INSTALLING OUR ATWOOD RV-STYLE HOT WATER HEATER

SITE CATEGORY - PROJECTS -  ATWOOD HOT WATER HEATER INSTALL

We installed an Atwood 10-Gallon LP Gas/ Electric Water-Heater in our Bus and got a few emails asking for a more detailed explanation on how you install one of these units. OK, here goes. First...you figure out the location where you want the water heater located. Then, take a bunch of careful measurements and cut the hole out through the Bus.  I cut the hole out for our Water Heater using a Sawzall ...and left approx. 4-1/2" of open space under the heater . There was no particular need or reason to leave that amount of space... I just wanted the exterior cut to look good when I attached the rub rail fittings we picked up later. You could cut the hole mostly flush with the interior flooring if you wanted to...

NOTE: when you receive your Water heater you'll get a really good set of installation instructions...I'm just adding some pics and info here to let you get a sense of scale and what sorts of things need to be done.
 

Next...I slid the water heater into the hole (from the outside in) and used a 2x4 and some shims to get the heater as level as possible. Then I took a bunch of measurements and built a wooden base to hold the heater securely out of 2x4's. After making sure the "Base" was the correct size ...I added a few angle-irons and screwed the base securely to the floor.

Next, I used strips of  RV Vent Caulking behind the heaters exterior attachment flange and pushed the water heater up against the body of the bus as far as it would go... and then used Stainless-Steel metal screws to attach the water heaters exterior flange to our buses body. Note: Always use stainless steel screws and such on any exterior work you do on your rig...it costs more, but it will last and look good much longer than regular steel stuff will.

Next, I attached the 4 L-Shaped support brackets to the heater. These brackets are really important...not only do they help keep the heater firmly attached to the rigs exterior body they also keep the Water Heater Body from Flexing out of  'true' (shape) as you travel.

Next you'll run your 3/8" Copper LP line through the little rubber bushing on the heaters body. You run the Copper pipe from the interior of the rig through the Bushing (be careful not to collapse the bushing ...it keeps an pretty much air-tight seal and is there to protect against LP Gas & fumes entering the rig) After you've run the pipe through a ways ...take a tube bender and bend the copper pipe into the correct shape/angle to match the heaters LP line fitting. Next...slide a Flare nut onto the Copper pipe and 'Flare' the end of the pipe. Now ...attach your flare nut to the correct  LP fitting on the water heater.

This pic shows the interior of the heater and the cold water in & hot water out ports...plus , since we got the LP Gas & Elec. Model...it also shows the AC Wiring .

Here's a pic with our CPVC water line system installed and ready to hook up the water lines to the heater...

This pic shows the water heater all hooked up ...with a water heater bypass kit installed and the 120-volt AC line installed.

Once you've got the actual heater (body) installed and screwed down securely ...the rest is easy.
All you do is hook-up the the cold (in) & hot (out) water lines.
I used stainless-steel sheathed Flexible water lines coming off our main CPVC water line system for this.
Those attached to the correct sized heater port fittings.
For the AC line , I bought a heavy duty extension cord and cut off the 'female' end and wired the cord into the heaters AC lines.
The reason I did this was to make it easy to unplug the water heater from the buses electrical system if something went wrong and to make it easier on me ...if I needed to pull the heater out for repairs or replacement.

WATER-HEATER BYPASS KIT
I  installed a Water-Heater Bypass kit to the water lines to help protect the water heater against freezing up during the winter months if we were away from the rig for awhile.
 Basically the reason you add a water heater bypass kit is so you can empty the water heater and have a way to winterize your rigs water line system in an economical way ...this works by turning a little valve on the 'bypass line'...that stops any water from entering the water heater.
Then you 'winterized' your water lines & water tank(s) with food-grade RV antifreeze.
If you didn't have a way to bypass the water heater you'd need quite a bit more antifreeze and water in your tanks to fill up your water heater. Which isn't a smart way to go about this sort of thing.
Some folks don't install bypass kits or have to winterize their water lines because they add a water line blowout fitting/attachment to their systems. This is a much easier way to protect the water lines from freezing.
All they have to do is attach an air-line to the blowout fitting and the compressed air forces the water out of the lines.
Way cool system ! I'll do the same with our Trailers water system.

CAMPING WORLD & CAMPERS CHOICE BOTH SELL THESE ATWOOD PROPANE WATER HEATERS...BUT CAMPING WORLD HAS MUCH BETTER SHIPPING PRICES. THAT'S WHERE WE GOT OUR WATER HEATER THEY COME IN 6 & 10 GALLON CAPACITIES WITH LP & LP/ELEC. VERSIONS AVAILABLE TOO The Price runs $242.00 -$305.00 CLICK-HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS WATER HEATER AT CAMPING WORLD

SITE CATEGORY - PROJECTS -  ATWOOD HOT WATER HEATER INSTALL