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Old 03-14-2015, 08:11 AM   #1
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Electric water heater element not working

Still on our inaugural tour in our 2015 3051s. We are plugged in but have found that the water does not heat up on electric. Left it in all night yet water was not warm. Turned on the gas switch and the water got hot very quickly. What are we doing wrong or is there a system switch we have missed?
Thanks
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Old 03-14-2015, 08:18 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by naysmitj View Post
Still on our inaugural tour in our 2015 3051s. We are plugged in but have found that the water does not heat up on electric. Left it in all night yet water was not warm. Turned on the gas switch and the water got hot very quickly. What are we doing wrong or is there a system switch we have missed?
Thanks
Switch is on the outside of camper, is that where your turning it on?
You have to remove the wh cover to access it
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Old 03-14-2015, 08:20 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by naysmitj View Post
Still on our inaugural tour in our 2015 3051s. We are plugged in but have found that the water does not heat up on electric. Left it in all night yet water was not warm. Turned on the gas switch and the water got hot very quickly. What are we doing wrong or is there a system switch we have missed?
Thanks
Since you have never used electric, let's start simple.

1. If you have the Suburban water heater, the switch to turn on the electric is most times on the face of the water heater. Make sure to press in on the word ON to turn it on.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

2. A lot of times, the water heater is shipped without the electric part even plugged in. You will need to gain access to the backside of the water heater, and verify that it is indeed plugged into an outlet.



3. Find your electrical distribution panel inside your RV, and also verify that the circuit breaker to the water heaters 120 volt side/outlet is turned on. Many times the circuit breaker is turned off to keep an owner from accidently turning on the electric heating element without water being in the heater, which will burn out the element.

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Old 03-14-2015, 09:06 AM   #4
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I think the above post have got it nailed down unless it's actually a defect in the unit.....3 things to check.....breaker on, water heater cord plugged into the 110 electrical outlet, and on/off switch flipped to the on position.
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Old 03-14-2015, 09:22 AM   #5
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Thanks very much for the advice. Of course it was the most obvious one that I had overlooked......the circuit breaker was in the off position.
Cheers
Pat and Jim
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Old 03-14-2015, 09:25 AM   #6
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Thanks very much for the advice. Of course it was the most obvious one that I had overlooked......the circuit breaker was in the off position.
Cheers
Pat and Jim
Great!!!!!....now go enjoy a hot shower!!!!
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Old 03-14-2015, 10:05 AM   #7
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Thanks very much for the advice. Of course it was the most obvious one that I had overlooked......the circuit breaker was in the off position.
Cheers
Pat and Jim
I went ahead and moved these posts to a new topic thread, as the problem/solution was different than the thread it was originally posted in.

Glad you got it going, and it was something that simple.
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Old 03-14-2015, 12:00 PM   #8
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In future make sure water heater electricity is "OFF" before filling tank....If not element will go "open" in seconds!!!!!!!!!! j
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Old 03-14-2015, 08:05 PM   #9
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Jim is right on that one. This winter our first stop south we plugged in the shore power and blew the element as I had drained the tank for winterizing but did not shut off either the breaker in the trailer or the little toggle switch accessed from outside and behind the white outside access door. Best to remember on that first hook up to check the switches are off before plugging in the trailer, then open the bypass on the heater that was closed when you winterized the plumbing so that after hooking up the water and filling the system including the tank you are then ready to flip the toggle switch/breaker to on. BTW you can indeed run both electric and gas at the same time for quicker heat up.
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Old 03-14-2015, 09:56 PM   #10
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Nice thing about the 2015 3051S (& others I'm sure) is that the electric on/off switch is on the control panel right next to the propane switch. 😃
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Old 03-14-2015, 10:09 PM   #11
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I think the reason the switch is on the outside is when you open the cover you can shut it off to drain the tank and pull the anode rod right next to it.
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Old 03-16-2015, 01:38 PM   #12
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Just to clarify its not outside on the new ones and the new ones don't have an anode rod.

Old is Suburban: electric switch outside, steel tank, annode rod.
New one is Atwood: electric switch inside on the control panel, aluminum tank, no anode rod.
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