“Ahh-h-h. It’s so nice to have hot water again,” remarked Margaret as she watched steaming water swirl into the kitchen sink. For almost two weeks, our warm dishwater has come from a kettle perched on the edge of the sink.
It all started when Margaret noticed the floor in the kitchen’s corner starting to bubble up at the edges. I pulled the pots and pans out of the corner cupboard. The floor and carpeting were wet. The water heater was leaking.
We replaced the heater seven years ago and it has given us good service for all that time. I ordered the identical unit from an RV dealer in Nova Scotia – on the other side of the country. Despite a 3400 mile (5500 km) truck ride across the Canada, it was still $150 cheaper.
With the handy online tracking app, I was able to watch my water heater being trucked around in circles in the Maritimes. It took 10 days to arrive. Fortunately, with the hot water side of our plumbing system capped off, at least we had running water, cold as it was.
Since I bought the exact same unit, in theory it was a simple job to remove and replace it. I’ve found that things are never so easy.
The old heater never sat quite right. The access door and frame on the outside of the RV never fit snugly. It looked bad and rain leak problems were always a potential issue. This time, I built up the floor supports so the heater lined up evenly with the bottom of the access door.
And, I was again reminded that the plumbing in this age of motorhome was of the old grey polybutylene variety – obsolete for over 25 years. The RV’s waterline connector would not match the shiny new brass fitting I had installed in the hot water tank. Visits to several big box stores and a speciality plumbing supply house turned up no simple solution. (“Have you thought of replacing all the plumbing in the RV?”) Fortunately, while rummaging through my box of random plumbing parts, I came across an old style fitting that would do the job. (I fight an ongoing battle over the wisdom of keeping boxes of junky old stuff.)
Now, the heater was in place and the water connected. There were three small drips at the connections. Par for the course, but I managed to take care of the leaks..
Finally, I plugged it in…. Nothing. Oh yeah. I still had to go outside and flip the heater’s switch to “on”.
We have hot water. Time for a nice hot shower.
Heading Down the Road 
So glad you have hot water again. Lucky you to have just the part you needed to hook up your new heater. From time to time I give Jim a hard time about all the “junk” in the garage, but you just never know. Counting the days until “greenup”.
The challenge is keeping the [amount of junk]/[total available space] ratio in control.
“The challenge is keeping the [amount of junk]/[total available space] ratio in control.
Reply.”
OK. So it’s just a math problem, then. 😉