Hot water mixing with cold - Event Date: 28 Feb 2015 - 28 Mar 2015

We have just started our second r.pod trip. It looks like (not sure yet), the hot water is mixing with the cold because it is lukewarm. Perhaps we turned one valve too many when we winterized in November or when we opened things up today. We think we saw a similar problem on this site awhile ago but we can't find the answer. Suggestions?
Thanks
John

Exactly. Happens to most newbies at least once.

Originally posted by CharlieM Exactly. Happens to most newbies at least once.

This is pretty crude, but maybe it helps.  The valves are the thin black lines.  In the summer, cold water flows into the water heater and hot flows out.

In the winter, you cut the water heater out of the plumbing circuit.  You can use cold water without filling and having to re-drain the water heater to re-winterize, or, more likely, you can just drain the water heater for the winter and run anti-freeze through the rest of the plumbing.  This lets the you bypass the water heater, thereby saving about 6 gallons of antifreeze.  You don't need antifreeze in a water heater that can be emptied and bypassed. Aside from the cost of 6 gallons of antifreeze, it may not be good for the water heater, I don't know, but flushing the antifreeze from the water heater would be too much trouble too.

TT