GBHRPS
04-27-2010, 03:48 PM
Last fall's winterizing caught up to me this week. Getting ready for our first trip this season and I discover that our water heater will not work on 110 volts, but will on propane.
Research online tells me that when I drained the water heater with the trailer hooked up to the house AC, I failed to turn off the switch to the electric heater element. I didn't know there even was a switch, for it hidden down under the gas line in the lower left corner of the unit. Consequently, without water surrounding the element to cool it, the element destroyed itself.
(Wouldn't you know that the manual for the water heater was the only manual missing when we purchased our used trailer.)
Our unit is a Suburan SW6DE, basically a 6 gallon direct ignition (for the gas) and electric (110 volts) two way water heater. So I downloaded the service manual from the web, skipped to the 110 volt electrical operation section and dove in.
The test procedure for the heater element is to remove the cover over the element's wiring, and using a digital meter, check for 10 ohms across the element's connections. Mine was 1.8 ohms and definitely burned out.
Armed with the make and model number of my water heater I was off to a local trailer supply store and got a replacement for around $20, taxes and all.
This new unit registered 10.6 ohms. (Must be good!)
Back home and with a one and a half inch socket I removed the old element and installed the new one. Problem solved.
For those of you with dual propane/electric water heaters .... be sure that electrical switch under the outside door of the water heater is turned off BEFORE you drain the water tank. As for making this repair yourself, it is a fairly easy DIY if there ever was one. Good Luck!
Gene
Research online tells me that when I drained the water heater with the trailer hooked up to the house AC, I failed to turn off the switch to the electric heater element. I didn't know there even was a switch, for it hidden down under the gas line in the lower left corner of the unit. Consequently, without water surrounding the element to cool it, the element destroyed itself.
(Wouldn't you know that the manual for the water heater was the only manual missing when we purchased our used trailer.)
Our unit is a Suburan SW6DE, basically a 6 gallon direct ignition (for the gas) and electric (110 volts) two way water heater. So I downloaded the service manual from the web, skipped to the 110 volt electrical operation section and dove in.
The test procedure for the heater element is to remove the cover over the element's wiring, and using a digital meter, check for 10 ohms across the element's connections. Mine was 1.8 ohms and definitely burned out.
Armed with the make and model number of my water heater I was off to a local trailer supply store and got a replacement for around $20, taxes and all.
This new unit registered 10.6 ohms. (Must be good!)
Back home and with a one and a half inch socket I removed the old element and installed the new one. Problem solved.
For those of you with dual propane/electric water heaters .... be sure that electrical switch under the outside door of the water heater is turned off BEFORE you drain the water tank. As for making this repair yourself, it is a fairly easy DIY if there ever was one. Good Luck!
Gene