Midsouth
03-11-2020, 10:22 AM
We have been full timing for almost 2yrs and bought a new 5th wheel keystone 3701FL. We have a propane & electric water heater.(SW12DWL) . The rig is almost 2 yrs old. We started noticing that the hot water was sometimes warm and then sometimes hot. About 2 months ago, the electric part of the WH stopped working. We have been using propane since. DH finally got up the nerve to try and work on it. After many youtube videos later, he replaced the following with the help of this youtube video “Suburban water heater part 1” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGGv9T-bji8&t=505s
anode rod (sooo needed replacing :) )
heating element (he thought it looked burnt at the top)
on/off switch on the actual water heater (inside the cover to the left)
high temp/ thermostat on the electric side ( it is a push button at the top left on the unit-small part found at local RV parts store).
He used a meter that did not test for resistence—clearly did not work! And so he could not test for power/ resistence while turned off. (get a meter that tests for OHMS??—we did eventually.)
After all of this, he bought a “Fluke 115 compact true RMS multimeter” and there was NO power going to the WH. He then decided to trace the wiring for the WH (b/c we did not know if it was plugged in somewhere and maybe the plug came loose or whatever). He traced the wiring under the stairs in the LR and there is a box that he thought might be a control box of some sort—but then thought it was probably the built-in vacuum system to the right of the steps leading to the LR.
So, he came into the rig to check the on/off switch for the vacuum. He found that the vacuum switch was in the “ON” position but the vacuum was not! He flipped the switch off and then on and the vacuum came on! That’s when he got excited and took his new meter back to the water heater and removed the WH cover and tested…..guess what? Electric POWER to the WH!
Did I mention that we have a cat? Did I also mention that she sometimes comes down the stairs and rubs against that side b/c there is carpet on that side and she has periodically turned on the vacuum system by accident (but does not know how to turn it off… lol) and runs like hell! I have always been there to turn it off….but “we believe” that within the past 2 months she may have done the same thing while we were both gone and the vacuum ran and ran until it became overheated and shut off the current to the vacuum AND the WH. So, the vacuum was sitting in the shorted “on” position which cut the current to the WH.
Question of the day…why would the WH be connected to the vacuum?? We may never know….lol! But maybe this can help someone .
anode rod (sooo needed replacing :) )
heating element (he thought it looked burnt at the top)
on/off switch on the actual water heater (inside the cover to the left)
high temp/ thermostat on the electric side ( it is a push button at the top left on the unit-small part found at local RV parts store).
He used a meter that did not test for resistence—clearly did not work! And so he could not test for power/ resistence while turned off. (get a meter that tests for OHMS??—we did eventually.)
After all of this, he bought a “Fluke 115 compact true RMS multimeter” and there was NO power going to the WH. He then decided to trace the wiring for the WH (b/c we did not know if it was plugged in somewhere and maybe the plug came loose or whatever). He traced the wiring under the stairs in the LR and there is a box that he thought might be a control box of some sort—but then thought it was probably the built-in vacuum system to the right of the steps leading to the LR.
So, he came into the rig to check the on/off switch for the vacuum. He found that the vacuum switch was in the “ON” position but the vacuum was not! He flipped the switch off and then on and the vacuum came on! That’s when he got excited and took his new meter back to the water heater and removed the WH cover and tested…..guess what? Electric POWER to the WH!
Did I mention that we have a cat? Did I also mention that she sometimes comes down the stairs and rubs against that side b/c there is carpet on that side and she has periodically turned on the vacuum system by accident (but does not know how to turn it off… lol) and runs like hell! I have always been there to turn it off….but “we believe” that within the past 2 months she may have done the same thing while we were both gone and the vacuum ran and ran until it became overheated and shut off the current to the vacuum AND the WH. So, the vacuum was sitting in the shorted “on” position which cut the current to the WH.
Question of the day…why would the WH be connected to the vacuum?? We may never know….lol! But maybe this can help someone .