B190 Enthusiasts

Newbie with another dumb question......does the water pump have to be on to fire up the water heater????? Can I leave the water heater on and turn off the water pump?

thanks
Babsy

The depends...
If you're "docked" and have a hose connected to your water inlet, then the pressure of the water coming from the hose will push the hot water from the water heater as it refills with cold water.
If you're using the onboard water tank, then you will need to keep the pump on to move water.

The key being: don't fire up the water heater unless you are SURE that it is filled with water, whether on propane or electric. The electric element can burn out quickly if it isn't immersed while on. I'm not sure what safety features the propane burner might have to shut itself off if the tank isn't filled.

Once you KNOW the water heater is filled, you could heat the water without having a city water hookup or having the on-board water pump on, so long as you aren't expecting to get any water flow out of it (of course), and so long as you don't somehow drain it.

twistedskipper wrote:The key being: don't fire up the water heater unless you are SURE that it is filled with water, whether on propane or electric. The electric element can burn out quickly if it isn't immersed while on. I'm not sure what safety features the propane burner might have to shut itself off if the tank isn't filled.

Good advice. I made this mistake in our trailer after I winterized it the first time. No apparent damage from running the water heater dry, but I wouldn't recommend it. (I think it basically just cycled off really quickly because the metal tank heated up.)

how do I know when there is water in the water heater before turning it on? If I let the open the the valve to the hot side of the facet does that fill that tank ...then I can turn on the hot water heater?

thanks
Babsy

You are correct. Simply turn on your water pump or connect to city water, then open the hot water valve on you sink or bathtub until all air is expelled from the water lines. CAUTION! if there is air in the lines it can really squirt out of the faucet with a lot of force!