Hot water heater issues

[rosede]

I have a Suburban SW6DEL hot water heater. When I plug into pedestal and have the AC running, the main breaker pops when the electric hot water kicks in. The gas doesn't work at all and as soon as I try to turn it on, I just get a fault light. If I turn off the AC, then I can turn on the electric hot water and it works just fine.

I found a site that has repair kits, so I bought a a kit that replaces everything except the control board (both gas and electric). No change in the problem. If the AC is running, and I turn on the electric hot water, the breaker pops and I get a fault light when I try turning on the gas.

Should I replace the control board? Is there anything else that I can do first to try to troubleshoot this issue?

Thanks

Daryl

[JRTJH]

Your trailer can provide "up to 30 amps" for everything. More than that and "the main circuit breaker will open.

It doesn't matter where you use that 30 amps, as soon as you "touch that magic number, the breaker opens...

That does NOT mean your water heater is not working properly. Nor does it mean that your water heater IS working properly...

All it means is when you reach 30 amps, the breaker opens....

It could be that the water heater is working properly and drawing 9 amps. The power center converter/charger is drawing 5 amps (that's 14 amps total) and your air conditioner is drawing 19 amps. That puts you at 33 amps and "OPEN BREAKER"....

You need someone to survey your entire rig for electrical loading and determine "which part is drawing too many amps"... It might very well be the air conditioner that's causing all your problems.....

Don't suspect it's the water heater just because the breaker opens when you turn it on. It may not be the water heater at all..... On these "hot, sultry days we're having, a air conditioner compressor with a "high head pressure" or a "bad start capacitor" could very well be the reason your water heater "kicks off the power".....

[flybouy]

You need to also check the voltage comming in. The lower the voltage the higher the amperage draw will be for a given load.

[rosede]

Thank you for the reply's.

How about the gas side? Its not working either. As soon as I flip the switch, I get a "Fault" on the board.

I replaced the gas valve, burner tube, igniter and wire, the thermostat and an on/off switch.

This is the same for the electrical side. Thermostat, heating element and I can't remember what else.

It could be something else, including the AC, but it seems odd that both the gas and electrical side are both having issues.

Thanks

Daryl

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by rosede

Thank you for the reply's.

How about the gas side? Its not working either. As soon as I flip the switch, I get a "Fault" on the board.

I replaced the gas valve, burner tube, igniter and wire, the thermostat and an on/off switch.

This is the same for the electrical side. Thermostat, heating element and I can't remember what else.

It could be something else, including the AC, but it seems odd that both the gas and electrical side are both having issues.

Thanks

Daryl

When you turn on the LP side, do you wait for about a minute to see if it lights and the fault light goes out?

[bobbecky]

You are saying you see a fault light come on. Where is that light? On our rig, when the thermostat on the water heater calls for heat when in gas mode, a little light comes on next to the inside switch and this is an indicator that the igniter is lighting the burner. As soon as the flame is lit, the light goes out. That light is not a fault light, but yours could be different.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

You are saying you see a fault light come on. Where is that light? On our rig, when the thermostat on the water heater calls for heat when in gas mode, a little light comes on next to the inside switch and this is an indicator that the igniter is lighting the burner. As soon as the flame is lit, the light goes out. That light is not a fault light, but yours could be different.

I have the same water heater. My panel is made by KIB and many RVs use this same panel for the Suburban water heater the OP uses. When I get to a campsite and have city water connected, I move the WATER HEATER rocker switch to the on position. The little red light next to the switch comes on and I hear the pilot light light and the little red light goes out. The propane part of the water heater works as it should. There is no fault light in this system. And of course, when it is cooler/colder out, I turn on the electric heating element in the water heater by actuating the rocker switch on the outside of the water heater that is pretty much hidden on the lower left. I have changed my electric water heater element and installed higher temp thermostats (I guess that is what they are called) so that water is hotter and in theory you use less when combined with cold water for showers. I also had to change the electric element rocker switch at the same time because that and the heating element were burned up long before I owned the trailer. I always check to ensure the hot water tank is full before firing up the heat.

[ChuckS]

IF your unit has TWO switches inside on that water heater control panel...and looking at Trekwood it SHOWS some have dual inside switch for gas/electric control and some just have single switch for gas only with electric power switch on the water heater outside...

If you have two switches and you trip breaker and aren''t overloaded then check the remote relay for the electric side... these have a habit of shorting out

Also.. you replaced ignitor already and when you turn on the water heater in gas mode you hear NO ignitor firing...

Is the gap for igniter set correctly? If so and you hear no ignition attempt then verify that the water heat control board gets 12 volts DC when you flip inside switch.. If YES then replace control module on water heater...

This will get it working in gas mode but you need to TS electric side if you aren't overloading the feed.
.. Ohm out the electric heating element
.. remove rubber cover off thermostat and inspect 120 volt side for evidence of overheating and verify 120 volts across terminals on the thermostat

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

IF your unit has TWO switches inside on that water heater control panel...and looking at Trekwood it SHOWS some have dual inside switch for gas/electric control and some just have single switch for gas only with electric power switch on the water heater outside...

If you have two switches and you trip breaker and aren''t overloaded then check the remote relay for the electric side... these have a habit of shorting out

Also.. you replaced ignitor already and when you turn on the water heater in gas mode you hear NO ignitor firing...

Is the gap for igniter set correctly? If so and you hear no ignition attempt then verify that the water heat control board gets 12 volts DC when you flip inside switch.. If YES then replace control module on water heater...

This will get it working in gas mode but you need to TS electric side if you aren't overloading the feed.
.. Ohm out the electric heating element
.. remove rubber cover off thermostat and inspect 120 volt side for evidence of overheating and verify 120 volts across terminals on the thermostat

Sorry, was wrong. I have the SW6DE which has the rocker switch outside and the SW6DEL has a relay added to the inside switch. The water heater will add over 10A to the camper's load when the electric element is actuated. On a 30A camper, I think the A/C, microwave and electric hot water heater element will likely have a chance of tripping the main breaker from experience.

[ChuckS]

Curious if you had any luck TS your water heater issues?