All the tanks are empty, including the hot water and fresh water tanks. Low point drain plugs are now closed, but were opened and drained. At the stage to put anti-freeze in the lines and:

In using his setup you position the valve handle in the direction you want the flow going.  If the valve handle is on valves 2 & 3 are pointing toward the water heater, that is setup for using the water heater and not in the bypass mode.  If both handles are pointing in the opposite direction then the flow of water is bypassing the water heater.

My assumption is that on your 2014 you have a different configuration with the valves.  From your description of the valves the red to blue valve should be in the open position which you have indicate that it is (that allows cold water to enter the hot water side of the system.  The red to red valve should be set to allow water to flow from the red to blue valve into the hot water system and not back feed into the water heater.  The blue to blue valve should be closed going to the water heater.  You should even have a dedicated cold water line to the cold water system.

From the results you are having I believe that your red to red valve is set incorrectly.

Hope this helps but when you get ready to use the water heater just insure that it is getting water and is pressurized before turning on any heat either gas or electric.  

The hot water tank is located under the bed, while the water pump is located near my kitchen sink beneath a lower cupboard. The water pump functions perfectly, sucking up the pink antifreeze from the open ended hose when the cold lines are open.  

This past summer the hot water heater and tank worked well. The valves were set opposite of what they are now for winterizing, if that helps?

I appreciate your input. Thanks

It looks to me like your valves are in the wrong place (and in the wrong orientation).  In your pictures the pair of valves to the right of the valve in the middle should be to the left of the valve in the middle.  Your cold water is going nowhere past the first valve on the bottom, and if it did, it would not get past the valve at the top.  There's no way you're going to get water out of the hot water taps with this set up.

It's not a huge deal, but you have some significant plumbing you have to do to fix this.

Look for Google images of Suburban RV water heater winterizing valves.

TT

Do you mean that we can't winterize correctly, but the system works ok for the summer?

Thank you for your ideas.

This is a 2014. I wonder how it has been winterized all of these years.  We bought used.

 I appreciate your ideas and your time.  Thank you. 

Thanks for looking at my trouble and for posting your observations.  It's been very helpful.

So, now what?

Generally high volume work is done with clamps because they are cheaper, while homeowners like me tend to use crimps because the crimp tool works with several tube sizes. The clamp tools are only good for one size, but thats not an issue for FR since its all half inch.

Are the other fittings and connections in the trailer using crimps too? Anyone else have crimps?

Thanks for your help!

I'm curious, could it be re-plumbed so that a new "bypass" blue to red with a valve in the center was added to the right of the other valves, leaving the current bypass (which is incorrectly to the left of the other valves) there but in a permanently closed position?    I will contact an RV dealer for a spring appointment to fix the issue, but I'm afraid it might be extensive and expensive to remedy.

I don't have an outside shower, but thanks for the other reminders.

I'm not suggesting anything at this point about when and why the bypass was improperly done, just found it curious about the crimps vs clamps.

Re difficulty and expense to remedy, not at all. You can do it yourself in a few minutes. Pex is easy to work with and the fittings almost never leak. Lots of how to videos.i would just leave  the existing bypass there and put a new one in around the corner on the other side of the two shutoff valves where you have room to work.  You need a pex tube cutter, two pex tees, and a shutoff valve, a 10 pack of crimps, a short piece of pex, and the crimp tool. Might be 50 $ at your big box, after which you'll be set up for future plumbing chores.

No worries, I have no idea how long it's been like this, but I am so grateful to everyone here that has given me some peace of mind.  I could NOT figure out what I was missing/doing wrong!

Now I see it!

Originally posted by offgrid crimps vs clamps.

To fix this I recommend neither crimps or clamps.  SharkBite, or similar is the way to go!  No tools to buy.  Absurdly simple and secure.  The fittings are more expensive, so if you're going in the business of doing PEX fittings all day every day, buy the tools and the cheap fittings, but just for this, you'll come out way ahead with SharkBite and the ease with which they work is almost stupifying.

TT

I may be exaggerating the breakeven point of the cost, but for small jobs, by people who aren't tool collectors like us (I have the tools too), Sharkbite-type fittings are a frigging blessing.  Even if they are more expensive they are so easy and fast, maybe you can't forget about the cost, but you can come pretty durn close.

I wonder how the math would work if you had to hire a plumber?  I have no idea what a plumber costs per hour, and I'm sure there are minimums involved, but, anyway, if you're paying for time, SharkBite fittings would probably come close to paying for themselves versus an hourly labor rate.

Again, for someone not at ease with plumbing jobs, they are so simple!!!  A kid who can stack blocks can plumb like a pro with SharkBite fittings.  And another thing: crimping tools can be a pain in the butt in tight places (like plumbing around an RV water heater).  No tools with SharkBite.

I don't have a vested interest in SharkBite.... but I may be talking myself into buying some of their stock.

TT

This spring I made a decision to purchase the hi-rise Thetford toilet giving an additional 4.5" rise; making my DW very happy with her artificial knee.  To the point - the only thing needed to do to make the change was to increase the length of the supply line by 4.5 inches.  SharkBite to the rescue!  No muss, no fuss.  Press on - done.  I like that.  After doing a lot of plumbing jobs using copper and solder, or at the golf course plastic and cement - that was a piece of cake.  Wish they had that years ago.

When I have used the push on ones it was for exactly the reason you suggested, couldn't get access with the crimper. That is certainly a valid reason, but its uncommon. We both saw the photos, the crimper can easily get to where it needs to in this case. 

Anyhow, to me any company that relies on their brand name to command an exorbitant price for their products is vulnerable to disruption from new market entrants. There are other alternative push on options to Sharkbite now. I think it would be a risky investment. Just like Monster Cable a few years ago. Charging 10x so you don't lose any signal on a DIGITAL cable, stupid business model. 

Anyhow, this is a silly thing to debate, either way will work just fine in this case, and I think ampete has sufficient info to decide for himself. 

When I re-plumbed my old 1930's house I got a Pex water manifold and ran home runs to each fixture. Like a circuit breaker box for the plumbing. No valves needed at the fixtures and no tee fittings anywhere. You bring the supply line in the bottom, cold out the top to a wall mount tankless water heater mounted above, then hot back down to the hot side of the manifold.  Wow was that easy. Highly recommended. 

Looks like I have 2 good options.  I am happy to hear that it should be pretty simple to do myself without paying for an RV plumber! I'll keep you posted, although I probably won't tackle it until the spring. 

Thanks again for sharing your expertise.

I have used both methods, and I have the tools to crimp, along with a pretty good supply crimps.  I'll use them without hesitation if and when...  I mostly spoke of SharkBite-type fittings, and was kidding about buying stock.  It's probably way to late for that.  I've sweated copper, threaded steel, done old black plastic pipe with screw clamps, and PEX.  SharkBite fittings are over-priced but they are hands down, the easiest thing to use by far.  Especially for beginners with no tools, in tight places.

I still kinda like sweating copper, but maybe except in rare cases, its time has pretty much come and gone....

TT

Thanks for your earlier post.  I will follow your advice to get the pod winterized. I think I'll wait to tackle the new bypass valve until spring.  Thanks for your input on Sharkbites and PEX.  I have no experience with either, so I appreciate everyone's personal preferences.  

Good to have options. :)

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it.

Appreciate your input. Thanks for taking the time to give specifics.

I used to actually like sweating copper and using Wonder bread to dry out the pipes and all that. But that's kinda like enjoying driving an antique vehicle without a synchro tranny or programming a first gen PC because there was no software available for them. You enjoy the satisfaction coming from mastering a skill but you wouldn't want to return to the days when those were the only choices. 

If I were to do it now, can I tackle it after the steps of draining the fresh water, hot water and low drains? Good time to work on the new bypass?

Yes, its a good time, either now or in the spring before de-winterizing. Your choice. If you do it now, leave the existing bypass open for the winter so it drains once you have the new one installed. Then close it in the spring for the season. 

Offgrid

MANY THANKS!  DONE!  I went with SharkBite as the local store did not have the crimping tool available to use the PEX crimps/clamps. I added the new bypass around the corner, a bit further from the regular shutoffs to cold/hot than ideal, but had no choice based on space needed.  

After draining all of the water, and blowing out the lines with air, I added in the new bypass. She passed the pink test! Pink out of both low point drains, closed 'em up; pink out of both cold and hot individually in the kitchen and bathroom. Thanks again for all of your support!

Winterized and confident :)

One last question:   Do I now leave the original (useless) bypass closed permanently, regardless of the season?

THANK YOU

Thanks again!  Will Do!

Need same fis for my DW