In a previous post, I spoke about repairing the black tank valve and mentioned needing to fix a freshwater leak.

I could see water dripping from the belly pan but the location changed depending upon the level of the trailer. Tongue high, drip further backward – tongue low, drip forward. I checked the floors inside for any moisture. Nothing. I looked under the bathroom sink as it is easy to access. I didn’t see much. The next option is to look at the water heater which also has an easy-to-access panel next to it. I opened this up before with another fix, the electric portion of the water heater.

I peered under and around, finding a leak dripping. It was coming from under the water heater! I felt the water and it was warm. Ugh. Leaking water heater. There were no other leaks anywhere else on the water heater. It must have corroded. The tank is aluminum and they don’t normally corrode with regular flushing. That was the problem. I had only flushed the tank once and then a LOT of water scale came out. It was years of running hard water through it in Arizona and Texas.

The old one didn’t look too bad and was still operational:

I called Toscano’s Airstream in Los Banos and talked to Bobby in service. I have always been happy with their dealership and service and trusted them. We discussed the options. I knew that I did NOT want an on-demand version as I feel they don’t work that well in an RV water environment (and maybe I am just too old to change my ways). I would love to find a direct replacement but Toscanos couldn’t find one from their suppliers. I really also did not want to find an equivalent.

The model was a GE9-EXT. This means it is technically a 6-gallon heater but the 9 means how many gallons it will put out. This is because of a mixer on the back of the heater. This one heats the water to a higher temperature than is really safe. It mixes it with cold water as it feeds the trailer with hot water. This mixing stretches the 6 gallons to 9 gallons. I like that feature.

So I looked around for a direct fit but I also was keeping an eye on delivery time. I found some GE9-EXT models, some very pricey, many out of stock. I also found, on Amazon, a GEH9-EXT model. Hmm, has an extra ‘H’ in it. What does that mean?

This model was designed to be used in a motorhome and the ‘H’ means it connects to the engine of the rig like a heater core. This allows the engine to help heat the water heater. I checked with Toscano’s and they have seen Airstream send out some units with the ‘H’ model installed. Must be whatever you can get. I agree with that and ordered it from Amazon.

The concern I had with the ‘H’eater option was that the tubes invaded the heating tank and it could leak. However, the tubing is only welded onto the tank and does a heat transfer through the metal, not commingling the fluids. I put caps on it anyway:

Time to swap them out. Remove 20 screws on the outside, disconnect the hot and cold lines (with lots of towels to catch the excess water), disconnect the 110V lines for the electric heater, disconnect the 12v lines for running the computer, and disconnect the LP gas. I had to do some pulling, twisting, and breaking the seal around the outside (caulking and butyl tape). But I got it out:

Above is the hole left with the removal of the old heater. You can see all the piping (water and propane), into the bathroom (toilet), and into the bedroom. You can also see part of the blow dryer that I used to dry out the drip area. Also, there are wires to strip and connect to the new unit. In my last repair to the old heater, I had to replace the wire nuts that burned all the way through. This was not a good thing and I was looking for a solution that did not burn through again. I found a new wire connector then and used it again here:

These connectors are made by Ideal. Supposedly they will hold on to the wires and motion does not affect them. The above is for the 110V connection to the electric heater element. Ideal also makes an inline connector that I used for the 12V connections:

I prepped the mounting hole with some butyl tape to help seal the opening. I also marked, on the painter’s tape, where the screw holes are to help line things up:

With a bit of wiggling and some alignment, the heater fits great. The propane line gave me a bit of an issue getting the right angle on it to fit the connector. It leaked a bit at first but some elbow grease on the wrench tightened it up. After everything was connected, and the tank filled, I fired it up and got a nice blue flame:

Now, since the new heater is working well, I can do a forensic exam on the old one. I took off all still working parts (electrical and otherwise) for backup. I exposed the tank and saw this:

The bottom had evidence of leakage (arrows) and also you can see all the deposits from the scale buildup. Note to self: flush the heater at least once a year!

Now that both leaks, fresh and black, were fixed, we were getting ready to hit the road again. One more thing, I had to close up the belly pan to protect the valves from the road. This is what it looked like before:

I got a piece of galvanized metal and cut it to fit. Secured it with some self tapping screws, making sure NOT to puncture any of the tanks hiding under the pan. The finishing was to use some aluminum tape on the edges to keep it nice and smooth underneath:

The final touch was to support the sewer output. It kind of hangs out there on its’ own with little assistance. I decided to add a bit:

Oh, I also got a new, clear cap for the sewer.

Whew, now all those liquid repairs are done, hopefully to never happen again!