Travels With Miranda

Ah, FHU! They are wonderful. They mean I can keep my fresh water tank filled, use my hot water heater, and take showers at home! I should be a content RVer this week.

Well, except that the hot water has been tepid at best. I’ve still had to heat water on the stove to do dishes. Dang, why can’t things work?! I’ve already replaced the circuit board on my water heater. What more does it want?!

I was very warm last night, so I decided that a tepid shower at home would suit me just fine. I went to turn on the water only to discover that both knobs were fully open.

Yup, I did what so many people warned me about, ‘turned off’ my shower using the cut off in my new shower head rather than using the knobs! This meant the hot water was getting sent to the wrong location!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my water heater and I am going to look for a waterproof, “Hey, idiot! I know you had a nice massage, but have you REALLY turned off the water?!” sign for my shower door. 😀

Damp weather sucks in an RV. Everything condensates and the only way I can have hot water is by heating it on the stove.

Yup, my water heater isn’t working again. It’s doing exactly what it’s always done when it doesn’t work: it lights for a second and then shuts off. I thought I had fixed it when I replaced the circuit board, but nope, because there probably wasn’t really anything wrong with it. I only have this issue when it is really, really, really soggy outside.

It really bites to be in a location where I could be taking a nice long shower every night (a real treat after a week on the road) but can’t because cold showers in cold weather suck.

The maintenance on my water heater is up to date and I’ve been living in this rig long enough to recognize patterns. The water heater only behaves like this when it’s damp out, so there’s no sense trying to troubleshoot anything. I just need to keep trying and once I get it to light, I cannot turn it off!

Ever since I bought Miranda, and even after changing the circuit board, my water heater has often been a pain to start. This usually happens in damp weather, although it did it in any weather before the new circuit board.

This afternoon, I decided that after almost four years of working this water heater that I might as well admit that I know how it works because the same trick gets it going every time. I need to stop worrying about this appliance!

First, I have to get it to light. I flick the switch on once and I get a boom, then nothing. Turn off the switch, then back on. The heater will kick on for a few months, then shut down again, with the on switch glowing red.

The trick is to just let it sit like that, with the switch on and red, for five to ten minutes. Then, I turn it off and back on. I sometimes have to repeat this sequence a few times, but the water heater eventually kicks on and stays on. It took two tries today, which is actually pretty good considering how long the rig has been sitting.