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Old 01-17-2023, 07:49 AM   #1
Wiggles
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Switch near hot water tank

Hello, I just purchased a 2020 keystone hideout 245Lhswe. when going over the trailer i noticed a switch near the hot water tank behind the out side cover where the drain is. its an "on/off" switch. when i inquired with the old owner he said he never touched it and the trailer produced hot water on wither electric or propane still so I'm not sure what it does. is he mistaken or am I missing something?

thanks,
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:10 AM   #2
JRTJH
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That switch is the "on unit electric element switch". It is mounted "upside down" which means "up is OFF and down is ON". In your second photo, it appears that the switch is turned OFF, so the electric element should not operate in that position.

There are, in Keystone trailers, at least two "switches" for the electric element and on SOME (not all) trailers, even more "switches" that control that element.

On EVERY Keystone trailer with a Suburban water heater, there is the switch that you are asking about PLUS the circuit breaker (typically 15 amps) located in the trailer electrical distribution center (typically a WFCO Power Center).

Here is a link to the Suburban water heater Owner's Manual. In it, you'll find the operating instructions for the water heater. They include instructions for that switch. Some "older Suburban water heaters" had a hole in the ON side of that switch, to insert a safety pin, which prevented turning on the water heater electric element without first removing the pin. The reason was to prevent "inadvertently activating the element".

It is "OK to use both gas and electric elements simultaneously" doing so will provide more energy to the water in the tank so it will "heat faster" providing more hot water for a longer time frame.

Here's the link to the Owner's Manual: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/wp-...ter_Manual.pdf

That switch is item #33 on page 9 of the manual.
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:11 AM   #3
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Welcome to the forum

That switch is for the electric element. It sounds like there is an additional switch inside. My trailer only has that switch outside.
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:18 AM   #4
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thank you for the prompt replies.
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:21 AM   #5
Wiggles
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did a little reading, form what I understand you can run it with electric and propane switch on to be more efficient with the water heater? or just pick one or the other?

thanks again
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:52 AM   #6
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The answer to using both electric and gas at the same time was answered in my post above. Check the bolded part of my post...
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Old 01-17-2023, 08:57 AM   #7
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The outside switch is handy when servicing to be able shut off without going inside to do so. Mine had 2 switches that both had to be "on" for the water heater to work.
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Old 01-17-2023, 09:22 AM   #8
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I am not familiar with your particular trailer but there may another relay that completes the 120vac circuit behind the front panel of the water heater. The unit has to be pulled (usually) to access. You can pull up the Suburban water heater you have and you should be able to get the schematic. From memory if has DE at the end you will not have the relay, if it has DEL it will. That is my memory for the 12 gal. water heater, if yours is something different you will need to look but I believe when I pulled up the schematics (many times) it said something to the effect of "for DEL models". Your switch is set to off which means 120vac is not making it to the thermostat or element so I would wonder how it works on both electric and LP?? It appears, by that setting, that you only have LP available to the unit.

The information above was provided just so you have an idea of what you may or may not have. When troubleshooting this water heater (or most anything) a VOM is invaluable. I would not go by what a previous owner "said", that can lead to some big surprises. Verify yourself. In this case that water heater is not going to work on electric unless the wiring has been modified.
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Old 01-17-2023, 09:55 AM   #9
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As stated above, that is an on-off switch for the electric in your water heater. It does not turn off the gas function.

You will also have a switch inside the camper for the electric on your water heater also. Your water heater is "double switched." In order for the water heater to run on electric, both switches have to be "on."

The time and the reason you want to turn the switch "off" at the water tank is when the water tank is empty. If you drain your water heater between trips. Or if you winterize. Or if for any reason you put your water heater in "by pass", then that switch on the water heater should ALWAYS bet turned off.

Why?

Because its just way, way to easy to flip the switch inside the camper to turn the water heater electric "on" when the tank is empty. If the electric on the water heater turns on and there is no water in the tank, you have about a second and a half to get it turned back off, or your heating element in the water heater will be burned up.

So, whenever there is no water in the tank, that switch should always be "off" too. Then if the switch inside the camper gets flipped on, the water heater is really still off. Again, neither switch affects anything when running on gas. But, if you are running on gas, then you probably do have water in the tank.

Again, whenever you drain and empty the water heater, that switch should be turned "off" before you proceed draining anything, and then turned back "on" only when you know the tank is completely full. Otherwise, you'll be replacing the heating element..... um ... which I've done twice in my camping lifetime so far for this very reason.
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Old 01-17-2023, 01:30 PM   #10
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thanks so much for all the info, makes total sense. glad to be joining such a great community!
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Old 01-17-2023, 07:38 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiggles View Post
Hello, I just purchased a 2020 keystone hideout 245Lhswe. when going over the trailer i noticed a switch near the hot water tank behind the out side cover where the drain is. its an "on/off" switch. when i inquired with the old owner he said he never touched it and the trailer produced hot water on wither electric or propane still so I'm not sure what it does. is he mistaken or am I missing something?

thanks,
Is this actually a 245LHSWE, or is it a 24LHSWE or a 25LHSWE? Looking at a 2020 Keystone brochure for the Hideout line, they don't list a 245LHSWE. Does this trailer have a 30 amp or a 50 amp electric service? If it is only a 30 amp trailer, you may want to use the gas mode on the water heater to make more power available for the other loads such as the microwave and the air conditioner.
https://keystone-rv-dealer-app.cdn.p...chure-2018.pdf
The above link is what Keystone shows on their web site as the brochure for the 2020 model year, and looking at the brochure for 2021, they show no LHSWE models.
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Old 01-22-2023, 01:36 PM   #12
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Hot water heater on/off switch

I have a 2020 Keystone 357 Impact Fuzion toyhauler. My on off switch is mounted the same way as the original thread mentioned, so I do not think it was mounted upside down as previous thread mentioned. My button is pushed down on the on button and has worked fine on propane or electric. The factory must mount them that way would not think their would otherwise but could be wrong.
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Old 01-23-2023, 10:22 AM   #13
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Hi Wiggles - welcome to the forum from Shawnigan Lake!
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Old 01-23-2023, 12:18 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roberthensley491 View Post
I have a 2020 Keystone 357 Impact Fuzion toyhauler. My on off switch is mounted the same way as the original thread mentioned, so I do not think it was mounted upside down as previous thread mentioned. My button is pushed down on the on button and has worked fine on propane or electric. The factory must mount them that way would not think their would otherwise but could be wrong.
It is my understanding that the switch is "mounted upside down" in the original production runs (many years ago) because the "on side of the switch" had a safety clip that was installed in a hole in that side of the switch to prevent accidental activation of the switch. You had to physically remove the safety clip to turn on the switch. Switch was mounted "upside down" because of its location. It was IMPOSSIBLE to install the safety clip if the switch were installed with ON at the top. You just couldn't get the clip in the hole because of all the gas piping that obscured the location.

In recent years, the safety clip has been discontinued for some reason (probably production costs) but "somebody at Suburban" decided to keep the switch orientation the same, probably to prevent confusion by owners who "remembered how the switch is used on their old Suburban water heater"....
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