Where Can I Get A Heater Control Valve For My Motorhome?
by Jerry Penley
(Colorado Springs, CO)
We have a 2003 National Sea Breeze. We have no air conditioning. The mechanic told us that the heater control valve is bad. Our RV is powered by a 8.1 workhorse motor. He says that is not a Chevy Vortec part and because National has gone bankrupt, that part is not available. How can that be?
Thanks,
Jerry
ANSWER: Greetings Jerry thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.
The first thing I would do is find another mechanic. The exact Heater Control Valve that you need may no longer be available, but with the 100s of Heater Control Valves available, I am sure that there may be one that can be used on your Motorhome. Just look at the number of Heater Control Valves available on the two links I listed below.
Heater Control Valves On Amazon
Heater Control Valves On eBay
It appears that the mechanic does not want to take the time to find the part. So, you need to find another mechanic that will take the time or do a little research yourself to find the part.
A Heater Control Valve has a very simple function; by opening or closing it regulates the amount of hot water that goes into your RV's heater core. The more hot water entering the heater core, the more heat you will have coming out of the vents.
When a Heater Control Valve is not opening and closing properly, you can still get heat coming out of the vents even when
the air conditioner is on.
Another option that you can look at is getting your current Heater Control Valve rebuilt. Not all Heater Control Valves can be rebuilt but a lot of them can. You will need to check around with some mechanics and parts departments in your area to find out if your particular Heater Control Valve can be rebuilt.
I am positive that your Heater Control Valve was not manufactured by National RV. The heater control valve came from an outside vendor. There should be some information on the Heater Control Valve itself that should indicate the manufacturer or at least a part number. That information will be very helpful in your search.
If you locate a manufacturer name or even a part number; you should search the internet with that information. I cannot tell you how many times I have just typed in a part number or a model number on Google and ended up finding a hard to find part or item.
I hope that the above information has been helpful to you.
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Happy RVing
RVing Al
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