Water heater on for no obvious reason

[jenbooks]

Hi all. We moved my casita today from one site to another in the RV park (I towed it myself, first time!) After leveling and stabilizing and reconnecting electric we notice the hot water heater humming for the last hour for no reason as we haven't used the faucet. Did I do something wrong when I moved it, ie was I supposed to turn something off? I opened the metal facing on the heater from the outside but don't see any switch. I don't want the element to burn out (and it does smell a little stinky when I opened it so maybe I need to check the anode.)

We are worried and want to figure out how to turn it off. I do have the manual so I will go look!


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Jack L]

An electric water heater should have a dedicated (separate ) circuit breaker in the electrical panel. As the water cools down the thermostat will call for more heat to keep the water at the set temp.

[steve dunham]

The water heater on my Casita has a separate circuit breaker in the converter and a disconnect (Rocker switch) at the heater (lower left hand corner , behind some piping) . The gas (propane ) is controlled by
a switch located on the face of the rear dinnette seat on the drivers side.

[Casita Greg]

I hope that there was water in your HWH if your heating element was energized, because if your heating element was on, it only takes one minute of being on, without being surrounded by water, to burn it out. If that is the case, you're looking at buying a new heating element. If the reservoir on the HWH was full, you should be ok.

[Eddie Longest]

Turn off the WH at the breaker panel. Then inspect to see that the theromstat is attached to the tank. If you have a aftermarket elec. WH modification, like Litening/Hott Rod the T-stat is attached to the tank with a type of VHB tape. They (after market systems) suggest sealing the edges with silicone if the tape does not hold it in place. If the t-stat is attached sounds like it could be a bad T-stat. Is you water hot? You may just be hearing your converter. If the noise continues after the WH breaker is off it's not the WH.

[jenbooks]

I will try to take the advice but I'm not very mechanical. I found out today, when a plumber replaced the leaky faucet, that I had the switch at the sink on, he said it fills my water tank, so I turned that off since I don't boondock.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[steve dunham]

How does the switch for the pump fill your water tank.?
You fill the water tank manually with water and the pump pumps the water from the water tank to the plumbing fixtures.

[jenbooks]

I don't know...what is that switch for right under the front of the sink?


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[jenbooks]

Casita Greg, is there any reason my hot water heater would be empty?


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by jenbooks

I don't know...what is that switch for right under the front of the sink?


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

It turns on the water pump that pumps water from the fresh water holding tank to the various plumbing fixture in your trailer (Kitchen faucet ,toilet, shower etc etc) If you are not connected to city water ,the pump is needed to move the water to the fixtures.
*Connecting your trailer to city water will not fill your fresh water holding tank and you do not need to run the pump when connected to city water*

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by gordon2

What we have here, in the famous words of Strother Martin (as the Captain, a prison warden) is a "failure to communicate." Either your plumber was clueless when it came to RVs or you misunderstood him (and I suspect the former). The switch controls a pump that puts air pressure in the water system but it does not add water to the trailer's tanks.. If you are hooked up to "city water", which means a hose connected from the trailer to campsite or home faucet, then the "city water" system supplies the pressure, just like the garden hose outside your home. But if you are using water stored in the tanks, then the pump in the trailer provides air pressure that get the water to come out the faucets in the trailer.

RV's have been known to make many a non-mechanically inclined person much more mechanically inclined. Its almost requisite to owning a RV so embrace the learning curve.

How does the pump put air pressure in the system? The suction side of the pumo draws water directly from the storage tank and the discharge side of the pump goes directly into the water piping system . The last thing you want is air in the system especially at the pump
(cavitation) The pump needs to be flooded .The only time air is involved is when you have a bladder or pressure tank ,which rhe Scamp does not have . The pump in the Scamp pumps water not air .

[Glenn Baglo]

Sounds similar to my Escape.
You need to connect to city water to fill the water heater. There may be bypass valves ( used when winterizing ) that prevent water from entering the water heater after it has been drained. You have to make sure those are open.
Connect to city water and turn on the tap. And, if your water heater is like mine, there is a pressure relief valve that you can open to ensure that water has filled the heater ( see pix - valve here, top centre is open and water is coming out, first pic ). If water exits the pressure relief valve, you know the water heater is full.
Second pic is showing the valve, but closed.

[jenbooks]

Thanks all. I am not likely to become more mechanically inclined nor embrace any such curve. :-). It's bad enough I have to consult a manual. I don't know what was on the other night but it went off after a while. I did have the water pump switch on in spite of being connected to RV park water. The good (?) news is before posting on here I got scared and consulted the manual under the sink and noticed it was damp and discovered a leak that required a new faucet that was installed today (too expensive! Pretty tho)

I did buy that casita book/manual recommended on here and haven't cracked it open.

I do need a checklist before towing (my first tow was two days ago from one site to another maybe 1/4 mile and was so very proud of myself....a guy walked down the curving road in front of me cheering me on and showed me how to balance and level the casita.

I got my etrailer p2 and pigtail etc and need them installed.

I generally am famous for throwing out instructions when I buy something....


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

How does the pump put air pressure in the system?

Nevermind.. different system .. post was deleted

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by jenbooks

Casita Greg, is there any reason my hot water heater would be empty?


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

I don't know whether it was full or not, only speculating that if the electric element was on without water in the heater's reservoir, it only takes about one minute to ruin the heating element. Hope that this wasn't the case for you. From your description of the weird noises coming from it, that was just a concern. Hope it was something else...

[jenbooks]

Hi Casita Greg, it wasn't a strange sound--just that it was on. I guess it just does that, according to other posts.

[Eddie Longest]

Jen
The water pump on the Casita 17 I had was located right next to the water heater The noise you were hearing was more than likely the water pump not the converter.
Eddie