Water Heater

[srandall]

This seems like a pretty ridulous question but we can not find the answer to it in our Montana Owners Manuel. We de winterized last weekend which included replacing the anode and washing out the water heater.

Now we are on to stupid question of how do we fill the water heater??

The owners manuel says prior to operation make sure that there is fresh water in the fresh water tank and the water heater.

But we do not see instruction on to fill the water heater?

We sure are green, aren't we!

[Rondo]

This is quite lengthy after reading it!
First question-- Do you have the bypass valve kit on your water heater? If it is like mine which is a 2980RL-- turn it to the non-winterizing position or bypass off position. This should fill your heater. I just hook up my shoreline to the Monte and fill the fresh water or main tank. Before I do this I put a solution of clorox and H20 in the fresh water tank. This will get the tank and lines free from bacteria. I leave my heater anode rod out until I go to fill, when the water starts to fill the heater I turn it off then put the rod back in and continue filling. Some units have a valve on the thing to relieve the pressure before unscrewing it-- if yours has that, just open the valve and when water starts to flow out close it. I open all the water faucets to get the clorox water in all the lines and coming out of them then shut the water off and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes or so to sterilize the lines and the tanks (freshwater and heater) also. I then drain the heater and fresh tank and then refill everything again. REMEMBER ONE THING-- make sure your electrical heater element is turned off (I turn mine off at the heater and the breaker box to be safe) when you fill the unit-- if you have it on before filling or while the tank is empty it will burn it out nearly instantly! I open the hot water taps to each faucet and each shower head (if you have the outside shower don't forget it) and let the water flow through them to get all of the air out of the tank and the lines and also the clorox water out of them. ( this includes the cold water lines also) Saves a lot of questions if you do! Now this is what I do and I know it is a lengthy process-- others may do it different and I'm sure you will get other replies to this thread. Let us know how things go and if you get it figured out!

[sreigle]

Rondo provided good information. I agree with him that if your water heater bypass switch is in the non-bypass position, when you connect to city water the water heater will automatically fill. If using onboard water, when you turn on the pump, it will fill the heater. In either case, it is helpful to open at least one hot water faucet wide open to allow air in the heater to escape more easily. When it quits spitting and starts pouring out a solid stream of water, the water heater is full and you can turn on the heating element.

It never hurts to replace the anode rod but you don't really need to replace it until you see the thin metal core of the rod. The material surrounding the core is the sacrificial material. So long as some of that remains, the anode rod can remain in use. Since I tend to check ours only after about six months of constant use, I replace it as soon as I see any of the core.

Your question is a good one. If you don't know the answer, then it's a good question. We've all been in your position and some of us (namely, me) still have lots of questions.