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View Full Version : Water Heater switch & bypass? Need help quick!


MichiganMarty
07-02-2010, 09:19 PM
My brother is camping on his first trip out with his brand new 19' DFD (?) Gulf Breeze Sport and cannot find his electric switch to turn on the water heater via gas or 100v. Also cannot find the bypass for the water heater. I warned him he shouldn't try to start the water heater unless it was filling with water, so locating the bypass is a concern. Can anyone help?

MichiganMarty
07-02-2010, 09:36 PM
I just talked to my brother on his cell . . . he had to light it manually and he now has hot water. Do these not have a auto igniter?

Question still remains on whether it is is gas only only or gas/electric and where the heater bypass is . . .

Thanks in advance to any and all who may respond.

DAF
07-03-2010, 01:04 PM
Most RV water heaters have auto ignition for gas operation. The switch is located on the wall in the kitchen area. For electric operation there is a switch in the water heater itself that you can access once you open the outside WH door. All this should be clearly explained in the owners manual. If he needs one, it can be downloaded here: http://www.gulfstreamcoach.com/tidbitst ... manual.pdf (http://www.gulfstreamcoach.com/tidbitstuff/traveltrailerfifthwheelownersmanual.pdf)

MichiganMarty
07-03-2010, 04:58 PM
DAF,
Thanks for the response. My guess is, it is LP only.

I can't see the trailer because it is 140 miles away, but I will see it soon enough.

As far as the bypass goes, the manual you gave the link to does not specify "where" it is. My brother says there is no access to the heater from inside the camper, so the bypass valves are either not there, or difficult to get to. I'll know more when he gets back into town.

Thanks again for the response,
MichiganMarty

DAF
07-03-2010, 05:26 PM
You are welcome! By-pass piping for WH's used to be optional years ago, but now it is pretty much standard. In my Innsbruck it is right behind the WH (inside the RV) and accessible from under the main bed. Tell your brother to look again inside the trailer in the vicinity of the WH for access. It can be in a storage compartment or even behind a detachable cover. If he now has hot water it means that the by-pass (if it exists) is off. You only use the by-pass when winterizing the RV so that the antifreeze does not go into the WH (expensive). All you have to do then is drain all the water from the WH.

MichiganMarty
07-06-2010, 08:54 AM
Okay, here is the skinny:

The water heater is a Suburban and is under the bench seat in the dinette. It can only be accessed after removing the seat pads and two screws to remove the plywood seat panel. It would have been nice if they had made it more accessable. (Anything to save $ so they can lower the price to be competitive, I guess.)

It does not have auto-ignition - it must be lit by hand outside the camper. (Another cost savings.)

It does not have a 110v electric water heater element. ($ savings.)

The water pump is under the stove and can only be accessed by removing four screws in the wood panel in the cabinet near the floor. We didn't bother to remove it to see if it had the bypass set up for sucking in RV antifreeze - he can deal with that later, but at least he knows about it.

The funny part is, everytime I tell him what he needs to do or get done, he says, "The dealer never told me anything about that!" His salesman is probably not a camper and figures my brother will learn on his own - he is.

All in all, it is a nice camper with everything they were looking for - based on the limitations of their tow vehicle.

Thanks to DAF for your help!

legaleagle
07-19-2010, 10:17 PM
rv rentals arizona (http://www.rvrentaloutlet.com) I just talked to my brother on his cell . . . he had to light it manually and he now has hot water. Do these not have a auto igniter?

Question still remains ...

Please refer to the owner's/user's manual for safety as well.

crazyv
07-21-2010, 07:50 AM
I have a Breeze Sport but mine has both LP and electric water heater. I have to remove a cotter pin manually for the electric to work though - safety feature. And my heater/bypass isn't under the dinette - it's under the bottom bunk in the rear of the camper.

I am glad he figured it out. And we got lucky when we bought ours - they gave us a very thorough walk through as if we had never camped or used a camper before. It was super helpful.

legaleagle
07-25-2010, 10:19 AM
I have a Breeze Sport but mine has both LP and electric water heater. I have to remove a cotter pin manually for the rv rental (http://www.rvrentaloutlet.com) though - safety feature. And my heater/bypass isn't under the dinette - it's under the bottom bunk in the rear of the camper.

I am glad he figured it out. And we got lucky when we bought ours - they gave us a very thorough walk through as if we had never camped or used a camper before. It was super helpful.
_________________
Rachael & family 2010 nights: 7 down, 17 to go
2010 Gulfstream Sport 21TSB hybred bunk house
2002 Trailblazer 4x4 EXT
2005 Rockwood Premier 1904 SOLD
2001 Keystone Cabana 17 ft hybred SOLD
2000 Trail-lite Bantam 21 ft hybred INS LOSS.