Water heater removal

[Robert Britton]

I was looking at what needs to be done to remove the water heater from
my 87FC and not sure how to remove the air line from the cold water
side. If I cut it, is there a source to buy new fittings for the air
lines?
Also thinking about the heat exchanger and how much coolant is going
to come out when I disconnect the lines and the best way to minimize
this.
Thanks for any input!

Robert Britton
87FC
Tres Pinos Ca.

[Scott]

Hey Rob, seems like this is the year for replacing Hot water tanks.
(I know of 4 FC's doing this) Any way, you did not say if you had a
side bath or rear bath (I have a RB) In my situation the front of the
closet had to be removed and a new tank installed. I reoriented the
tank from facing the rear wall,(thanks BB..sheesh) so all the
controls could be accessed from the front. This req'd some flexible
hose. There was some coolant lost but not much. (less than a gallon
for sure) You will need to have some fittings/adapters before you
start. These are readily available at any hardware store. Crit Bliss
has a side bath and can give you some pointers regarding his install
at RIV.
Good Luck!

Scott B
86FC35
SC

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Britton"
wrote:
>
> I was looking at what needs to be done to remove the water heater
from
> my 87FC and not sure how to remove the air line from the cold water
> side. If I cut it, is there a source to buy new fittings for the
air
> lines?
> Also thinking about the heat exchanger and how much coolant is
going
> to come out when I disconnect the lines and the best way to
minimize
> this.
> Thanks for any input!
>
> Robert Britton
> 87FC
> Tres Pinos Ca.
>

[krminyl@...]

Robert,

I can't offer you much advice on the air line stuff, bust as far as the
coolant lines are concerned, I just put a pair of vice grips on the hoses before
I removed them from the water heater. This kept the coolant loss to just
what was in the hoses from where the hoses were pinched to where they connected
to the water heater.

Just FYI, I bought a new heater from Seaward Products in Whittier, CA,
direct from the Mfg. It was almost a perfect fit replacement (I think the
original was an Atwood), and I gained an additional gallon capacity in the same
dimension heater.

Good luck...it was my first "major" project on my BB when I bought it over 4
yrs ago, and gave me the confidence to tackle all of the other projects
since.

Kevin McKeown
Yorba Linda, CA
1986 38' PT


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[dspithaler@...]

Hi Kevin I put a Seaward water heater in mine two years ago and it was
the 1200 model . The coolant hoses came out of it from the front as the one I
took out came out of the back & I had to change the plumbing around to suite
it but it turned out good. I was wandering if you did anything different on
the wiring for a reset for the heater as I have seen some posting on that. I
have made two trips to AZ & one to FL & other short trips in the last two years
without any problems with the engine heating the water heater too hot. Most
of them in cooler weather. Being you installed the same name heater I was
wandering what you did?
Don
89 SP 36'
Butler, PA


I can't offer you much advice on the air line stuff, bust as far as the
coolant lines are concerned, I just put a pair of vice grips on the hoses
before
I removed them from the water heater. This kept the coolant loss to just
what was in the hoses from where the hoses were pinched to where they
connected
to the water heater.

Just FYI, I bought a new heater from Seaward Products in Whittier, CA,
direct from the Mfg. It was almost a perfect fit replacement (I think the
original was an Atwood), and I gained an additional gallon capacity in the
same
dimension heater.

Good luck...it was my first "major" project on my BB when I bought it over
4
yrs ago, and gave me the confidence to tackle all of the other projects
since.

Kevin McKeown
Yorba Linda, CA
1986 38' PT


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[krminyl@...]

Hi Don,

From what I remember, the hoses for the most part were pretty close on both
the new and the old water heater. I used the stainless steel braided
flexible hoses for the inlet water and outlet water, so this made it pretty
easy.
The drain line, from what I recall was a little difficult, but it turned out
OK with standard fittings mostly available at Home Depot or any good plumbing
store.

Electrical was pretty straight forward...just hooked up the same wires (I
had to shorten them a little). Pretty tight quarters in there...have a little
mirror handy, and a good bright flashlight (as you probably already know).
Be careful tugging and twisting on those rigid copper pipes...I sprung a leak
about a year and a half ago (probably as a result of my water heater
install), and that was a real mess. Use some care...

As for the water getting too hot, the hottest it can get is as hot as the
coolant/antifreeze. My motorhome coolant temp has never got over 205 or so, so
I would guess the heater water would stay in the same range as a water
heater at home, depending on how often the heater fills and the length of your
drive. It is sure nice to have hot water whenever you drive somewhere. I also
found that the water stays pretty hot for at least 24 hrs after shutting
down, a testament to the insulation of the water heater.

I probably wouldn't have done the install without the help of the then
original Wanderlodge Forum. Wa Hoo to Yahoo!

See ya!

Kevin McKeown
Yorba Linda, CA
1986 38' PT


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Robert Britton]

Thanks for the tips Kevin!
I also bought a new heater from Seaward and it loos like it will
drop wright in.

Robert Britton
87FC
Tres Pinos Ca




In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, krminyl@a... wrote:
>
> Robert,
>
> I can't offer you much advice on the air line stuff, bust as far
as the
> coolant lines are concerned, I just put a pair of vice grips on
the hoses before
> I removed them from the water heater. This kept the coolant loss
to just
> what was in the hoses from where the hoses were pinched to where
they connected
> to the water heater.
>
> Just FYI, I bought a new heater from Seaward Products in Whittier,
CA,
> direct from the Mfg. It was almost a perfect fit replacement (I
think the
> original was an Atwood), and I gained an additional gallon
capacity in the same
> dimension heater.
>
> Good luck...it was my first "major" project on my BB when I bought
it over 4
> yrs ago, and gave me the confidence to tackle all of the other
projects
> since.
>
> Kevin McKeown
> Yorba Linda, CA
> 1986 38' PT
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

[Robert Britton]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, dspithaler@a... wrote:
>
I just talked to the folks at Bluebird about that today. They told
me that when they replace a water heater they always drill a hole
with a hole saw directly over the reset button, that way if it does
trip you dont have to remove the electrical cover to get to the
reset button, as it may be hard to get off after being installed.
My 87FC currently has a Seaward water heater and I have never had
to reset it due to high temps from the heat exchanger, or any other
resons for that matter.
On my 87FC the water heater is under the bed in the back and easy
to get to. When I install the new Seaward I will just drill the hole
and hope for the best.

Robert Britton
87FC
Tres Pinos Ca.


> Hi Kevin I put a Seaward water heater in mine two years ago
and it was
> the 1200 model . The coolant hoses came out of it from the front
as the one I
> took out came out of the back & I had to change the plumbing
around to suite
> it but it turned out good. I was wandering if you did anything
different on
> the wiring for a reset for the heater as I have seen some posting
on that. I
> have made two trips to AZ & one to FL & other short trips in the
last two years
> without any problems with the engine heating the water heater too
hot. Most
> of them in cooler weather. Being you installed the same name
heater I was
> wandering what you did?
> Don
> 89 SP 36'
> Butler, PA
>
>
> I can't offer you much advice on the air line stuff, bust as far
as the
> coolant lines are concerned, I just put a pair of vice grips on
the hoses
> before
> I removed them from the water heater. This kept the coolant loss
to just
> what was in the hoses from where the hoses were pinched to where
they
> connected
> to the water heater.
>
> Just FYI, I bought a new heater from Seaward Products in
Whittier, CA,
> direct from the Mfg. It was almost a perfect fit replacement (I
think the
> original was an Atwood), and I gained an additional gallon
capacity in the
> same
> dimension heater.
>
> Good luck...it was my first "major" project on my BB when I
bought it over
> 4
> yrs ago, and gave me the confidence to tackle all of the other
projects
> since.
>
> Kevin McKeown
> Yorba Linda, CA
> 1986 38' PT
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>