Hot water heater

[Doug and Anita]

2006/3295RK
We have been fulltiming for almost a year now and our HW heater never made noises before. Now it makes a whining noise when the hot water is being run. It is on electric and we have plenty of hot water but why has it started making noise and is it something that I need to worry about.

[BillyRay]

I don't think so, is it doing anything else?

[bigmurf]

Sometimes I can hear our WH (on electric only) at night. I think it must be the element heating the water and causing some small bubbles in the water.

[dieselguy]

Doug and Anita: My 2000 2850RK's hot water heater (electric mode) started doing the very same thing the last year I had it ... my 2005 2980RL does it on and off also. It sounds kinda like a coffee pot brewing only without the purcolating noise. I've tried bleeding the air off the top ... filling it with the relief valve open ... then tried closed with faucet open ... doesn't make any difference. No problems so far, but I'll be watching your post for a definitive answer.

[sreigle]

Doug and Anita, you said it is only when the hot water is being run? That sounds like maybe some kind of obstruction in the the water line. There is a checkvalve in the line, screwed into the tank itself, between the tank and the line. I wonder if that checkvalve is about to fail. It's less than five dollars at any rv dealer if you want to replace it and see if that solves it. When that valve failes completely it shuts off water flow from the water heater.

[dieselguy]

Steve: Good call, I misunderstood "hot water being run" as just having the heater on.

[DonandJudy_12]

It may be corrosion build up inside the water heater itself- Have you ever flushed it out as recommended? Have you replaced the anode rod? Need instructions? I can help-- Don

[madeforeachother]

We had the same problem years ago and the reason is that the hard water at many campgrounds contain many minerals that over time build up on the heating element thus making that noise you spoke of . We had the element replaced at Camping World and installed an inline filter on our water feed to the rig. Haven't heard a peap since. Remember the filter doesn't last forever, We replace ours every 3-4 months as we are fulltimers.

[Doug and Anita]

This trailer is less than a year old and should not have a mineral buildup in that length of time. It does seem like maybe the checkvalve may be the culprit.

[richfaa]

Ours does that every once in awhile,,the tank in our stick house does the same thing.. We are in such close quarters in these campers and we tend to hear every little thing..

[OntMont]

This is most likely caused by scale build-up on the heating element. You get a spot where most of the heat is being transferred, resulting in localized boiling of the water around that spot. It will eventually cause the element to burn out. Try taking the element out and scraping off the scale. Vinegar or CLR should help.

The Suburban rep at the Goshen Rally said that there is an alternate (more expensive) element that is less prone to this because it is larger, and has a lower heat intensity, but scale will eventually kill any element. (BTW, mine needs cleaning too!) A portable water softener should eliminate the problem, and that is what I am planning on getting.

[bsmeaton]

Ya just learn the best things here!

[Doug and Anita]

I do have a water softener and the problem is not the element because the water is hot it just can not pass through the checkvalve. It appears that a bad checkvalve just cuts off the hotwater from exiting the HW heater. The service tech at the place where we bought the trailer agreed with this theory and is sending a new checkvalve under warranty. However, other RV shops tell me that a checkvalve is not necessary at all. Any ideas about this.

[OntMont]

I think there are circumstances where cold water could back flow into the water heater if it was not there. This would result in a slug of cold water traveling down the hot water pipes next time there was a flow. Could be a nasty shock in the shower. I doubt Keystone would put it there if it was not required. It would probably work just fine most of the time, but I'm sure there is a good reason for it to be there. People have replaced the stock plastic one with a brass one, that is probably a good investment, if you ever have to replace it again.

[Garin1]

I have the brass one and it stopped up the other day. I tried to replace it and could not get it out. I removed the Qest connector an worked the plunger a few times and it started working properly again. My paperwork says the check valve is to prevent anti-freeze from getting into the water heater during winterizing.

[Doug and Anita]

Problem solved. The checkvalve on top of the HW heater was bad. A internal part broke loose and clogged the valve. The part was only $5.00 and took me about 15 minutes to install.

[Sweetfire]

Steve, you remain "THE MAN". Good call Mr. Wizard!

[trukdoc]

Has anyone looked into converting to a stickhouse tankless water heater.

[exav8tr]

Rick, I will be interested to hear replies on this thread also. I looked into the Rinaai (sp) tankless system and several others sold in home stores here in Alaska. Mind you I was looking for my stick home. The problem up here was that the ground water was so cold that the water heater would not heat it enough to be beneficial, however, I am still thinking of checking into it for my 3400. Would be interesting to see if anyone else has one and can report on it...

[exav8tr]

Has no one out there tried this? Does anyone know the technology behind these things? Would they even be possible in a 5er? Inquiring minds still want to know.....