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Old 11-28-2005, 07:20 AM   #1
stevenff
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:29 HELP! We just took our S16 on a little late November trip. We used the cold water but didn't use the water heater. It was empty from being drained and the valve to fill it was shut off. We returned home and I was re-winterizing it and ran into a problem. I got the antifreeze through all the cold water lines then decided to get more and do the hot water system. Opened the valve and pumped the water heater full with kitchen sink hot water walve open. Air came through fine, but when tank filled up the it stopped. The pump stopped. Now when you turn on a water valve, hot or cold, nothing comes through. There is pressure in the system. I opened the relief valve on the water heater and it is pressurized, but the antifreeze will not go throught the system. So I still have water in the hot water line to the shower. The hot water line to the sink has antifreeze in it. What happened? Antifreeze should go through the system like water, shouldn't it. It is wierd. It is like there is a blockage in the system that affects both hot and cold lines. HELP! I need to resolve this today as it is supposed to freeze tonight.
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Old 11-28-2005, 10:35 AM   #2
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Almost sounds like to me that pump quit. Check fuses?
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Old 11-28-2005, 04:06 PM   #3
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Pump is working. I took line off of pressure side and pump worked. I relieved the pressure in the the hot water tank by the relief valve and then the pump pumped until pressure built up. The problem is that water will not run through the lines. It is almost like there is a blockage somewhere. I called Scamp and baffled them too.
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Old 11-28-2005, 09:00 PM   #4
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Are the valves for the water heater bypass properly configured?

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Old 11-28-2005, 09:03 PM   #5
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You say you opened the hot water tank valve...Did you close the other valves? Are you sure water can flow out of the hot water heater? You may have only opened one of the two valves that are closed in order to take the hot water tank off line.

Paul
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Old 11-29-2005, 07:22 AM   #6
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I have only found one valve and that is on the fill side of the water heater. There is no bypass. Antifreeze finally did slowly get to the shower faucet. I left it open all night and in the morning there was antifreeze coming through slowly. But, the line is full, so I will wait till spring to see what happens after I drain the system and refill with water. Thanks for your comments.
Steve
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Old 11-29-2005, 08:28 AM   #7
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How are you getting anti-freeze into your water system? I wonder if your suppply is low. I have experienced strange behavior when the water level in the fresh water tank is very low.

When I winterize my trailer I first drain the fresh water tank and water heater. I then pour 8 or 9 gallons of non-toxic RV anti freeze into my fresh water tank. I then run the hot water at the kitchen sink until strong (not diluted with water) anti-freeze comes out - about 6 gallons. I then run the cold water at the kitchen sink until anti-freeze comes out. Next I move to the pressurized city water inlet, toilet, and finish with the shower's hot and cold lines. When I am finished, a gallon or two of anti freeze remain in the fresh water tank. There is also a bit of anti-freeze left in the black and gray water tanks.

It may help to study the schematic diagram of the plumbing system found in the owners manual. Don't have one? Read the one that came with my Scamp; I have it posted on my web site - URL listed below.

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Old 11-29-2005, 08:51 AM   #8
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Steven; don't know what the temp was when you added the antifreeze but the stuff I have states that it forms a gel at low temperatures but doesn't expand and burst piping. It may be that you are trying to pump goo through the plumbing? According to the Scamp owners manual, the hot system is simply drained at the time the water heater is drained by opening the hot water valve in the bathroom and allowing the water to drain out through the water heater. This didn't strike me as a real sure way of getting the water our so I blew my system down with compressed air.

What I did was drain the hot water tank (I put a small drain valve in the larger drain plug so I don't have to carry another 50 lb of water when towing). I closed all of the faucets on the hot system and the drain to the water tank. Connected city water supply to the Scamp and opened the supply valve to the water tank. City water flows into the tank until the pressure of the air pocket at the top of the tank reaches the same pressure as the city water pressure. Close the tank supply valve. Open the hot faucet on the sink until air comes out (real quick). Close the sink faucet and open the hot water faucet on the shower. Water will come out for 20-30 seconds followed by air. Close the faucet and inspect the lines to be sure the water is blown out (45 psi generally does a good job). Turn the city supply off. Drain the hot water tank and leave the plug out. Pump antifreeze through the cold system per the manual.
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