draining water heater

[dennisdjones]

I have a 2014 2720QS. This model has 3 drain valves - freshwater tank drain, high pressure line drain (which should drain the water heater) and the low point drain (which drains both hot and cold lines in bathroom?). I opened all hot and cold faucets in the camper, then opened all three drain valves. Very little water came out of the HP line drain valve. So I then removed the anode from the water heater, it was full of water. Why did the hot water heater not drain thru the drain valve? It worked fine last year when I winterized.

[commodor47]

Check the opening of the valve in question. I had one of those small bees make a mud type nest in the opening and it was enough to stop the tank from draining. If possible, remove the valve for ease of clearing. If that is not possible try pushing a small, round piece of plastic up into the opening. If the valve is open you should be able to push the plastic piece up and past the valve assembly.

Dick

[Bill]

Did you buy your TM new, or from a previous owner? A previous owner might have installed a water heater bypass arrangement. Since a bypass is not needed in a TM, I don't have a plumbing diagram for it. But if it drained last year, you might have had one of the bypass system valves in a different position.

I was unaware that newer TMs have only three drain valves, instead of the four shown here for earlier TMs.
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...&pictureid=435
It is not clear to me how one drain valve could handle both sides of the bathroom plumbing.

Bill

[Kidkraz]

My 2013 has 4 drain points, maybe someone deleted on ya?

[tentcamper]

Did you open the hot water faucets? I get very little water out of the water heater unless I open the kitchen hot water faucets. As a rule we just open both hot and cold faucets.

[dennisdjones]

Bill,
Now I am wondering about my fresh water drain valves. I double checked, I only have three. I have attached 3 photos, 2 from behind the tire (2 low point bathroom drain valves?) and 1 from in front of the of the tire (which I am sure is the freshwater tank). There is not even a hole where the fourth drain line (high pressure side drain? per your schematic) may have been. Where is this last valve normally located? If you cannot shed light on this issue, is there some one at Trailmanor I can talk to?
Thanks

[ShrimpBurrito]

In my 2720SL, which I think is the same as the renamed 2720QS (couch in the slide up front), the water heater and fresh water tank are both under the kitchen sink, side by side. So in my unit, there are 2 drain valves just in front of the wheel on that side, one for the fresh water tank, and just a few inches away, one for the water heater.

If you only have one, then somehow, perhaps, they connected the two under the sink. I would find that highly unlikely, but you could find out very quickly by just looking under the sink.

Dave

[tentcamper]

In our 2720 2003, we had 4 valves. We had 3 low point drains plus the fresh water tank. The front low point drain was the one that drain the hot water tank.

It looks like your front one is the fresh water tank drain. You are missing the low point drain in the front. I would change my hot water anode rod, to the anode rod that that has a drain valve. That what I installed on 3 of my campers. It worked well for draining the hot water tank.

I think this is the one I bought in the past https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Bill]

Dennis -

I agree that your pictures do not show a fourth drain valve. Do you have the Owner's Manual for the trailer? It would be in your blue book, and it would explain the drain procedure.

The fact that it drained properly last year suggests that the lack of a fourth hanging drain valve is not a problem in itself. Something is different from last year. You didn't answer my question about a bypass system, but I will assume you checked it.

Dick's suggestion about a clogged valve is the place to start. Hook up city water, then open each of the three valves, one at a time. If you get a blast of water, it confirms that the valve is not clogged.

Put a couple gallons of water in the fresh water tank, and then turn off the city water. Then open the drain valves and confirm that the valve in front empties the fresh water tank.

You could send an email to [email protected]. Although he is now in sales for the new company, he is probably the guy most familiar with a TM of your vintage. You could also send an email to [email protected]. Although she is the parts and service person, she will forward your question to the engineering staff. The present TM company did not build your 2014 TM, but might be familiar with how it was built and how it worked. The folks at the new TM company have been very helpful.

If you cannot find a solution, then the ultimate fix is the one described by tentcamper - an anode rod with a built-in drain valve.

Let us know what you find.

Bill

[dennisdjones]

Thanks Bill,
I checked my owner's manual. It is the same as the one found online on the Trailmanor website. It indicates 4 drain valves.

There is no water heater bypass. I tried blowing thru the two rear drain valves with the two kitchen faucets open. They both were able to pass air. I then tried blowing thru them, one at a time, with all faucets closed. In both cases I got a small amount of water passing out of the drain not being blown on. Seems to indicate that there is a small amount of water being trapped in one of the lines even after going thru the draining procedure.

I am going to get the anode that tentcamper suggests. After I install that, I am going to fill the water tank and test the drains as you suggested. In the meantime, I am going to email the two Trailmanor people you recommended to see what they have to say.