No Hot Water

[Travler]

I did something even a newbe wouldn't do...That turning on hot water heater and not filing with water..Well as expected the element burned out.I wasn't really worried bc I still had trusty ole LP to turn to. I turned on the switch inside my 26sab and was hoping to hear it fire up. Nothing no spark no gas smell...did this for about 30 minutes... so I didn't have hot water for the weekend. Any idea what I need to do..I checked the resets and used continunity checker on thermostat on 12 volt side and had continunity. Just no spark or gas. I have a Suburban SW6DE heater.. I also just filled my LP tanks the day before..But have furnace and stove operations..Just no LP gas hot water.

[GaryWT]

So you had gas everywhere but the water heater. Did you check the fuses to be sure they were ok and did you check the relief valve to be sure the tank was full after your first mistake?

[mamawildbear]

We were warned if we ran it try for even 30 seconds, we would fry the element and it would have to be repaired. That said, maybe the high temp cutoff kicked in. See the bottom of page 6 of the manual and see if maybe the manual reset switch will help. http://www.livinlite.com/pdf/service/wh/SW6D-SW6DE-SW6DM-SW6DEM-Installation.pdf

[hankpage]

Since you tried both resets (only one works ... don't ask me which one) as mentioned, I would check 12v fuses in the power panel. The element is toast instantly and should not cause any limits to trip or cause problems with LP operation. LP should also work even if tank is empty you should get ignition. Good luck, let us know what you find, Hank

[Festus2]

I believe that the High Temp Limit/Cutoff switch would only be activated if the water temperature exceeds 180 deg. Since there was no water in the tank to begin with, it is unlikely that this switch would function but .... stranger things have happened.

[Scttw]

I assume your battery is good? Double check.

[The Old Rock]

On our first outing in our Cougar I couldn't get hot water no matter which method I tried. Finally I discovered that the unit had been bypassed.

[Travler]

Thanks to all who have responded.. I have been busy. ..This is what I did today maybe it will help others.. I got the new heating element, installed it and the electric part worked fine as I thought it would, but still no gas heat...As I said before I checked the high temp and thermostat on 12v side, the were ok...I shut off the gas tanks and electric and took the whole gas unit apart and cleaned the ground connections and other terminals,,Cleaned the sparker and tube.. reinstalled unit and turned on gas and flipped switch and it fired right up,,,heated water and shut down..I don't know just what the issue was BC I did so many things to it..I am guessing it was the terminals that needed the cleaning..Just a FYI....(tx) THANKS AGAIN...

[14george]

Great you got it fixed

[Cindy_N_Gary]

It's good you got it working. Did you happen to turn the external switch off when you had it apart? I believe the external switch has to be off in order for the gas to fire up.

[Travler]

Yes I had every thing shut off of unpluged...but the external switch is for electric heat and internal switch is for gas heat...the both can be run at same time if a faster recovery rate is desired.
I do have another question on the gas.....fame is yellow..I was thinking it should be blue...anything I can do for this issue....thanks

[chuckster57]

If you look at the burner tube where it attaches to the orifice, that little screw on the top will allow you to move the slotted portion and adjust the flame.

Make sure there isn't any obstructions in the burner tube, spiders like to make webs and that will cause issues like you describe.

[PerryB]

It's good you got it working. Did you happen to turn the external switch off when you had it apart? I believe the external switch has to be off in order for the gas to fire up.

The outside switch shuts off the electric element obviously, but has no bearing on the gas side of the heater. I often run both sides of the system for faster recovery.

[Travler]

Ok /....I do have a nice blue flame about 2 in. from burner tube end...and 5 in of yellow flame after that...Is this a typical flame?

[chuckster57]

IIRC a blue flame with yellow tips is okay. I always listen to the flame, if its a nice whoosh sound and no sputtering I call it good.

[PerryB]

Blue with yellow tips is good, but if you have 5" of yellow you might need more air. Its not super critical but if the flame is too rich it will soot the tube and reduce efficiency.
On the subject of cleaning the burner, I had an orb weaver make a web in our last trailer and the fire came right back out the tube and out through the air inlet slots. As soon as I turned it on I could tell it didn't sound right and shut it off almost immediately. My friend Rob had the same thing happen but didn't catch it until the thermal fuse burned out.Thankfully it functioned as it was supposed to, although he has a nice black char on his cover as a future maintenance reminder.