I just spent 2 days taking lukewarm showers. I did the exact same thing you did. Just checked my outside shower, Duh. You saved me a service call.
@@jerometruitt1452 They come in handy at times, especially if you have a dog with you that has rolled in the mud , or even for yourself if you have gotten muddy. Clean up outside the RV no mess inside.
This video is still helping people. I decided to get a “y” for my washing machine and later that day I found that my hot water tank wasn’t working. That was also the problem leaving both valves open there. Closed the hot water valve and all kinds of hot water. Thanks for saving me the money!
Just when you think you know it all....I did not know about this little mistake. Been RVing all my life and thought I knew all the pitfalls. You're never too old to learn something!
We purchased a new 2024 Georgetown 31L5 and found that we have warm hot water. On the third trip out I watched this video, showed my husband, he turned off the valve and WOW, we have HOT water. Thank you so much for this posting!!
Boy, that is one of those tricky lessons you have to learn the hard way. In hindsight I guess it makes sense. I would have been stumped too. Good one! Thanks P for sharing.
We still laugh about that one. Not so easy to laugh about the newbie mistakes that cost a lot to fix though, like backing into a power pedestal or something like that (which, for the record, we have never done). lol
God bless YOU! I have had several problems to figure out. Quite a few, before my refrigerator quit working and the RV repair guy, who had just installed a new board, said the "no cold" error message meant it was finally giving up and I would need a new one at the cost of around $3500! But a friend said it could need resetting and sure enough, it worked! BUT immediately after that the water stopped getting.as hot as it used to and I was so upset! Seemed to be one thing after another! I googled it and found no easy solution so have just lipved with it for a couple months, but kept thinking if it was still getting warm, it must not be a failing hot water heater, so tried rewording my question and found your video! I thought I remembered messing with the outside water faucet and wondered if it could be something so simple! It's almost 12 midnight but rushed out to check and SURE enough the cold water was on! Turned it off and WALLA.! Piping hot water again! All I can say is... "I love you!"
I cannot thank you enough for this video. I have been so frustrated. I replaced the thermal couple, the fuses, the mother board, cleaned the tubes, tested and re tested everything. Low and behold, my outdoor valves were open, since I de winterized my RV in the beginning of May. I shut them, and now I can take a hot shower. thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
This so cool. I had tahe same issue with the hot water. Spent all day working on the tank, new element, temp gauges and still no hot water, just warm. Turns out ther are four shut off valves in the back of the water tank. One of them blends into the cold water and was open. I closed it based on your story and BANG! Hot water. Thank y9ou so much for posting this. I was about to replace the whole tank!
Never to old to learn new tricks....Thank you..I fixed a friend's hot water problem and I was not completely sure of what I did as far as having the valves set in the right direction. You just confirmed that was probably all that was wrong luckily I only replaced the valves and the cost was minamel.
These videos are very helpful. I'm a newbie & the former owner did give me the books on the RV, they have absolutely NO pictures, diagrams, or idea of what item they're describing. I even contacted the mfg & they sent me the same papers I have. So you guys are my goto helpers! Thanks!
Thanks so much! It’s always great to hear we’ve been helpful. We appreciate your taking the time to let us know. If it’s any consolation, no RV documentation is any good!
Thank you for your video! We made the same mistake in our Bounder and had an evening of lukewarm showers. The next morning, the problem persisted, but your video saved us from more cold showers and having to call the repair guy!
Thank you!!! After hours trying to diagnose why my water heater still didn't work after replacing the thermal cut off (which was blown), this video solved the mystery of why I still didn't have hot water. While de-winterizing a few days ago I'd opened the valves to the outside shower to bleed air from the line - but I'd never closed the valves again. I'd just released the trigger. You saved the day.
I just made this mistake..before seeing this video. I was wondering why my outside shower head was leaking, come to find out, both water faucets were on. Oh the joys of being the newbie.
Thanks for the video our mistake was basically the same thing, also we are newbies and when we bought ours off a couple, they told us we needed a new battery. Well we replaced the battery thinking it was running great as we are hooked to hydro as well. When we got to our camper the next weekend as we own our own Camp ground site, the fridge was dead no hydro! The outlets worked but the lights didn't and we had no heat and it was chilly. When I plugged in the coffee maker the light over the kitchen sink would flicker any how we had a repairman that does regular visits in the park look at it and of course the converter was gone he told us it was an old type model that he hadn't seen in a long time as they didn't make that type anymore. Well that was our experience so if you are told that it needs a new battery make sure it is't the converter , check it first.
Watching several of your video's I have discovered that I don't have a lot of the gadgets on my trailer that you do on your MH. So, I glean from your information and improvise for my purposes. The info you have shared is great. Yes, I subscribed and will go through all of your videos. Very informative. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us. Happy Trails.
that must have drove you nuts ,trying to figure that out.when something goes wrong,we always think big and miss simple solution. thanks for the tip.it is nice how most RVers are willing to help.
Again, thank you. I was having this issue, googled the problem, found your video, saw that my outside faucets were on, turned them off. 5 minutes later, scalding hot water. Did my dishes and heard the gas heater turned on. All good.
I had a similar simple mistake after install. The thermostat was behind a sticker and turned down too far. I just assumed they came fixed to a good hot temperature. So easy to fix once you know...
Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to have finally figured out why after changing out my water pump, the temperature never got warm. I changed the t-stat and controller board on my water heater with no change. I checked my outside facet and found both hot and cold on from when I purged the line after upgrading the water pump. Thanks so much for this video. ❤️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks for the great advice we have a new camper and the outside shower was turned on. Not sure why because we haven't used it yet. But that corrected the hot water problem.
Thank you so much that’s exactly what I did. I have hot water now and no trip to the repair shop. Wish I would’ve watch this video before I took a freezing, cold shower.
Wow, this saved our bacon. My hot water heater just quit working half way through camping trip. Did the same thing you did checked everything and couldn’t get it to come back on. Figured my igniter went bad. Then I thought I would search UA-cam and found your video. That’s exactly what happened to me. I use my outside shower for the first time and the valves were left on, turned them off and voilà, water heater ignited 2006 arctic fox camper is my unit.
Thank you. I just did the exact same thing and thought the exact same thing. I just went out and turned off the water at the outdoor shower. Hopefully, it will be hot enough for a shower this evening.
Thank you so much. I had this very problem. Previous owner showed me it was working but as soon as I got it and parked it, it stopped. I remember he also showed me outside shower but forgot to shut it off.
I did this many years ago after I built my house, some 22 years ago. I built in a shower pull mixing head for my garage hose bib connection. This provides hot water to be used out side for car washing or other wash needs. If left on, does the same thing creating a loop effect. This is so familiar. I figured it out in about an hour. To prevent others in the house from committing the same error, label that fixture to "turn off immediately after use". This helps prevent a repeat.
Great vid, yes, any faucet will do this, including the interior shower. But turning off the shower head, it forces cold water back into the HW tank. It dilutes it causing the HW to run out faster. You can install one way check valves in the line, just cut the line, and slip them on, and it will stop this.
This video was a lifesaver I unhooked my water line and drained all my lines with a hard freeze in Florida the next day I drained all the faucets including the outside showed and yes I left the faucet valves open and shut it off by the dial. I returned a couple days later hooked up the water line and purged the system but no not water I didn't know what to think I looked at all the lines under the rig and then turned to UA-cam and don't you know the second video was yours I watched it and said could I have done that and yes I did I shut off the valves and twenty minutes later NOT WATER THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO
Funny... we had the our stick home do the same thing, lol. It was days before I found out the problem in the master shower. Thanks, Happy travels! Stay safe have fun!
I had to smile watching your video. Too late as it had happened to us also. We had the motorhome for less than a year when it happened. Stressful for us to as we did all the same troubleshooting as you did. My wife had the good guess about the outside shower that I had messed with earlier. Thank you for all of your videos as I love watching them.
Thanks Rick! Honestly, we weren't even sure this same thing would happen in our current RV. But when we ran up the water in the kitchen sink to check the temperature, bingo! I bet they all do it!
I was a licensed plumber and found this two times in houses also. The first time was when some kitchen remodelers were gutting a kitchen. They removed the kitchen sink and had no valves to turn off but they did have a way to cork off the hot and cold water pipes by just connecting the two together. The people called next day for a water heater repair. I found water heater full of hot water but it wouldn’t make it to the faucets as the cold pressure was stronger. Same thing found several times over the years when people thought they could avoid repairing a shower faucet by putting another valve up at the showerhead and just shutting it. Hot and cold would begin mixing through the leaky shower valve and would cause problems other places in the house
Omg thanks for posting this video I been showering with cold water the last 3 days and I didn't know if it was broke or what was the problem thank you I really thank you :)
Tx for the great advice. It was exactly my problem and fixed quickly once I shut off the outside shower head. I was minutes away from ordering a new element and I stumbled upon your video. Tx again.
We started RVing one year ago with a 38 footer and everyday I learn something new. You just picked up one more follower. Tx again and happy travels. Kevin
Seems to me that the RV should have one-way valves in or near the faucets to avoid this problem of unwanted mixing of the hot and cold water within the RV's plumbing.
Outdoor shower? PFFT! I am lucky to have an indoor shower.You are giving my 5th wheel a complex. I opted for simplicity. too much to fix on the newer ones. i changed my refrigerator to an automatic LP or 120v, changing my water heater to DSI so i can just flip a switch, adding 500w of solar panels, and i am wayyyyyyyy out in the south Texas country. in a year or 2 i will build a house on my property.
Thats how we learn. We make mistakes. Its best to back track everything when experiencing a problem. This can be anything. If you didn't have a problem before, then you can go back to where you were before the issue began. Many times I find it was something I did wrong.
Thanks for this video, per you content, I was having problems with my water heater, and low and behold this was my problem. I went outside, found the external valves open, I closed them and the problem went away!
Mine stopped working and would NOT heat the water at al. All circuits were good ,swithes were on inside the camper, full propane tanks. As it turns out the 6 gallon Suburban water heater has an On/Off switch on the outside behind the burner tube accessible through the outside cover. That switch was bad. Easy fix once I found it. Worked like a charm after that. Without that switch working , it won't do anything in either propane , electric or both.
Thank you for this video. I’ve been struggling with my water heater all weekend. It wasn’t the same exact issue with the shower but I had the wrong valve turned on my water heater and the hot and cold were mixing. All better now.
This was never explained to me when I recently bought my trailer. In fact, the door was pointed out, but never opened. Now I'll know to always make sure the knobs are closed should I ever use the outside shower!
Mine was below cabinet and I pulled panel out (or using pried bar) at where water heater section and found 3 valves and the one in middle is bypass cold into hot pipe and I turned down or off of doesn't bypass each other pipes. Then I got twice hotter but be careful it's gets burn and I raised middle valve just a little to makes comfortable hot water. These pipes has hot valve, cold valve and middle is bypassing valve I really don't know why is a middle valve and it must be setting between cold and hot because water heater does not have thermostat settings.
Hi Kenneth. It sounds like that "middle valve" that you found is what's commonly called a mixing valve. And it does exactly what you described... acts as a "thermostat" controlling the temperature of the hot water you get at your faucets. It mixes the hot from the water heater with some cold water from the inlet.
Wow. I just spent the last hour at 4 in the morning trying to troubleshoot my hot water heater and couldn't come up with anything. Clicked this video had all the same symptoms and what do you know😂 I made the same mistake 😂😂 thanks so much
I wouldn't have thought of that either. Makes perfect sense though, once you found the problem.lol...Great Tip! Please keep them coming and thanks for putting all the hard work into putting all of them together and sharing them with us...You guys are time, hassle and money savers for sure... Thanks Again!!!
That shut-off valve was what got us into that mess! Without it, you should be good, since there's no way to "shut off" the water without actually shutting it off! :)
Right, I saw that. With mine, you have to shut the water off at the handles. But I'm glad I know that, just in case I ever get something different or it happens to someone else. Glad for you that it was an easy fix!
BRILLIANT! Thank you. as newbie RVers *about* to purchase our first ever RV, we are devouring everything we can to be RV smart. I find many RV videos online are over our newbie heads, but this was explained perfectly so it was easy to follow. Thank you very much for such an informative video.
I used to repair and maintain fire trucks. Many operator reported issues were like this. So many valves to keep up with and so many different people playing with them.
On our first trip with our new TT (two years ago) I had a similar problem. It wasn't the outside shower. Both valves to and from the hot water tank were open and the bypass was too. With the bypass open both hot and cold water mixed before it traveled to the faucet. The bypass (for winterizing) was also open on the water pump which meant the fresh tank never pressurized. With the lack of quality control in RV's we also had a big problem when the trailer underbelly flooded. They didn't install a clamp on the water line leading into the water heater. When the hose heated up and became more flexible the hose came off. The water flowed under the cabinet until it found the opening for the propane line. It flowed into the underbelly and finally burst through the sealant. This is one of the reasons why we don't leave the city water valve open when we leave the trailer.
It should be noted that some RV's can have this problem and not have an outdoor facet at all. I have a 79 Honey with a self contained bathroom. If you turn on the shower head and then turn it off by the wand, the cold water can backfeed into the hot and cause it to be cool. It can also cause the cold to become warm.
When we first started 12 years ago the first trip after winter I forgot to switch my water heater from winterize bypass. Basically the same mistake. Luckily I figured it out after bout an hour or so. Thatnks for the tip!
our fifth wheel's water heater was making a noise. Now no water is coming out... we are spending the night at a KOA in TN. So maybe we can get a someone to look at it. Great tips though..
Sorry to hear Jennifer. When you say "making a noise" do you mean the "whoosh" of the propane burner... or something else? We've never hear a sound from a water heater other than that. And are you getting NO water flowing when you turn on a hot water tap.... or no HOT water. If you're getting no water at all, is it possible you were working on anything related to the water heater since the last time you used it, and possibly left a valve in the wrong position (the water heater bypass would stop all water from flowing through any faucet when you try to run pure hot water through it).
Such a common mistake I had a 4 story office building do that because housekeeping left a fitting on a faucet with both sides open til I found it and corrected the issue.
Thank you! Doing a flow test this afternoon comparing city water pressure to water pump pressure and haven't had more than lukewarm water since. Yep, indoor shower valves were both open, flow cut off at shower head.
I did that with a new shower shower body in a house I put the temporary block off and but took out the plugged for the hot water and the water was just circulating around
I got a call from a guy who's house hot water was running out right away. I knew something was up because this house had two full size water heaters hooked up together, also had a circulator so you would not have to wait for hot water. Someone had tapped into the supply side of the water heater line for the lawn sprinklers. Normally this would be cold water but here it was a mix of returning hot and cold. So he had been watering the yard with warm water every day
Ahhh, this may fix my issue. Just checked the outside shower and the hot had been left on, but not the cold. Switched hot off and we will see what happens.
Great Tip! Thanks much. We're rather new, 2 years. Just upgraded to newer RV. Having trouble with the Water heater working at all. Didn't know even the basics, This video showed me a lot I didn't know and now I can test it out when I get home. Thanks!!
Congratulations on your new RV, Jeff. Another related problem that can cause your water heater to "fail" is having the bypass valves turned to the "bypass" position, thereby taking the water heater out of the plumbing line completely. One thing.... while troubleshooting your water heater be sure to NEVER turn it on when it's drained. No faster way to burn out an electric water heater element than turning it on with an empty tank. Thanks for the comment. :)
Jeff Jarecki Yes, it will still flow. What the bypass does is simply allow cold water to flow directly to the hot water faucets, "bypassing" the water heater.
RVgeeks Where would I find the bypass? Thanks to your video btw, I found out why my hot water heater wasn't working though I haven't yet tested it. There was an on/off switch out on the heater, it was switched to off. =) But where would I look for the bypass?
Jeff Jarecki Every system has their own plumbing layout, but if you check out this video, you'll see us clearly showing how ours looks, and how we use it: ua-cam.com/video/jEepug8N-aE/v-deo.htmlm6s
Funny thing (ok, no - not at time!!) is, this happened to me in my HOUSE! I had a fancy little hands free faucet installed on my shop sink... so I wouldn't have to get it all goopy when washing my hands. Thought the T-stat on my near new water heater had gone south. Turned out it was the same thing, where it was causing a loop back/through effect, and I only ever had warm. Lost the gadget, fixed the problem!
Install a check valve on the hot water line going to the faucet will fix the problem (hot water side has less pressure than cold which allows cold water to reverse down hot line).
You know that you've traveled a lot when you see a video and know exactly when it was filmed s/b Hwy 247 approaching Hwy 62 in Yucca Valley. Great Vid, I won't make that mistake which is so easy to do.
Found this while troubleshooting the same problem (except my LP heater did come on and heated up the water). Turned out both valves were turned on just like in the video. Haven't re-checked to see if that fixed it but I'm believing that was what happened. It was our first time out in this new (to us) 2003 Southwind so I guess the previous owners left them turned on. Thanks for the great informative video!
RVgeeks Just to follow up, we went camping last weekend and the hot water was as hot as we could ever want it so that definitely was the problem. Thanks again!
I get this problem every year with clients. Someone buys a new triailer. Washes out side and does the same thing and fails to turn off the taps. , when winterizing when i winterize i ask the owner how the hot water was all summer. and they complain, so i look for the out door faucet. both faucets are open. total fail.
yes, we did the same thing you did. We even had the local shop look at the water heater. Next time camping we shut the outside shower off at the knobs, and now we again have hot water. Thanks for the info!
Good info, I never use my outdoor shower. I use a wye fitting at the water connection and a second hose pipe and sprayer. I use that same second hose as my black tank wash hose too. The wye fitting has a valve on each outlet which is handy too.
No hot water in your RV? If this video doesn't solve your problem, check out our blog post for more RV water heater troubleshooting tips:
www.thervgeeks.com/no-hot-water-in-rv/
They're both working now I just had to play with the toggle switch in between the two propane thank you
yep, that's what it was. I left the outside shower on. Although the handle was off, the knobs were still turned on. It reduced water pressure, and lowered the water temp. Glad I watched your video..... Thanks again!
Just bought a 2005 keystone 5th wheel.
This video saves people money not having to call a professional to come diagnose the problem. Thanks alot brother.
Thank you! We just had a washer & dryer installed in our RV yesterday. Left the dealership, and couldn’t get the water hot. Watched your video & told my husband to check that. We hadn’t used the outside hose, but maybe the installers had. Sure enough, that was it. You saved us untold hours and inconvenience, not to mention the cost of a service call.
That is so awesome to hear! Thanks for letting us know. You just made our day. 😄
Thanks so much for this! You saved me I'm living in my RV right now due to covid19 and living situation. Took a cold shower today but sink water was hot. I watched your video and it fixed my problem. I had just dumped my rv tanks and used the outdoor shower to clean up the area and sure enough left the water valves on. You saved me more than you know. Thanks so much for this video!
That is absolutely awesome to hear! You just made our day. Stay safe out there.
I'm on my third RV, so not a newbie. But I made this same mistake today...!
Shut off my shower wand in the wet bay but not the faucetts, intending to shut them off after I was done washing down the wet bay...then forgot!!!
Then I spent three hours decalsifying my Truma water heater then spent another two hours trying to figure out why I still couldn't get hot water.
I'll remember this from now on though. Lucky I found this video. Thank you....
Thank you for the video. I just spent 2 days taking lukewarm showers. I did the exact same thing you did. Just checked my outside shower, Duh. You saved me a service call.
Awesome Bill! (the fact that we could help... not your having had two days of lukewarm showers). lol
Yeah you just saved me tons of money if that were to happen to me. Thank you!
outside showers are dumb
@@jerometruitt1452 They come in handy at times, especially if you have a dog with you that has rolled in the mud , or even for yourself if you have gotten muddy. Clean up outside the RV no mess inside.
@@daivdash yeah I wouldnt have a dog in an RV in the first place.
This video is still helping people. I decided to get a “y” for my washing machine and later that day I found that my hot water tank wasn’t working. That was also the problem leaving both valves open there. Closed the hot water valve and all kinds of hot water. Thanks for saving me the money!
That’s great, Dale! Thanks for letting us know. 😄
Just when you think you know it all....I did not know about this little mistake. Been RVing all my life and thought I knew all the pitfalls. You're never too old to learn something!
+Stephen Hurlbut Us too! We learn new things all the time!
We purchased a new 2024 Georgetown 31L5 and found that we have warm hot water. On the third trip out I watched this video, showed my husband, he turned off the valve and WOW, we have HOT water. Thank you so much for this posting!!
So happy to hear you have hot water now! And thanks for letting us know we were helpful. Always great to hear. Happy New Year and safe travels!
Boy, that is one of those tricky lessons you have to learn the hard way. In hindsight I guess it makes sense. I would have been stumped too. Good one! Thanks P for sharing.
We still laugh about that one. Not so easy to laugh about the newbie mistakes that cost a lot to fix though, like backing into a power pedestal or something like that (which, for the record, we have never done). lol
God bless YOU! I have had several problems to figure out. Quite a few, before my refrigerator quit working and the RV repair guy, who had just installed a new board, said the "no cold" error message meant it was finally giving up and I would need a new one at the cost of around $3500! But a friend said it could need resetting and sure enough, it worked! BUT immediately after that the water stopped getting.as hot as it used to and I was so upset! Seemed to be one thing after another! I googled it and found no easy solution so have just lipved with it for a couple months, but kept thinking if it was still getting warm, it must not be a failing hot water heater, so tried rewording my question and found your video! I thought I remembered messing with the outside water faucet and wondered if it could be something so simple! It's almost 12 midnight but rushed out to check and SURE enough the cold water was on!
Turned it off and WALLA.! Piping hot water again!
All I can say is...
"I love you!"
So happy to hear we were helpful!
I just put a new H W H in my mother’s rv and this video has saved me from going INSANE lol. Thank You.
And it never occurred to you to put a check valve on the line to avoid such problems?
Thank you so much I was freezing and just wanted to take a shower, you saved the day
I cannot thank you enough for this video. I have been so frustrated. I replaced the thermal couple, the fuses, the mother board, cleaned the tubes, tested and re tested everything. Low and behold, my outdoor valves were open, since I de winterized my RV in the beginning of May. I shut them, and now I can take a hot shower.
thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
So great to hear it’s been solved! Happy showering!
This so cool. I had tahe same issue with the hot water. Spent all day working on the tank, new element, temp gauges and still no hot water, just warm. Turns out ther are four shut off valves in the back of the water tank. One of them blends into the cold water and was open. I closed it based on your story and BANG! Hot water. Thank y9ou so much for posting this. I was about to replace the whole tank!
So glad it helped, Stephen.
Super helpful video I couldn’t get my heater to run hot water and it turned out to be this exact issue
Glad it helped, Andrew! It's such a relief when there's an easy solution to a problem! 😉
Never to old to learn new tricks....Thank you..I fixed a friend's hot water problem and I was not completely sure of what I did as far as having the valves set in the right direction. You just confirmed that was probably all that was wrong luckily I only replaced the valves and the cost was minamel.
Great to hear! Thanks. 😄
These videos are very helpful. I'm a newbie & the former owner did give me the books on the RV, they have absolutely NO pictures, diagrams, or idea of what item they're describing. I even contacted the mfg & they sent me the same papers I have. So you guys are my goto helpers! Thanks!
Thanks so much! It’s always great to hear we’ve been helpful. We appreciate your taking the time to let us know. If it’s any consolation, no RV documentation is any good!
Thank you for your video! We made the same mistake in our Bounder and had an evening of lukewarm showers. The next morning, the problem persisted, but your video saved us from more cold showers and having to call the repair guy!
I’m positive the reason I’ve never done this is because I watched this video over two years ago! Thanks for the evergreen content!
Awesome! Great to hear 😊
See how easy that was to make a simple mistake like that.... Glad you guys found someone that didn't take advantage of the situation.... 😊
Thank you!!! After hours trying to diagnose why my water heater still didn't work after replacing the thermal cut off (which was blown), this video solved the mystery of why I still didn't have hot water. While de-winterizing a few days ago I'd opened the valves to the outside shower to bleed air from the line - but I'd never closed the valves again. I'd just released the trigger. You saved the day.
You just made OUR day by letting us know that our video helped you out! Thank you so much and enjoy your hot shower! 👍😊
I just made this mistake..before seeing this video. I was wondering why my outside shower head was leaking, come to find out, both water faucets were on. Oh the joys of being the newbie.
Thanks for the video our mistake was basically the same thing, also we are newbies and when we bought ours off a couple, they told us we needed a new battery. Well we replaced the battery thinking it was running great as we are hooked to hydro as well. When we got to our camper the next weekend as we own our own Camp ground site, the fridge was dead no hydro! The outlets worked but the lights didn't and we had no heat and it was chilly. When I plugged in the coffee maker the light over the kitchen sink would flicker any how we had a repairman that does regular visits in the park look at it and of course the converter was gone he told us it was an old type model that he hadn't seen in a long time as they didn't make that type anymore. Well that was our experience so if you are told that it needs a new battery make sure it is't the converter , check it first.
Watching several of your video's I have discovered that I don't have a lot of the gadgets on my trailer that you do on your MH. So, I glean from your information and improvise for my purposes. The info you have shared is great. Yes, I subscribed and will go through all of your videos. Very informative. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us. Happy Trails.
+Floyd Lenhart Thanks Floyd! Don't feel bad... the more gadgets, the more things there are to go wrong! lol
that must have drove you nuts ,trying to figure that out.when something goes wrong,we always think big and miss simple solution. thanks for the tip.it is nice how most RVers are willing to help.
Again, thank you. I was having this issue, googled the problem, found your video, saw that my outside faucets were on, turned them off. 5 minutes later, scalding hot water. Did my dishes and heard the gas heater turned on. All good.
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know that we were helpful. :)
Dude, you're turning into my RV Yoda!
+Studa Baker RVers we are. 😉
I had a similar simple mistake after install. The thermostat was behind a sticker and turned down too far. I just assumed they came fixed to a good hot temperature. So easy to fix once you know...
The only thing that seems to erase the frustration of simple problems like that is how easy to solution ends up being in the end. :)
Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to have finally figured out why after changing out my water pump, the temperature never got warm. I changed the t-stat and controller board on my water heater with no change. I checked my outside facet and found both hot and cold on from when I purged the line after upgrading the water pump. Thanks so much for this video. ❤️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Awesome! Great to hear!
Thanks for the great advice we have a new camper and the outside shower was turned on. Not sure why because we haven't used it yet. But that corrected the hot water problem.
Life saver! We were taking lukewarm showers for days and this video spared a huge amount of frustration. Thanks!
That is awesome!! Great to hear. 😄
Thank you so much that’s exactly what I did. I have hot water now and no trip to the repair shop. Wish I would’ve watch this video before I took a freezing, cold shower.
Wow, this saved our bacon. My hot water heater just quit working half way through camping trip. Did the same thing you did checked everything and couldn’t get it to come back on. Figured my igniter went bad. Then I thought I would search UA-cam and found your video. That’s exactly what happened to me. I use my outside shower for the first time and the valves were left on, turned them off and voilà, water heater ignited 2006 arctic fox camper is my unit.
Awesome! That is do great to hear!
Thank you. I just did the exact same thing and thought the exact same thing. I just went out and turned off the water at the outdoor shower. Hopefully, it will be hot enough for a shower this evening.
Thank you so much. I had this very problem. Previous owner showed me it was working but as soon as I got it and parked it, it stopped. I remember he also showed me outside shower but forgot to shut it off.
I did this many years ago after I built my house, some 22 years ago. I built in a shower pull mixing head for my garage hose bib connection. This provides hot water to be used out side for car washing or other wash needs. If left on, does the same thing creating a loop effect. This is so familiar. I figured it out in about an hour. To prevent others in the house from committing the same error, label that fixture to "turn off immediately after use". This helps prevent a repeat.
Great vid, yes, any faucet will do this, including the interior shower. But turning off the shower head, it forces cold water back into the HW tank. It dilutes it causing the HW to run out faster. You can install one way check valves in the line, just cut the line, and slip them on, and it will stop this.
Thanks! I've been taking cold showers for 2 weeks! Understanding this helped me to troubleshoot the problem.
Thanks! Always great to hear we’ve been helpful.
This is one of the best recommendations for hot water in the rig. Thank you.
This video was a lifesaver I unhooked my water line and drained all my lines with a hard freeze in Florida the next day I drained all the faucets including the outside showed and yes I left the faucet valves open and shut it off by the dial. I returned a couple days later hooked up the water line and purged the system but no not water I didn't know what to think I looked at all the lines under the rig and then turned to UA-cam and don't you know the second video was yours I watched it and said could I have done that and yes I did I shut off the valves and twenty minutes later NOT WATER THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO
That’s great, Michael! So good to hear it helped. ☺️
Thanks for this ! after a couple days of no hot water and assuming the worst ..🎉This instantly fixed it
Awesome!!
Funny... we had the our stick home do the same thing, lol.
It was days before I found out the problem in the master shower.
Thanks,
Happy travels! Stay safe have fun!
Good info. I don't have an outdoor shower (that I know of), but maybe on the next RV? It seems like a great feature.
Congratulations boys. 11 years and still learning? No wonder we need your expertise. Thank you.
Thank you for your support in knowledge for us full time RV 'ers!!! 😁
THANK YOU!!!! I was about to spend $600 on a new water heater! This fixed the problem! I can’t believe what a terrible design flaw this is.
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know. It’s always great to hear we’ve been helpful.
I had to smile watching your video. Too late as it had happened to us also. We had the motorhome for less than a year when it happened. Stressful for us to as we did all the same troubleshooting as you did. My wife had the good guess about the outside shower that I had messed with earlier. Thank you for all of your videos as I love watching them.
Thanks Rick! Honestly, we weren't even sure this same thing would happen in our current RV. But when we ran up the water in the kitchen sink to check the temperature, bingo! I bet they all do it!
I was a licensed plumber and found this two times in houses also. The first time was when some kitchen remodelers were gutting a kitchen. They removed the kitchen sink and had no valves to turn off but they did have a way to cork off the hot and cold water pipes by just connecting the two together. The people called next day for a water heater repair. I found water heater full of hot water but it wouldn’t make it to the faucets as the cold pressure was stronger. Same thing found several times over the years when people thought they could avoid repairing a shower faucet by putting another valve up at the showerhead and just shutting it. Hot and cold would begin mixing through the leaky shower valve and would cause problems other places in the house
Omg thanks for posting this video I been showering with cold water the last 3 days and I didn't know if it was broke or what was the problem thank you I really thank you :)
So glad we could help! :)
Thanks for this video I've been working all morning trying to get my hot water working and this is almost exactly what my problem was thanks again
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know. Always great to hear we've been helpful. 😊
That was subtle - I don't imagine I would have thought to check the outside shower taps either. Thanks for the tip!
Tx for the great advice. It was exactly my problem and fixed quickly once I shut off the outside shower head. I was minutes away from ordering a new element and I stumbled upon your video. Tx again.
Excellent! Thanks for letting us know, Kevin. 😊
We started RVing one year ago with a 38 footer and everyday I learn something new. You just picked up one more follower. Tx again and happy travels. Kevin
Thanks Kevin! Great to have you here with us! 😊
Seems to me that the RV should have one-way valves in or near the faucets to avoid this problem of unwanted mixing of the hot and cold water within the RV's plumbing.
Did not know this fact about the outside shower. Thanks.
Outdoor shower? PFFT! I am lucky to have an indoor shower.You are giving my 5th wheel a complex. I opted for simplicity. too much to fix on the newer ones. i changed my refrigerator to an automatic LP or 120v, changing my water heater to DSI so i can just flip a switch, adding 500w of solar panels, and i am wayyyyyyyy out in the south Texas country. in a year or 2 i will build a house on my property.
Mine was flipping the hot water bypass when I was packing up for a move. A week of cold showers when I got settled again.
We haven't done this...YET, but I'm sure this just saved us a lot of head scratching! Thanks guys! Informative as always!
If we've saved even one person from our DOH! moment, mission accomplished! :)
This is a fantastic video. It's really well shot and extremely clear. I wish more creators followed this example.
Thank you so much, Troy! 😊
that's a good one. Im a residential repair plumber and came across this a couple of times.
Thats how we learn. We make mistakes. Its best to back track everything when experiencing a problem. This can be anything. If you didn't have a problem before, then you can go back to where you were before the issue began. Many times I find it was something I did wrong.
Thanks for this video, per you content, I was having problems with my water heater, and low and behold this was my problem. I went outside, found the external valves open, I closed them and the problem went away!
That's awesome, David! Thanks for sharing that! 😄
Hey hey! this video just solved my hot water problem on my fifth wheel!
Mine stopped working and would NOT heat the water at al.
All circuits were good ,swithes were on inside the camper, full propane tanks.
As it turns out the 6 gallon Suburban water heater has an On/Off switch on the outside behind the burner tube accessible through the outside cover.
That switch was bad.
Easy fix once I found it.
Worked like a charm after that.
Without that switch working , it won't do anything in either propane , electric or both.
Thanks for the additional info. Glad you got it fixed. Nothing more frustrating than a simple, but elusive problem.
same. idk how to wiring.
Thank you for this video. I’ve been struggling with my water heater all weekend. It wasn’t the same exact issue with the shower but I had the wrong valve turned on my water heater and the hot and cold were mixing. All better now.
That’s awesome, Jason! So great to hear. Thanks for letting us know.
This was never explained to me when I recently bought my trailer. In fact, the door was pointed out, but never opened. Now I'll know to always make sure the knobs are closed should I ever use the outside shower!
The best guys OUT THERE!!! and also the Smartest, and nicest!!
We love you Barbara! ❤️❤️
Mine was below cabinet and I pulled panel out (or using pried bar) at where water heater section and found 3 valves and the one in middle is bypass cold into hot pipe and I turned down or off of doesn't bypass each other pipes. Then I got twice hotter but be careful it's gets burn and I raised middle valve just a little to makes comfortable hot water. These pipes has hot valve, cold valve and middle is bypassing valve I really don't know why is a middle valve and it must be setting between cold and hot because water heater does not have thermostat settings.
Hi Kenneth. It sounds like that "middle valve" that you found is what's commonly called a mixing valve. And it does exactly what you described... acts as a "thermostat" controlling the temperature of the hot water you get at your faucets. It mixes the hot from the water heater with some cold water from the inlet.
Wow. I just spent the last hour at 4 in the morning trying to troubleshoot my hot water heater and couldn't come up with anything. Clicked this video had all the same symptoms and what do you know😂 I made the same mistake 😂😂 thanks so much
Love it! (Not that you had a hot water problem, but that we could help, and that the fix was free and easy)! 👍😄
I wouldn't have thought of that either. Makes perfect sense though, once you found the problem.lol...Great Tip! Please keep them coming and thanks for putting all the hard work into putting all of them together and sharing them with us...You guys are time, hassle and money savers for sure...
Thanks Again!!!
Thanks for the comment Dave. Glad we've been able to help. :)
Thank you. That's good to know, although my outdoor sprayer thingy doesn't have a shutoff valve on the sprayer.
That shut-off valve was what got us into that mess! Without it, you should be good, since there's no way to "shut off" the water without actually shutting it off! :)
Right, I saw that. With mine, you have to shut the water off at the handles. But I'm glad I know that, just in case I ever get something different or it happens to someone else. Glad for you that it was an easy fix!
BRILLIANT! Thank you. as newbie RVers *about* to purchase our first ever RV, we are devouring everything we can to be RV smart.
I find many RV videos online are over our newbie heads, but this was explained perfectly so it was easy to follow.
Thank you very much for such an informative video.
Congratulations on your upcoming RV purchase!
I used to repair and maintain fire trucks. Many operator reported issues were like this. So many valves to keep up with and so many different people playing with them.
On our first trip with our new TT (two years ago) I had a similar problem. It wasn't the outside shower. Both valves to and from the hot water tank were open and the bypass was too. With the bypass open both hot and cold water mixed before it traveled to the faucet.
The bypass (for winterizing) was also open on the water pump which meant the fresh tank never pressurized.
With the lack of quality control in RV's we also had a big problem when the trailer underbelly flooded. They didn't install a clamp on the water line leading into the water heater. When the hose heated up and became more flexible the hose came off. The water flowed under the cabinet until it found the opening for the propane line. It flowed into the underbelly and finally burst through the sealant. This is one of the reasons why we don't leave the city water valve open when we leave the trailer.
Man, that was way more interesting than it should have been. Great video!
LOL Thanks! :)
Thank you so much for the video! I am getting ready to buy a travel trailer and i can tell you that would of puzzled me big time. Great channel :)
Thanks and congrats!!
Looks like this could be usful to keep the pipes from freezing if passing through cold weather for a couple of days.
It should be noted that some RV's can have this problem and not have an outdoor facet at all. I have a 79 Honey with a self contained bathroom. If you turn on the shower head and then turn it off by the wand, the cold water can backfeed into the hot and cause it to be cool. It can also cause the cold to become warm.
When we first started 12 years ago the first trip after winter I forgot to switch my water heater from winterize bypass. Basically the same mistake. Luckily I figured it out after bout an hour or so. Thatnks for the tip!
Just found your video -- thanks for sharing it! You've probably saved a lot of people from making the same mistake!
2022 Grand Design Solitude here and this still applies! Thank you so much!
our fifth wheel's water heater was making a noise. Now no water is coming out... we are spending the night at a KOA in TN. So maybe we can get a someone to look at it. Great tips though..
Sorry to hear Jennifer. When you say "making a noise" do you mean the "whoosh" of the propane burner... or something else? We've never hear a sound from a water heater other than that. And are you getting NO water flowing when you turn on a hot water tap.... or no HOT water. If you're getting no water at all, is it possible you were working on anything related to the water heater since the last time you used it, and possibly left a valve in the wrong position (the water heater bypass would stop all water from flowing through any faucet when you try to run pure hot water through it).
Such a common mistake I had a 4 story office building do that because housekeeping left a fitting on a faucet with both sides open til I found it and corrected the issue.
Thank you! Doing a flow test this afternoon comparing city water pressure to water pump pressure and haven't had more than lukewarm water since. Yep, indoor shower valves were both open, flow cut off at shower head.
Good bit of info there. I just bought my first RV with an outside shower. I'll remember this.
Congrats on your new rig!
I did that with a new shower shower body in a house I put the temporary block off and but took out the plugged for the hot water and the water was just circulating around
I got a call from a guy who's house hot water was running out right away. I knew something was up because this house had two full size water heaters hooked up together, also had a circulator so you would not have to wait for hot water. Someone had tapped into the supply side of the water heater line for the lawn sprinklers. Normally this would be cold water but here it was a mix of returning hot and cold. So he had been watering the yard with warm water every day
Wonder if that’s better for the grass than cold water? 😂
Thank you for making this video. Fixed our problem real quick.. Thank you
Thanks for the tip. We are new to RVing and appreciate the help of others.
Ahhh, this may fix my issue. Just checked the outside shower and the hot had been left on, but not the cold. Switched hot off and we will see what happens.
Video was very well thought out and presented.
You just saved me HOURS! Of work thank you!
Thanks for letting us know, Paul!
Great Tip! Thanks much. We're rather new, 2 years. Just upgraded to newer RV. Having trouble with the Water heater working at all. Didn't know even the basics, This video showed me a lot I didn't know and now I can test it out when I get home. Thanks!!
Congratulations on your new RV, Jeff. Another related problem that can cause your water heater to "fail" is having the bypass valves turned to the "bypass" position, thereby taking the water heater out of the plumbing line completely. One thing.... while troubleshooting your water heater be sure to NEVER turn it on when it's drained. No faster way to burn out an electric water heater element than turning it on with an empty tank. Thanks for the comment. :)
Would water flow the the hot faucet if the bypass was enabled?
Jeff Jarecki Yes, it will still flow. What the bypass does is simply allow cold water to flow directly to the hot water faucets, "bypassing" the water heater.
RVgeeks Where would I find the bypass? Thanks to your video btw, I found out why my hot water heater wasn't working though I haven't yet tested it. There was an on/off switch out on the heater, it was switched to off. =) But where would I look for the bypass?
Jeff Jarecki Every system has their own plumbing layout, but if you check out this video, you'll see us clearly showing how ours looks, and how we use it: ua-cam.com/video/jEepug8N-aE/v-deo.htmlm6s
Simple and yet...i'm 100% sure I would make that mistake. Spending so much time studying effective ways to dump the tanks..😝Thanks👍
+Joe Garagozzo Thanks Joe! 😊
Funny thing (ok, no - not at time!!) is, this happened to me in my HOUSE!
I had a fancy little hands free faucet installed on my shop sink... so I wouldn't have to get it all goopy when washing my hands. Thought the T-stat on my near new water heater had gone south. Turned out it was the same thing, where it was causing a loop back/through effect, and I only ever had warm. Lost the gadget, fixed the problem!
Install a check valve on the hot water line going to the faucet will fix the problem (hot water side has less pressure than cold which allows cold water to reverse down hot line).
You know that you've traveled a lot when you see a video and know exactly when it was filmed s/b Hwy 247 approaching Hwy 62 in Yucca Valley. Great Vid, I won't make that mistake which is so easy to do.
You are indeed well traveled, Abe! Good call! :)
Found this while troubleshooting the same problem (except my LP heater did come on and heated up the water). Turned out both valves were turned on just like in the video. Haven't re-checked to see if that fixed it but I'm believing that was what happened. It was our first time out in this new (to us) 2003 Southwind so I guess the previous owners left them turned on. Thanks for the great informative video!
Congratulations on your new-to-you RV, Ken! Thanks for the comment. :)
RVgeeks
Just to follow up, we went camping last weekend and the hot water was as hot as we could ever want it so that definitely was the problem. Thanks again!
Excellent! Thanks for the follow-up Ken.
I get this problem every year with clients. Someone buys a new triailer. Washes out side and does the same thing and fails to turn off the taps. , when winterizing when i winterize i ask the owner how the hot water was all summer. and they complain, so i look for the out door faucet. both faucets are open. total fail.
We just dewinterized and lost electric side of the hot water. I now need to check if we did the same thing
yes, we did the same thing you did. We even had the local shop look at the water heater. Next time camping we shut the outside shower off at the knobs, and now we again have hot water. Thanks for the info!
Good info, I never use my outdoor shower. I use a wye fitting at the water connection and a second hose pipe and sprayer. I use that same second hose as my black tank wash hose too. The wye fitting has a valve on each outlet which is handy too.