Hot water unit draining Help!

[AndrewC]

Today I decided to check the anode in my HWS but some how I ended up with water on the inside floor of my van in the process which has me a bit lost.

I am hoping if someone could tell me if the way I went about it is right or wrong in regards to draining the HWS.

Basically, I re-leaved any pressure in the unit, then cracked open the anode and removed it. Water then drained from the anode thread hole.

What I am thinking happened (presuming I drained the system right), is water flowed down the inside wall of the van as the HWS recess on the outside was not sealed in the bottom?

Can anyone offer any insight?

 

[cruza driver]

AndrewC That's sounds like what has happened mate here is a thread about changing the anode and Stone Stomper describes it well Anode replacement

 

[AndrewC]

Ok, well found the problem and lets just say that the van will be going back to jayco and everyone else should check their vans for what I found.

Two problems:

1. Flange on outside of van (bit behind the HWS door with all the screws) was not sealed as per the installation instructions. Whilst it was sealed to the outside, it was not sealed to the hot water unit inside with a second bead of sealant as per instructions. This meant when the anode is removed, the water flows into your van and down the inside wall.

2. All those screws in the same outside flange do not hold your HWS in place, they only hold the flange itself to the outside wall of the van. With this in mind, the HWS should have some timber blocks at the rear of the tank stopping the back from moving around in the cupboard. The front edge should also be screwed off through the opening cut in the wall of the van. My van has none of this and the whole HWS is just floating around the cupboard and only held in place by its own weight and its connecting pipes.

This concerns me as the gas is connected by a rigid copper pipe which can potentially crack off as it is connected to a non-fixed item. I am no gas fitter, but pretty sure that in itself would not be legal!

Page 3 of this explains it all Figure 1A and Figure 2-detail A

http://caravansplus.com.au/pdf/Suburban_Water_Heater_09.pdf

I am now just hoping that my internal timber work does not swell and my breakaway unit under the seat inside will dry out too as it got saturated.

Andrew

 

[Brad]

Ok so all of that sounds really poor form in terms of QA.
Hope it all gets fixed by Jayco.

 

[Burnsy]

Hmmm, I don't think you'd know if its sealed properly until you change the anode? But I'm sure AndrewC Jayco will fix.

 

[relgate]

Hi AndrewC, I had exactly the same problem when I changed the anode. It is on the top of the list when it goes in for warranty work next month. I suggest taking some pictures in case of fungal attack in future.
BTW, my water inlet plate has the same problem and water enters the van whan it rains. Must have been a friday job...

 

[Sterlo1]

Had the same problem too on our 2011 Sterling. As it was out of warranty I sealed around the inner flange with silicon.
Also, to stop the water pooling in the bottom I cut a hole thru the floor, sealed around the edges with silicon and use a small plug whenever not draining the tank.

 

[CJ1177]

Is draining the Hot water pressure relief pipe out through the bottom really the way that the HWS manufacturer would really want it done? from what I have seen on some vans Jayco has done a really rough job, or in my case didn't do it at all.

So before I get it fixed under warranty is there a better way to do the drain pipe, if so maybe I'll just fix it myself. Will the drain pipe work properly if it went through the same rubber grommet as the gas line.

 

[Pace]

Being shift worker, lets me do a lot of little jobs around the house, then i can work on the van too. So today i went to tackle the anode replacement.

1; Should i be doing this as the HWS is hot?
2; Also, is it a normal thread or a reverse thread?

I put the socket on it, a crikey its on there tight.

Thx, await replies.

Pace.

 

[AndrewC]

It is just a normal thread and I probably would not be doing it hot as it most likely under pressure. Also when pulling the anode out, its not fun trying to man handle it with hot water coming out. Release any pressure buy flicking the top up valve before working on it.

 

[relgate]

You must must must make sure you release the pressure from the tank before you try to remove the anode. This iuncludes making use of the pressure relief valve.
Pretty sure it is a standard thread.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[Pace]

Ok here's the update. Got the penetrene out and soaked it, done the school run, got home and went for it again. Thx for the above posts really gave me confidence to put added pressure on the socket.

What do you know undone like nothing, penetrene worked a treat. Whilst undoing the thread some slight water trickled out, then towards the end of the thread water flowed out.

Yes, I had all ready sealed the lower section of the external shroud so no water goes inside, went inside the van and not a drop inside, really happy about that.



Tomorrow I will flush out the tank and refit same anode, will review next Easter.

Pace.

 

[Xpandafan]

Could have come and watched @Pace!
Normal thread (ie undo anti-clockwise). Needs a bit of muscle to move.
Important that the water pump and heater OFF and let COOL. Use pressure relief valve until no more water comes out.
Also turn on hot tap at sink. Flush out the powdery stuff in the tank thoroughly. I used an old fashioned bottle brush as well. Garden hose without fitting will fit in.
Little bit of thread tape on the new anode.

 

[Xpandafan]

Ok here's the update. Got the penetrene out and soaked it, done the school run, got home and went for it again. Thx for the above posts really gave me confidence to put added pressure on the socket.

What do you know undone like nothing, penetrene worked a treat. Whilst undoing the thread some slight water trickled out, then towards the end of the thread water flowed out.

Yes, I had all ready sealed the lower section of the external shroud so no water goes inside, went inside the van and not a drop inside, really happy about that.

View attachment 16258

Tomorrow I will flush out the tank and refit same anode, will review next Easter.

Pace.

I'm too slow by half. Looks like quite a bit of that anode has gone already, so there'll be stuff to clean out. If you stick your finger in you'll be able to feel if anything gritty to be flushed out.

 

[Pace]

Could have come and watched @Pace!

@Xpandafan I'll be home in the morning mate putting it all back together once flushed out HWS clean, your welcome to come over. Pace.

 

[Jaybird]

After reading this thread I thought I would have look inside my van for water as I had changed the anode a couple of days ago. Sure enough water inside. My system has a metal tray under it and from a quick look last night it would appear it caught the water.
Sterlo1 did you take the outside shroud off to silicone or did you just wipe the silicone into the join.
Not much water got in considering the amount that flowed out so the leak cant be huge.
My van came out of warranty last week.

 

[Pace]

@Xpandafan I'll be home in the morning mate putting it all back together once flushed out HWS clean, your welcome to come over. Pace.

Ok, here's the completed info. I will need to add that from all the members previous experience in doing this change out has definitely made my experience smooth. Although, just to see what happens, I decided to mix things up a little and take pictures for all to see.

An added foot note, the red drain pipe from the pressure relief valve travels through inside the van to external drain, I too placed silicon around it (just in case Jayco sealant not good). You can see the silicon I added along the bottom of HWS shroud, this is really important to seal too so no water gets in the van.

So I done a flush with the pressure relief valve opened and the sink top turned to hot and open, this is the drain flow.



Then, I done it with above mentioned all closed, this is the result.



Plus I got wet too.

So I preped the new anode with teflon tap and dated it to know when it was replaced.



Installed and all good.



Cheers Pace.

 

[Jaybird]

An update on my leak, have had a good look at the sealing around bottom of the pan below anode outlet. I used a small makeup mirror from the wifes kit and discovered that the silicone that jayco put in had a small gap of about 20mm where they either missed or it had pulled away from flexing so I have wiped silicone right along the joint and hopefully that should be OK.
I have also noticed on internal inspection that they have not put any chocks in to stop the unit moving from side to side, I have tried to move it by pushing and cant but still may make some up and Sika them in position.

 

[Xpandafan]

Good job @Pace. Like the idea of dating the anode, that could be a first.
Ditto @Jaybird. Will have a look at chocking my HWS if it needs it. Better safe than sorry. Excuse to tidy up under that seat (that's where me & Mrs XF keep our "medicine" bottles).

 

[relgate]

nice work @Pace. I'm quietly happy you got wet....
:sorry: