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10-06-2019, 11:08 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Electric Water Heater damaged
My wife wanted to get the fridge cold for a coming trip. I told her to put it on electric rather than LP gas to get it cold. 3 hrs later I asked if she turned on the fridge with the button above it. She says there is a button there? She showed be where she toggled a switch for electric on the control panel. IT WAS FOR THE WATER HEATER! Do you think it fired the element because it was winterized? Is there any way to tell without filling it with water?
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 11:10 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Dexter Ga
Posts: 130
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You can ohm out the element with a meter to check.
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10-06-2019, 11:23 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Isn't the element inside the tank? I guess I should look for wires leading into the tank from the bcircuit board, right? What should it read, anything other than infinate?
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 11:30 AM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,671
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If you have a meter this should help you out;
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Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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10-06-2019, 11:38 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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OK, I pulled the red and the brown leads and tested the tank side of the connectors. I got 46Kohms. I hope that means all is OK. (I was about to be sick!) 
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 11:42 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Now I saw the video. I am not sure what I tested, but it's back to the drawing board.
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 11:54 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Toledo, OH
Posts: 88
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skids
OK, I pulled the red and the brown leads and tested the tank side of the connectors. I got 46Kohms. I hope that means all is OK. (I was about to be sick!) |
Ummm... It depends on what the ohms are supposed to be, as described in the video. A lot of ohms might mean that the element is fried. And too low of ohms could mean the same thing.
My guess is that it is shot. Having an element go for three hours with no water is almost a guarantee of it being burned out. It usually only take a few seconds without water to destroy it.
If it is shot, it's not a terrible job to replace an element...
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Chris
2014 Keystone Outback 210TRS
2020 F150, 3.5l, 4x4, 3.55:1, Supercrew
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10-06-2019, 12:01 PM
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#8
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,671
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Turn off the power to the hwh, remove the leads on the element and read the resistance. Your post says 46K?? ohms? If so, I would remove the element and check.it. It should read much lower than that.
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Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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10-06-2019, 12:13 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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I'd pick up an element. It only takes a couple minutes to fry the element. They're not too expensive nor a big deal to change.
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Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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10-06-2019, 12:23 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Sechelt, BC
Posts: 66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough
Turn off the power to the hwh, remove the leads on the element and read the resistance. Your post says 46K?? ohms? If so, I would remove the element and check.it. It should read much lower than that.
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A typical ohm reading for a 500W element is 28.8ohms and for a 1000W element is 14.4 ohms. A very high reading is indicative of an open circuit.
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10-06-2019, 12:33 PM
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#11
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Site Team | Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 3,878
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Were you plugged into shore power? If not, nothing to be worried about.
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Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Impact 312
2017 Silverado 3500HD SRW
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10-06-2019, 12:55 PM
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#12
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,741
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Ohm's law states I= V/R, so I is the amps found by dividing the voltage by the resistance. So I = 120 volts divided by 56,000 ohms resistance. Amps would then be 0.0021428571. The resistance should be less than 20.
The element is inexpensive, readily available and simple to replace.
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Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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10-06-2019, 01:13 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Yes. She was trying to turn on the fridge.
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 01:17 PM
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#14
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,741
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It happens, the good news is it's an inexpensive easy fix.
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Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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10-06-2019, 01:22 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Well, I saw a youtube video where the element is accessed from inside the coach. Also, the element is very low in the tank and he said that if it is removed, a lot of water will spill into the cabinet space where it is hard to clean up. It doesn't have to be removed to test it for ohms however. Yeah, I will deal with it after limbering-up my back (someday soon). I guess I can just use gas for the time being. Thanks to all for your help. I hope we didn't burn out the circuit board also...
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 01:25 PM
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#16
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,671
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gord
A typical ohm reading for a 500W element is 28.8ohms and for a 1000W element is 14.4 ohms. A very high reading is indicative of an open circuit.
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I'm hoping that's what my post indicated....or at least I thought it did.
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Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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10-06-2019, 01:26 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: radium hot springs bc
Posts: 2,007
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Just to err on the side of safety there is a rocker switch at the WH lower left corner. I turn that off when breaking camp. No way to power up the WH till that switch is turned back on.
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2018 Ram 3500 6.4 Harvest Edition
2018 Cougar 27RESWE 
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10-06-2019, 01:30 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough
I'm hoping that's what my post indicated....or at least I thought it did. |
I don't know what I tested from the outside. To test the element I needed to go inside and into the cabinet behind the bypass hoses.
(I'll get to that)
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 01:33 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 700
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I will look for that rocker switch on the board. It was the one on the control panel that my wife switched on (!)
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Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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10-06-2019, 01:33 PM
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#20
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,671
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Good luck.
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Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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