Hot Water Heater - Rusty Water - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-07-2006, 11:25 AM   #1
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When I bought my bigfoot last year the previous owner made it clear that the HW heater didn't work. Being curious I fired it up anyways. He may be right because it produces a rustry brown sludgy water through my system. Does anyone have experience rebuilding these? What would it take to repair or is it a throw away since it is circa 1986. I am going to take a boo at the Anode rod later today if I can free up hte rusted nut.
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Old 07-07-2006, 11:47 AM   #2
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It'll be either a 6 gallon Suburban or Atwood. New replacements are available through any RV dealer or online. They're a couple of hundred bucks, and can be easy or a pain to replace, depending on where they're located and how isolated the manufacturer tried to make them. In any event, there's no "rebuilding" to them. When they're spitting out rust, they're on their last legs.

Good luck!

Roger
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Old 07-10-2006, 11:00 PM   #3
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Thanks Roger, that sounds like the least painful answer. It is actually easy to get at...I think...as it is under the front dining area seat in full view. One last question, do I need a gas fitter to setup hte propane line or is this a DIY job?
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Old 07-11-2006, 07:25 PM   #4
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should be an easy DIY. We had a 17' Bigfoot that I replaced the water heater in.

Paul
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Old 07-11-2006, 09:13 PM   #5
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Have you tried flushing the crud from the tank by running water into the tank with the drain valve open?

It may not be time to replace the water heater if you can flush out the crud.

-- Dan Meyer
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Old 07-11-2006, 11:26 PM   #6
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produces yucky brown chunky water
Hey hey hey, now!

Don't be talkin' bout my coffee that way!
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Old 07-12-2006, 10:38 AM   #7
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Red face

Terry,

We flushed the heck our of the heater and then flushed it again with bleachy watter (about a cup of bleach for the 6 gallen tank). and this cleaned out the rust and very stinky smell.

However, if you need to replace it is easy on the Bigfoot. The hot water heater is easy to get to through the bench.

Hope this helps.

- Joe
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Old 07-14-2006, 10:25 AM   #8
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One used to be able to buy just the inside tank, and I have done that a couple of times, years ago.
The mystery to me, is that the tanks were made of aluminum, so they should not rust.
Someone might have used some galvanized fittings on it, and they will rust and cause yucky brown water.
The only reason that I had to replace tanks was that the chemicals in hard water ate through them, and they became holy (wholey) and righteous.
Have you tried really flushing it out, preferably with some vinegar, and replacing any galvanized fittings with brass or pvc ?
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Old 07-14-2006, 12:03 PM   #9
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The mystery to me, is that the tanks were made of aluminum, so they should not rust.
That makes sense to me; however, only if the tanks are actually aluminum. The tanks which I have seen (in stores and on websites) which appear to be made of aluminum are Atwood models, and according to Atwood their tanks are aluminum [b]clad - a sandwich of aluminum layers on each side of another metal (presumably steel). Any crack in the cladding is an opportunity for corrosion of the underlying metal.
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Old 07-15-2006, 08:33 PM   #10
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That makes sense to me; however, only if the tanks are actually aluminum. The tanks which I have seen appear to be made of aluminum are a sandwich of aluminum layers on each side of another metal (presumably steel). Any crack in the cladding is an opportunity for corrosion of the underlying metal.
Brian, I haven't replaced an RV water heater tank in 25 years, so they could be made out anything, these days. I am surprised that they haven't made them out of something even more modern, like CPVC !!! Surely, if they have added a steel (?) core, they could have come up with a better idea than that ! (The Almighty Dollar, I guess. Whatever is cheaper to produce)
House water heater tanks are glass lined, so they don't rust.
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