Bypass Water Heater in Sunline T-1740 (1993)

[CampingProf]

I want to clean out the water system in my camper using diluted bleach, but I know I'm supposed to keep it out of the water heater. I can't find the bypass anywhere on the water system.

Here (below) is the water heater itself. No nozzles (or even a pipe to bypass the heater).



Here (below) is where the cold and hot water split paths. No nozzle here. Could I detach the hot water pipe here and cap it as an alternative to bypassing the heater?



Here (below) is where the pipes come out of the clean water tank. No bypass nozzles here.



These (below) are nozzles for drains (used in winterizing). Would opening the drain on the pipe that feeds into the heater work to bypass the heater? I would think that all the water would drain out of the system (not allowing me to fill it with the bleach solution.



Am I missing something? Any suggestions about how to bypass the heater?

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by CampingProf

I want to clean out the water system in my camper using diluted bleach, but I know I'm supposed to keep it out of the water heater. I can't find the bypass anywhere on the water system.

Am I missing something? Any suggestions about how to bypass the heater?

Hi,

You may have "heard" you are not supposed to sanitize the water heater in your Sunline, but the sentence in blue above is incorrect. Where did you hear this? I know you are new at this, and we are here to help. We will take the time to explain things. There are many urban myths on the web and this is one of them. I have seen this water heater topic on some YouTube videos made by others, but they do not explain why they said that. There is no science to support those claims of not sanitizing the water heater; you must sanitize the entire system, and there is science on why you must.

If the water heater is not sanitized correctly, it can become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria, posing a severe health risk during the camping season. This contaminated water can go back into the entire piping system (cold and hot water lines), compounding the problem.

That said, you do not want to "heat" a heavy concentration of bleach water, as sanitizing strength bleach will aggravate advanced corrosion when heated. The water heater "must" be properly flushed, drained, and then filled with clean potable water before heating. The bottom of the water heater will hold two quarts of water even after draining. It will not drain 100% out by gravity. So you have to flush to drain a good many minutes (3 to 5 minutes if you want a number) to dilute those two quarts to get it all out of there down to potable water chlorine levels. This may be where the urban legends come from; they never rinsed the water heater properly before using it.

These are not just my personal views but also those of Sunline. You can find the same advice on PDF page 10 of the 2005 Sunline owners manual, Part D Water Systems, and Item 6, which details the spring sanitization process. They clearly state the water heater must be filled with sanitizing water.

Please take a look here from one of our Sunline manuals in our FILES section. You download a copy to read it. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/d...do=file&id=375

Now, regarding winterizing, I see that you are correct; your system has a no-water heater bypass installed. Ideally, one will need to be added when it comes time to winterize if you use the RV-type antifreeze method. The bypass eliminates the need to pump 6 gallons of antifreeze to fill the heater to winterize the water system. They do sell kits to do this, or you can add your own valves later down the road before cold weather sets in. The other way to winterize and not use RV antifreeze is using the air blow method (compressed air), which takes more understanding of your specific system to ensure it is done right, but it does work.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions about this topic.

John