Water Heater Access??

[Dave1956]

Greetings,

I have a new to me 2015 Itasca Sunova 33C. Can anyone advise me if I am correct that the access door is screwed shut at the bottom and hinged at the top? I am accustomed to gaining access to the water heater with out unscrewing anything on previous coaches.

Thanks,

Dave

[GlenB]

2005 fleetwood expedition I was lucky to have a drawer just above my hot water tank. Remove drawer and I could repair a broken line on top of the tank. Perhaps you have similar set up GlenB

[RandyLee]

Yes, a couple screws at the bottom lets the cover hinnge upward.

[Dave1956]

Thanks Randy! I thought I would ask before I had to winterize in a couple of weeks.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Greetings,

I have a new to me 2015 Itasca Sunova 33C. Can anyone advise me if I am correct that the access door is screwed shut at the bottom and hinged at the top? I am accustomed to gaining access to the water heater with out unscrewing anything on previous coaches.

Thanks,

Dave

As mentioned you do have to remove a couple screws to open the door and gain access to the water heater. Our 2013 Adventurer has the same setup. Since we drain the water after each trip I decided to replace the screws with captured nuts and thumb screws.

I ordered a package of this style nut from McMaster Carr:

McMaster-Carr

I also had to order the tool to install them:

McMaster-Carr

Once in place I used some thumb screws I had on hand:

McMaster-Carr

Now it only takes a couple seconds to remove the thumb screws and open the access door.

I'm sure there are many other ways to install a similar nut/thumbscrew arrangement. I used these items because I had some of the parts in stock and had used them in the past with great success. I would caution that if you go this or a similar route to use stainless fasteners where ever possible.

[Dave1956]

Hiker dog thanks for the excellent idea, I look forward to doing the same as I winterize several times a year coming and going from Colorado! Curious why you drain your h2o heater so often?

Dave

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Hiker dog thanks for the excellent idea, I look forward to doing the same as I winterize several times a year coming and going from Colorado! Curious why you drain your h2o heater so often?

Dave

We drain the water heater primarily because we don't know when the next time the coach will be used. Sometimes it's only a couple weeks between trips. Other times it's several months.

This has been one of those years it's been several months between use. We had a lot of work done around the house this year including a complete all new landscaping and new lawn.

When it gets late in the year there's no guarantee it won't drop below freezing by the next time we use it. At least if the temperatures do drop it's a minor chore to add antifreeze.

[Dave1956]

Good idea !