hot water heater operation

[nclineprez]

I am learning about my Born Free and new to the RV world. I have filled my fresh water tanks, achieved running water at every outlet and am poised to try out the hot water heater..Currently the coach is on shore power , no city water, the water pump in on and the valves to the hot water heater are in the "summer" position. When I turn the hot water heater on by use of the bathroom switch the blue light acrivates for a few seconds and then goes off. I have not turned on the propane system. Will the water heater work on shore power? How long to produce hot water? Should the blue light in the bathroom stay on? Have I missed something? I dont want to burn up any elements. Any advice? Thanks Dirk

[whemme]

nclineprez,

It would help if you tell us what year and model Born Free you have. Some were equipped with water heaters that only ran off of propane gas and some would run off of either propane gas or AC shore line or generator power. Look up in your born Free owner's manual to find out which type water heater you have. My 2002 BF 26' RSB coach is equipped with a water heater that works only from propane. Underneath the bathroom sink is a horizontal switch with a red indicator. With the propane tank valve turned on, turning on this switch will normally cause the red light to illuminate for about 1 second, that is the time for the ignitor to light the gas and once the gas is burning (takes only about 1 second) and the red light then goes out. It will only take about 10 minutes to heat the water in the tank. If the red light stays on longer than say 2 seconds to 10 seconds, that means that the propane gas did not ignite and the control module keeps trying to ignite the gas over that longer period of time. However, if the gas does not ignite within the 10 seconds, the control module quits trying to ignite the gas and the red light then eventually goes off. You can tell if the water heater gas burner has ignited by going outside the coach near the water heater and you can hear the gas burning.

[nclineprez]

Thank you Bill. You have been very helpful. I have a 2002 26' like you and expect the water heater is propane only although the manual says propane or 12v. I am concerned about lighing the propane until I can confirm the hwh tank is full. How can I tell if the hwh tank is full of water? Dirk

[randallrae]

There is a high pressure relief on the tank . With the water system under pressure , lift the lever on the valve if water flows out the tank is full . The water heater needs 12 volts to light .

[whemme]

The other way to verify that the hot water tank is full of water is with the water pump on open any sink hot water faucet and as long as there is a steady flow of water with no periods of air gushing out, that means the water tank is full of water and it would be safe to ignite the propane burner to heat the water.

[nclineprez]

thanks. Dirk

[whemme]

Just make sure that the 3 water control valves near the rear of the water heater are in the summer position. The cross feed valve must be in the closed position so that the water pump forces water into and out of the water heater tank.

[bigdipper]

Dirk,
From the thread I conclude that, like my former 2001, water heater is propane only. The 2011 has switches side-by-side. Propane lights up for a few seconds, but on 110 there is no indication other than switch position.
Ralph

[oliverpsmile]

I have a propane/electric water heater. Since the heater is 1500 watts, some power sharing chores are required (example AC On, Microwave ON etc), not to exceed the current carrying capacity (30 amps) of the Shore Power Circuit.

So, I made some modifications to reduce the chores:

I installed 15 amps selector switch - ON[shore] - OFF - ON [BF] .
The shore terminal is powered through a power cord, connected to the Shore Panel outlet.
The BF terminal is the original.

I also installed a "cosmetic relay" - to energize the Heater Switch indicator.

[randallrae]

http://tweetys.com/automatic-load-shed- ... gJb2PD_BwE Mine came with this.

[bigdipper]

My instruction manual made reference to heating element being turned off automatically when micro wave powered up.
Ralph