1995 Sunline t1700 leak

[SiaraTaomi]

Hello

I recently purchased a used 1995 sunline t1700. There seems to be a leak coming from the water heater. Not positive but pretty sure. Any idea or advice on how to replace it?

 

[JohnGB]

First off, Welcome to the club! Congrats on your Sunny!

If the water heater was not winterized correctly last year and they did not drain the heater, then it may have cracked the tank.

But, it may have been winterized OK and corrosion ate through the tank creating a pin hole or larger leak. Sometimes you have to pull the heater out to confirm the leak is under the heater as it generally sits right on the floor of the camper.

Make sure it is not a plumbing leak before you unhook the piping/drain the heater. The plastic fitting screwed into the tank have been know to weep. Check that area with a dry paper towel to see for sure, the fittings top and bottom going in and out of the tank are not your problem. If they are the problem, please post a few pics of the piping so we now what you have and we can suggest the best way to correct it. Most piping leaks I have found are on the bottom fitting. The top one can leak too, just the bottom one seems to happen more.

Removing the water heater is doable, and we can explain that if you know for sure it is leaking. This post explains how this was done. I now have more pictures of the process if needed.

https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/advice-for-replacing-atwood-hot-water-heater-19287.html

Hope this helps

John

 

[SiaraTaomi]

Thanks so much for your response. It was very helpful. As you can see in the attached photo, the bottom of the water heater is pretty wet and the second photo is the area where there tends to be puddles which is directly in front of the water heater. Though, there is some leaking further toward the back of the trailer in front of the cabinets but that could also be because the trailer is tilted slightly back. The third photo is of the bottom valve connected to the water heater which does seems to be covered in silicone so perhaps someone tried to fix a leak before. As far as the pipes, it’s a very tight space under the sink and to the best of my ability I cannot see any wet pipes or leaking from any specific pipes though there was a little puddle on top of the tire well under the sink and I cannot located a leak or any wet pipes above the tire well.

 

[SiaraTaomi]

Also, when I run the water, only the cold water runs. No hot water and the kitchen sink doesn’t run at all. Could this be further indication that it’s the water heater?

 

[JohnGB]

You "might" have a lower fitting leak. By the looks of the cardboard, the pics seem to show water wicking up the cardboard.

That silicone on the bottom fitting is a classic sign that someone had a leak before and tried to do a quick fix. That may not have worked as putting silicone on the outside like that normally will not hold long term.

Since this leak is not new, there may be some wood floor issues under the heater from past leaking. Knowing how bad water leaks can be, I would pull the water heater out of the camper and have a real good look at the bottom of the heater and address any floor issues. The insulation on the tank may be soaking wet which is not good. It appears the older Atwoods used fiberglass insulation where the newer ones now have a styrofoam molded cover of insulation.

When you unhook the piping to take the heater out of the camper, you just unscrew the plastic gray nut on the fitting, pull on the hose and it should come apart. The elbow fitting will stay in the heater. Once the heater is out of the camper, if there is not an obvious leak source, you can fill the heater with water a look out in the open with the insulation off. Ideally you can buy a fitting to screw onto the old fitting on the tank so that fitting is in the leak test.

If a gravity water fill of the heater does not show up a leak, you can pressurize the heater with water from a garden hose to force it to see the same as camper pressure. You will have to hook up some test hose fittings etc but you can find this out in the open and then address whatever is needed before putting it back in the camper.

As for water not coming out of the hot water side of the faucet, if that is what you mean, this generally points to a stuck check valve on the top piping connection of the water heater. Take some pictures of the top area of the heater showing the piping connections. Include pics showing the bottom and top of the heater piping. The check valve I am referring to is part of a winterizing kit that can get stuck closed over the winter sometimes and needs a little help opening the first time. BUT we need to see if your heater even has that winterizing kit installed before I explain all that.

Also, please explain, do all hot water faucets (shower, kitchen, outside shower if you have one) not have any water running out of the hot water side of the faucet? If so then this "first" points to the water heater.

And you said the kitchen faucet does not run at all, do you mean it does not run hot or cold, or just no hot? If no water at all, there is a screen in the faucet spout that can be clogged with debris. Take a pic of the faucet too. Someone may have changed the faucet since the original Sunline one. But, most all kitchen faucets, and bath, have a screw on aerator on the water spout that has a screen in it. And they do get clogged with hard water minerals and dirt etc from the water tank etc.

Hope this helps

John

 

[SiaraTaomi]

So I’ve removed the hot water heater and it appears that’s where the leak was coming from. As you can see from the photo there is a large crack in the bottom. The only things connected to the water heater were the copper propane pipe on the outside and the hot and cold water pipes (I’ve attached photos from the connection on the heater and the connections under the sink). Nothing else was connected to the heater. Should it have? And yes, when I say the kitchen faucet does not run at all, I mean both hot and cold water do not run. I’ve attached a photo of the faucet from the top and from under the sink.

 

[j52wf]

The kitchen faucet may be plugged with sediment. Take the aerator apart (it unscrews) and check/clean the screen inside

 

[JohnGB]

Good hunting and glad you pulled the water heater out. The tank is shot.

Since there was "only" a gas line on the outside, that suggests you may have the all gas vintage of the water heater. Means you go outside, light a pilot then turn on the heater outside. They still sell the all gas heaters and they are a little cheaper in cost, just they are shorter on ammenities.

There are also 2 options to upgrade the heater. Both upgrades comes with 12 volt DC electrical controls. And there are 2 steps to this.

1. LP Gas heat with direct spark ignition. (no pilot light). This means, you have to add 4 wires, +12 VDC, - 12 VDC, a heater on signal switch and a gas fault light. This model you turn the heater on and off inside with the flip of a switch. If there is an ignition fault, the system shuts down and turns on the fault light inside the camper. LP gas still creates the heat, just it uses electric controls to turn it on and off.

2. The next model upgrade starts with the one 1 stated above, with gas heat, electric controls and adds an 120 VAC electric heating element. You can run the heater on either LP gas or 120 volts AC power. And you can run both at the same time to create hot water faster if wanted. This requires you run 120 VAC power to the unit, all the 12 VDC listed above and add one more 12 volt switch to turn on the electric element.

Think about which you may want and the needs to deal with the extra wiring or not pending model and your ability to work with electricty. To give you a quick approx cost,

This is an all gas new heater https://www.amazon.com/Atwood-Mobil...er&qid=1591244562&s=automotive&sr=1-3-catcorr

This is the first upgrade, electronic ignition Part number 96121 Model G6A-8E
https://www.amazon.com/Atwood-Trail...d+electric+water+heater,automotive,239&sr=1-9

This is the 2nd upgrade with the 120 VAC element element. Part number 96163 Model GC6AA-10E https://www.amazon.com/Atwood-Mobil...+electric+water+heater,automotive,239&sr=1-12

I only listed those part numbers so you can see what kind of price "range" these may run in and if you even are interested in them. There are other places that are reputable and may offer a lower price. I found theses quickly just to show range of cost. BEFORE you order anything, suggest you get us the actual model number off the heater you have now so we can check and make sure this will all work as intended and confirm the part numbers to be looking for. The ones above may not be exactly what you want. In the outside compartment where the gas burner is, there should be a sticker in there with the model number. If there is no sticker or it is unreadable, take a picture of outside system so we can see what exactly you have.

For option 1 & 2, there are also small costs for the electric switches, and wire that needs to be added.

The kitchen faucet is an aftermarket upgrade. It is not the original from Sunline. It looks like a nice faucet, it just may be plugged up or badly corroded inside.

Hope this helps

John

 

[SiaraTaomi]

Thank you so much! The water heater is a G6A-7

 

[JohnGB]

Thank you so much! The water heater is a G6A-7

The Atwood part number for model G6A-7m is 96110 which is the first all gas one I kinked above.

Here are a few places that offer your existing model. They may also carry then other models I linked above if you want to upgrade. I have bought from all these suppliers and had good experiences. I compare then and pick the best price. Make sure you look if freight is included or not. You can also check with a local RV dealer who handles Atwood. Sometimes they can meet or beat the online prices.

Note: Make sure the outside white cover some with it. Many times they do, but sometimes they price it seperate.

This place sells on Amazon too, just sometimes they are cheaper from their own website. https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/products/atwood-g6a-7-96110-6-gallon-water-heater

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Water-Heaters/Atwood/AT96110.html These folks have good pics of what you are buying. Their prices sometimes beat other, and sometimes not.

https://www.dyersonline.com/atwood-6-gallon-gas-water-heater-g6a-7.html

https://tweetys.com/atwood-mobile-96110-pilot-light-water-heaters.aspx

These folks are running a sale on this one now. This is the cheapest I have found
https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts...heaters/water-heaters-atwood-6-gallon_80-1346

Hope this helps

John

 

[SiaraTaomi]

Thanks a bunch. I decided to go with the exact same manual water heater. I’ve been able to finally replace it and hook up the hot and cold connections but can not reconnect the propane pipe line. It’s proving very very difficult. I’ve tried for three days straight now and I know it’s reverse thread. Any advice?

 

[JohnGB]

I’ve been able to finally replace it and hook up the hot and cold connections but can not reconnect the propane pipe line. It’s proving very very difficult. I’ve tried for three days straight now and I know it’s reverse thread. Any advice?

The threads at the gas valve are right hand thread (not reverse/LH thread). Also the rest of the piping connections downstream of the "main LP tank" hose connection are right hand thread. Try the the right hand thread, that may help why you cannot connect the fitting.

If you have an older LP tank that uses a "brass male end" to connect to the tank, that older style "at the tank" is left hand thread. The newer plastic nut connections at the tank are right hand thread.

After you connect the fitting, before firing the water heater, do a leak check at the gas fittings you removed. Ideally use liquid gas leak detection or soapy water over the fittings to check for bubbles of a leak with the gas turned on.

Hope this helps

John