Water heater temperature control?

[GmaPaTime]

Is there a way to regulate the water heater temperature? It's a Suburban model #SW6DE. There is no mention of control in the manual.
It seems extremely hot and don't want anyone getting burned.

[Festus2]

According to the manual for our Suburban SW6DE , the temperature setting is pre-set at the factory and cannot be adjusted. It is set for a temperature of 130F (54C). Some members indicate that the water temperature when heated by electricity is not as high as when heated by propane.

You might try the two sources and see if there are any differences in temperature. If not, you might have to turn on the cold water first and then add hot until the temperature is more to your liking.

[chuckster57]

Only H/W heaters I've seen with an adjustable thermostat are the ones you have to manually light the pilot.... The convenience of flipping a switch in the trailer outweighs the ability to control temp in my book. If the wind blows out the pilot, your out of hot water, the DSI will light itself.

[GmaPaTime]

Thanks for the info... Didn't think so but wanted to throw it out in case someone found a way.
We were running it on electric, so we'll know that with propane it could be hotter.

Thanks again..

[JRTJH]

Somewhere (I can't remember where) I read that Suburban offered a 110* electric thermostat. I can't find that reference now, but if I do, I'll post it. The normal gas thermostat and the normal electrical thermostat are set to come on at 100*F and stop heating when the water temp reaches 130*F. So it shouldn't make any difference whether the water heater is operating on gas or electric, it should "light off" and start heating water at 100* and shut down at 130*. The "safety cut-off" is supposed to shut the entire heater down if the water temperature rises above 180*F.

Here's a cut and paste from the service repair manual:

2. Thermostat Failure and ECO Switches
Suburban's direct spark ignition water heaters have a preset thermostat of 130°F that is non- adjustable. It is also equipped with a high temperature limit (E.C.O.) as a cut-off device. Temperatures above 180°F will cause manual reset button to trip, shutting down the main burner. To activate the burner, the water temperature must be below 100°F, push the reset button to reactivate the burner. Make sure the thermostat bracket is holding both switches tight against the water heater to ensure that both of them sense correctly. Check all wire terminals and voltage through the E.C.O. and thermostat.

If you think your HWH is heating water very much higher than 130*F, you might want to have someone doublecheck to make sure that your thermostat is in contact with the water heater bracket. That "could be" a reason for extremely hot water. Normally, it should maintain about 130* temps.

[GmaPaTime]

Thanks John... First I'm going to verify what temp the water actually is coming out the faucets. We keep our home HWH set at 120*F and this is much hotter then that.
If in deed it is higher then 130*F, I'll have the dealer check it when it goes back in for my other repairs.

Steve

[GmaPaTime]

By the way John, you and the others were right about just using the funnel method on santizing the water system. Worked just fine and was easy enough.