If you have a RV water heater it is likely you have an anode rod in the inner tank. This little critter is probably the most unknown friend to most campers that there is. The anode rod in your water heater is a part in the water heater that makes the inner tank last longer.
Have you ever heard the expression “the sacrificial lamb”? This is what the water heater anode rod is. It sacrifices itself so that the inner tank of your water heater can last an extreme amount of time longer than had it not been in there. I was in Florida once and a RV Repair Facility / RV Parts Store had an entire wall of inner tanks for water heaters. I asked why they had so many and this began my education on the all important water heater anode rod.
They explained that the water there had minerals in it that just played havoc on the inner tanks. It ate into the aluminum tanks and created pin holes which of course caused the inner tanks to leak, especially while the tank was under pressure. While this area was severe, almost all areas have water that will cause this. The culprits are usually high contents of iron and or sulphates.
The answer to some degree is the anode rod, which, depending on your water heater most likely will be about three quarters of an inch in diameter and four and a half to nine and a half inches long. Some are made from aluminum or magnesium. It is most likely threaded in the beginning with a hex head on the end and the remainder being smooth. The anode rod acts kind of like a magnet. It attracts the minerals that eat into the lining of a tank and causes them to eat into the rod instead.
Since many campers don’t even realize they have one, it is our hope that this article will be informative enough that it will inspire action to check this baby at least once a year. It is an easy replacement and actually quite inexpensive, especially if you do it yourself. The part is probably only ten to thirteen dollars and can be removed and replaced in less than twenty minutes.
To do this simply turn off the rv water heater and wait until all water in the tank is cooled and has no risk of being hot enough to burn you. Lift the pop off safety valve up to release pressure and to allow air into the tank and then simply unscrew the anode rod. The water will drain quite quickly. It will even drain faster by opening a couple of faucets inside the coach. When the water has drained out of the water heater just screw the new anode rod back into the opening. The most commonly used tool is a one and one sixteenth thin wall socket.
One might ask how they would know if the anode rod needs to be replaced. You can do this by removing the anode rod as explained in the previous paragraph and when you remove it just look and see how damaged it is. It is my opinion that if it is has been sacrificed more than half of its original size to go ahead and replace it. If however, budget is a constraint, you can put it back in and just check it again a little later down the road and replace when you think it has nothing else to give. Just remember that it is a lot cheaper and easier to replace an anode rod than an inner tank. Always keep in mind how much of an integral part the rod plays in extending the life of your inner tank.
Just as a little additional information the huge majority or RV water heaters are produced under two brand names. The Atwood and the Suburban brands. The Suburban RV water heater is the only one to have an anode rod as a standard part. The Atwood brand of RV water heaters have an aluminum tank where the Suburban has a steel tank but it is porcelain lined.
If you have any questions on parts for your RV water heater or any other RV Parts or RV Accessories you can find the internet a great place or resource for additional information and can contact one of the many RV Parts Dealers online or you can also contact your local RV Dealership or RV Repair.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Camper Toilets - What is the Fix?
The toilet that you have in your camper makes a big difference in the cost of repair, even if you do not realize it. Some campers think that repairing a toilet is cheaper than replacing it. If you are the “Do it yourself” type camper that may be the true, however this article will help to educate the rest of us in order for you to make a well informed decision.
The Thetford and Sealand toilets both have parts that are easily obtained, at least for most models I should say. It is most likely that you have a Thetford rv toilet in your camper since the Thetford Aqua Magic Four has been installed in the largest number of RV’s by far. I have found that if you are not a do it yourselfer it is for sure in most cases less expensive to replace the toilet rather than repair it. There are some simple repairs that make it possible to repair it for less than replacing it, but you should consider however, that if it is an older toilet that future repairs are quite probable. With that in mind you still might want to consider replacing rather than repairing.
If you do in fact choose to replace it, there is a good chance that you have an Aqua Magic IV which is no longer produced and has been replaced with the new Aqua Magic V. If you are replacing your toilet and have the Thetford Aqua Magic IV, there are other options such as the Thetford Aqua Magic Style Plus or Thetford Bravura Toilet as well as choices from the Sealand line of toilets. You will have to choose whether you want a hand or foot flush, and whether you want to stay with plastic or upgrade to china. You will also have the choice of adding a water saver. Regardless of which choice you make you will most likely be happy with the quality and dependability of any product available.
I have seen do it yourselfers replace a toilet and not replace the floor flange. This is silly. While you have the toilet removed it only makes sense to replace the floor flange and in most cases, when you purchase a new toilet, it will come with a new floor flange. Be careful when reconnecting your water line so as not to strip the threads. This is a common mistake and will lead to a lot more work that is unnecessary. Thetford also makes a great line of RV Porta Potties.
Make sure that you take the time to check out your options and find the RV toilet that is right for you. To some people, it might just be a toilet. However, if you plan on doing some serious RVing, it will be an important decision to make. I suggest you check with your local RV Dealer or shop online with one of the many RV Parts Dealer stores. Do your homework either way. Your local dealer will almost always be your best source of information and help. However, if you are shopping online, if that online store is a good one, they will be accessible either by phone or e-mail during normal business hours.
The Thetford and Sealand toilets both have parts that are easily obtained, at least for most models I should say. It is most likely that you have a Thetford rv toilet in your camper since the Thetford Aqua Magic Four has been installed in the largest number of RV’s by far. I have found that if you are not a do it yourselfer it is for sure in most cases less expensive to replace the toilet rather than repair it. There are some simple repairs that make it possible to repair it for less than replacing it, but you should consider however, that if it is an older toilet that future repairs are quite probable. With that in mind you still might want to consider replacing rather than repairing.
If you do in fact choose to replace it, there is a good chance that you have an Aqua Magic IV which is no longer produced and has been replaced with the new Aqua Magic V. If you are replacing your toilet and have the Thetford Aqua Magic IV, there are other options such as the Thetford Aqua Magic Style Plus or Thetford Bravura Toilet as well as choices from the Sealand line of toilets. You will have to choose whether you want a hand or foot flush, and whether you want to stay with plastic or upgrade to china. You will also have the choice of adding a water saver. Regardless of which choice you make you will most likely be happy with the quality and dependability of any product available.
I have seen do it yourselfers replace a toilet and not replace the floor flange. This is silly. While you have the toilet removed it only makes sense to replace the floor flange and in most cases, when you purchase a new toilet, it will come with a new floor flange. Be careful when reconnecting your water line so as not to strip the threads. This is a common mistake and will lead to a lot more work that is unnecessary. Thetford also makes a great line of RV Porta Potties.
Make sure that you take the time to check out your options and find the RV toilet that is right for you. To some people, it might just be a toilet. However, if you plan on doing some serious RVing, it will be an important decision to make. I suggest you check with your local RV Dealer or shop online with one of the many RV Parts Dealer stores. Do your homework either way. Your local dealer will almost always be your best source of information and help. However, if you are shopping online, if that online store is a good one, they will be accessible either by phone or e-mail during normal business hours.
RV Hardware for Beginners
When I first started camping it was frustrating to explain what I needed when it came to repair or replacement of my RV hardware because here were so many things that fall into the category of RV Hardware. So I am going to try and help the new camper (like me a few years ago) to understand some of the different terminologies. I am not going to go into all of them in this particular article, but focus mostly on the interior hardware. In this explanation I will discuss RV hardware normally found in the hardware section in most RV catalogs beginning with RV Cabinet Hardware.
Cabinet Hardware-RV cabinet hardware would be cabinet latches, positive latches, push latches, and bunk latches.
RV Cabinet Latches- Latches usually requires touching, pulling, or pushing, but usually has one moving part.
RV Cabinet Catches --Again these require pushing or pulling but will have more moving parts. There are also many more catches than latches. Most of them are commonly known as barrel catches, roller catches, magnetic catches, bulldog catches, and concealed roller catches. These are primarily to keep the cabinet door closed while in travel.
RV Cabinet Hinges – These are pretty self-explanatory, however, there different types of hinges. In addition to finishes such as brass hinges, antique finished hinges, stainless steel, and/or brushed nickel, there are hinges that are free swinging, self-closing and self supporting.
RV Cabinet Door Struts -- Cabinet door struts are mostly spring-loaded arms that keep the cabinet door raised when you open it, so that you don't have to hold the door up as you are trying to remove or place articles in the cabinet. These struts are most commonly found on doors that raise horizontally. They're very popular because they are user-friendly, at least most of the time.
Cabinet Drawer Hardware -- Cabinet door hardware is pretty much limited to drawer slides sockets, drawer bumpers, drawer slide kits. The slides in sockets are available in plastic and metal. It’s important to remember that if you are purchasing parts for cabinet drawers you will usually need to know if it is for the left or the right side.
RV Window Hardware is the next segment and covers quite a few part numbers and part types due to the variety and quantity of window cranks with differing sizes and shapes. There are a number of RV manufacturers that supply window covering hardware, but for the most part window covering hardware can be purchased through your local RV dealership or from an online RV Parts Dealer store. The parts I am referring to are snaps, hooks, blind quieter’s, curtain tracks, snap tape, curtain hold-down's, and curtains themselves.
RV Bed/ Door Gas Props -- Gas props are used mainly for doors, bed lifts and compartment doors. Gas props when replaced need to be replaced with the correct one. This is important because they need to match the length, pounds that they will hold, and the height that they will extend to. Using the wrong prop can cause damage and injury to both the RV and yourself. Make sure if you need help in this area to ask for it. Often times if you're replacing a gas prop you will need to replace the brackets as well. When securing them to the surface and you use the same holes, make sure not to strip it out even though you want it to be held tightly in place.
RV Compartment Door Hardware -- This type of hardware can be frustrating. RV baggage door catches and latches can be found in different shapes and sizes. While the reality is there are only a few types, there are many styles. RV baggage door catches can have either squared or rounded ends and come in white, kind of white (called colonial white), beige, black, and chrome colors as well as stainless steel. The circumference of most RV compartment doors or RV baggage doors, which ever you decide to call them, is almost always the same but the length usually comes in four sizes. They also have two different ways to secure the baggage doors, keyed meaning you can lock them, or thumb blocks, which secures the door, but does not lock them.
RV Entry Door Hardware - Entry door hardware consists of grab handles, and entry door holders. Grab handles are mounted on the side of the door and helps one enter the RV more safely. Door holders are used to hold the door open securely. RV door holders come in different lengths, angles, colors, and styles. When replacing a RV door holder, it is easy to take off and put on, and also easy to identify what you have.
I think this is enough information for this article. I will cover some other RV hardware in future articles. They will be talking about awning hardware, window awning hardware, RV door locks, and other related RV hardware.
Cabinet Hardware-RV cabinet hardware would be cabinet latches, positive latches, push latches, and bunk latches.
RV Cabinet Latches- Latches usually requires touching, pulling, or pushing, but usually has one moving part.
RV Cabinet Catches --Again these require pushing or pulling but will have more moving parts. There are also many more catches than latches. Most of them are commonly known as barrel catches, roller catches, magnetic catches, bulldog catches, and concealed roller catches. These are primarily to keep the cabinet door closed while in travel.
RV Cabinet Hinges – These are pretty self-explanatory, however, there different types of hinges. In addition to finishes such as brass hinges, antique finished hinges, stainless steel, and/or brushed nickel, there are hinges that are free swinging, self-closing and self supporting.
RV Cabinet Door Struts -- Cabinet door struts are mostly spring-loaded arms that keep the cabinet door raised when you open it, so that you don't have to hold the door up as you are trying to remove or place articles in the cabinet. These struts are most commonly found on doors that raise horizontally. They're very popular because they are user-friendly, at least most of the time.
Cabinet Drawer Hardware -- Cabinet door hardware is pretty much limited to drawer slides sockets, drawer bumpers, drawer slide kits. The slides in sockets are available in plastic and metal. It’s important to remember that if you are purchasing parts for cabinet drawers you will usually need to know if it is for the left or the right side.
RV Window Hardware is the next segment and covers quite a few part numbers and part types due to the variety and quantity of window cranks with differing sizes and shapes. There are a number of RV manufacturers that supply window covering hardware, but for the most part window covering hardware can be purchased through your local RV dealership or from an online RV Parts Dealer store. The parts I am referring to are snaps, hooks, blind quieter’s, curtain tracks, snap tape, curtain hold-down's, and curtains themselves.
RV Bed/ Door Gas Props -- Gas props are used mainly for doors, bed lifts and compartment doors. Gas props when replaced need to be replaced with the correct one. This is important because they need to match the length, pounds that they will hold, and the height that they will extend to. Using the wrong prop can cause damage and injury to both the RV and yourself. Make sure if you need help in this area to ask for it. Often times if you're replacing a gas prop you will need to replace the brackets as well. When securing them to the surface and you use the same holes, make sure not to strip it out even though you want it to be held tightly in place.
RV Compartment Door Hardware -- This type of hardware can be frustrating. RV baggage door catches and latches can be found in different shapes and sizes. While the reality is there are only a few types, there are many styles. RV baggage door catches can have either squared or rounded ends and come in white, kind of white (called colonial white), beige, black, and chrome colors as well as stainless steel. The circumference of most RV compartment doors or RV baggage doors, which ever you decide to call them, is almost always the same but the length usually comes in four sizes. They also have two different ways to secure the baggage doors, keyed meaning you can lock them, or thumb blocks, which secures the door, but does not lock them.
RV Entry Door Hardware - Entry door hardware consists of grab handles, and entry door holders. Grab handles are mounted on the side of the door and helps one enter the RV more safely. Door holders are used to hold the door open securely. RV door holders come in different lengths, angles, colors, and styles. When replacing a RV door holder, it is easy to take off and put on, and also easy to identify what you have.
I think this is enough information for this article. I will cover some other RV hardware in future articles. They will be talking about awning hardware, window awning hardware, RV door locks, and other related RV hardware.
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