Sprinter 266 electric water heater?

[x96mnn]

When I bought my trailer and was doing the research it mentioned an electric water heater. The line actually reads

6 gallon gas/electric DSI auto ignition water heater w/ 16.2 gal rec

When I got my camper it just has a normal switch and the propane heater kicks on and heats it up and I never thought anymore of it until I noticed other sprinter owners talking about their gas/electric units working and those not working. This made me go back to the site and see if it was an option and I see no where it can be added only a camping made easy which mine has and 4 unique features like bigger AC and 50 amp service.

So can anyone tell me if my 2012 Sprinter 266 has an electric water heater and if so how does it work?

[fla-gypsy]

Some RV's have a remote switch inside the WH compartment. Some may be located other places in the RV itself. How many switches are on the panel with the WH LP switch?

[Festus2]

It would be highly unusual if your Sprinter did not have a 110v AC option for your HW heater.

On many units, there is a wall-mounted switch that you can select either gas or electricity. On some HW heaters, there is a small, black rocker switch located on the exterior back side of the heater. If you open up the access door and look at the bottom left-hand corner of the HW heater, you may see this small rocker switch. If you have one and it is in the OFF position, your HW will not work on 110v.

When on 110v , there is a heating element in the tank's interior that heats the water.

[x96mnn]

I only have one switch on my my panel for the hot water which is on and off. I will check where u suggest and see if I can find more.

[JRTJH]

x96mnn,

Go to the outside water heater door, open the door and look at the lower left hand corner. Behind the gas burner air adjustment, you'll find a black switch. There is a safety pin in it to keep it in the off position. Pull the pin and then push the switch down and it should turn on your electric element. The switch is mounted "upside down" in other words, off is up and on is down, but it is marked.

Don't forget and leave the electric element turned on if you should turn off your water pump or disconnect from city water. If the hot water heater happens to drain or leak down, you will burn up the electric element if it is turned on without being submerged in water. It only takes a few seconds to destroy the element, so just be aware of the switch position.

Remember that on electricity, the hot water heater WILL NOT recover 16 gal/hr. It's more like 7 or 8 gal/hr. To get the maximum recovery, you'll need to run both the electric and the gas heating portions.

[SteveC7010]

There should be a sticker on water heater that contains the manufacturer, model number, and other info. Armed with that information, you can browse on over to the manufacturer's website and look up your unit to see what you actually have. All of the manufacturers also have the owners manuals online for downloading if you don't already have one.

If you have the build sheet for the trailer, the manufacturer and model number should be on that as well.

If you have a pile of manuals and documentation for the trailer, the owners manual for the water heater may be there, too.

[TAZ23]

As JRTJH said there should be a rocker switch with a pin in it. On my 2012 Outback it is in the top center of the outside and it is kind of tucked away and not easy to see. On the inside control panel there is a rocker switch for gas and another for electric but the outside switch must be on for the electric to work

[x96mnn]

Thank you all for the responses. I will check this coming weekend and report back!

[hankpage]

Look in your electric panel .... There should be a circuit breaker marked "Water Heater". If you have water in the water heater turn the breaker on and then remove the safety pin from the tank switch and you will have electric hot water. REMEMBER to turn one or the other off before draining the tank. You may not be able to use this while using A/C if you only have 30amp service. If you only have one switch in the trailer marked WTR/HTR it only controls the gas and has nothing to do with electric. We have the same and use electric all the time and turn on gas for showers. If you search the forum you will find many posts on this subject and how folks use elec. or gas. JM2¢, Hank

[x96mnn]

JR and Hank you where both dead on. In the panel is a double 15 fuse marked W/H and when I went to the outside and looked exactly where JR stated I found the On/Off switch in the off position!

Thanks for the Help!