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Old 03-06-2023, 09:03 AM   #1
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Hot water heater valve configuration

My hot water heater is lighting and working but we only get hot water for a few seconds and then it peters out. I think it has to do with my valves the three of them the upper hose the bypass hose in the lower hose. I have tried a number of different configurations with those three valves, but none of them seem to work. Anyone have any ideas for me? I have included an image of the three valves the top one flowing out of the water heater. The middle one is bypassing. The lower one in the picture is the entry as far as I see it.
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Old 03-06-2023, 10:54 AM   #2
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Sorry to say but this is not something that will be on drawings where we can look at what should happen. It is something that has been built, rather than the "Normal" bypass from new.

I'm thinking cold in on the bottom , hot out on the upper line?

So it may take a bit more trouble to find what has been built. But not impossible to sort out with using some ideas.

I would go about it like this.
First I would want to know that water is getting into the tank. To do that I would open some valve or vent on the tank to see water come out. I assume they did leave the pressure and temperature safety valve? That is one easy place to open the tank by flipping the handle up and leaving it as you turn on water pressure from a hose.
Turn on the hose and if water comes out the relief valve, you know water is getting IN! Close the valve again.

One reason to check each step is that the problem may be the valve settings OR it can also be a failed check valve along one of the lines, in or out. Those check valves were often on or very near the back of the heater. Can you spot anything that appears to be a check valve? Just something to be aware of if valve settings don't clear the problem?
I think the valve on these drawings is V6, so it may help to spot one if you have it near the same??

Click these snips to get a better view!
These drawings are the originail as built. First is option 53 J without bypass.
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Second is the OEM with option 53Q which has the bypass ( winterize) added.
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Best I can see, neither are what you have, so some testing/guessing is needed!

If doing this with cold water, you may be able to feel the tubing get cooler as the water flows and that can help ID in and out?

Once you have ID'd the in, look at the valve on that line to spot which way is closed and which open. Normally I think of the handle as an indicator for this. Aligned with the pipe being open, across the pipe closed? You may or may not have a valve on the input line.
Knowing which is in will let you then assume the other line from the tank is out! Then look for a line which lets water go past, rather than in, so that it goes to the outgoing line.
In other words, bypass, rather than go in, through, and out?
I tried to draw out the basic idea so you might be able to spot several valves which may need to be closed or opened at the right time.

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If you are getting "some" hot water, I might guess water is going into be heated but at the same time when you turn water on at a faucet, water is also bypassing so none is staying in the heater long enough to get hot??

Let us know if that makes sense and does the trick. Lots of guessing involved, so we may need to guess again!
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Old 03-06-2023, 11:12 AM   #3
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I do get hot water out of the pressure release valve so it’s full and it’s warm
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Old 03-06-2023, 01:12 PM   #4
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Okay, that covers the first idea real well .
If hot water is comming out and then not lasting long, I'm guessing that there is a valve on a line that goes between the cold going in and the hot going out and it is still open.

See that valve next to the orange line? If that valve is left open, you will first get hot or at least warm water at a faucet but it lets some cold water go into the tank and some cold water mix with the hot coming out to the faucet.

Kind of like a trail? You have the valves right to go in and come out but lots of water is taking a "short cut" before it goes to the heater. If you can feel which line is cold all the time and which line gets warm as you run some water, look for a "short cut" between those two lines and close it off to make ALL the water go into the heater.

If you have warm or hot water getting to the faucets, try to find the black valve as this drawing shows and CLOSE it.
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Old 03-06-2023, 05:22 PM   #5
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Are you sure both valves for the outside shower are turned off?, When they are left open it creates an open loop for cold and hot water to mix.
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Old 03-06-2023, 07:59 PM   #6
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This makes some sense as that’s how the water is coming out inside. The outside shower has been on. I did not realize there were valves to shut them off. Where would I find them?
But for argument sake why can’t you have both outside shower and inside faucet open at the same time?
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Old 03-06-2023, 08:43 PM   #7
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Are we getting into a language issue?
I think of most faucets having a valve for hot and a valve for cold. I think of faucet or valve as being interchangable, even though they are different.
When I turn a faucet on, I know I have opened a valve but rarely get down to splitting the issue that closely!

If both hot and cold valves at any faucet are left open, it will give a path for the water to mix but then if there has not been some mod made to fully shut that water off by capping the hose or showerhead, I would expect the user to notice the full stream of water coming out of that faucet, tap, spigot, showerhead, or whatever we have at the end!

This communications stuff is hard when we can't point to the things we discuss!!
Assuming the person who did the mods for bypassing the heater did it right, the most logical problem is one or more of the bypass valves they added is not set right.
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Old 03-11-2023, 06:56 PM   #8
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Never did figure it out. On my way home now approaching a snowstorm in Minnesota. If did not have to work Monday I would have stayed South
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Old 03-12-2023, 07:59 PM   #9
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Check valve?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dawgout View Post
My hot water heater is lighting and working but we only get hot water for a few seconds and then it peters out. I think it has to do with my valves the three of them the upper hose the bypass hose in the lower hose. I have tried a number of different configurations with those three valves, but none of them seem to work. Anyone have any ideas for me? I have included an image of the three valves the top one flowing out of the water heater. The middle one is bypassing. The lower one in the picture is the entry as far as I see it.
What do you mean with “peters out?” If you mean that the water slowly stops flowing, then I would suggest it’s the check valve on the output of the water heater. I have had two such incidents myself. Finally removed the check valve, which only function seems to be to block antifreeze from flowing into the heater when bypassing for winterization.
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Old 03-20-2023, 03:35 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dawgout View Post
But for argument sake why can’t you have both outside shower and inside faucet open at the same time?
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Originally Posted by Morich View Post
If both hot and cold valves at any faucet are left open, it will give a path for the water to mix but then if there has not been some mod made to fully shut that water off by capping the hose or showerhead, I would expect the user to notice the full stream of water coming out of that faucet, tap, spigot, showerhead, or whatever we have at the end!
A typical RV shower has a shutoff valve on the hand held shower head itself, in addition to the valves on the wall. If that shower is turned off at the shower head instead of the valve(s), it can lead to hot/cold mixing and cause all kinds of weird hot/cold issues at various taps.
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Old 03-20-2023, 07:54 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4van View Post
A typical RV shower has a shutoff valve on the hand held shower head itself, in addition to the valves on the wall. If that shower is turned off at the shower head instead of the valve(s), it can lead to hot/cold mixing and cause all kinds of weird hot/cold issues at various taps.
Agree that there is a valve there but I've not had one that really fully stopped flow and they leaked enough to spot.

But that's the fun of this type forum! We throw the money in the pool and it may make some ripples but we often never know where things go!
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