Operating hot water heater

[LCDR Johnson]

It's been awhile since I operated by Forester 2005 hot water heater. My brother has the RV now in Virginia and needs to know the steps to take. Can anyone out there help me out. 7/11/11 GJohnson

[grhodes50]

The following instructions are for a Surburban DSI water heater with gas/electric option.

Gas Operation
1st. Make sure the heater tank is full.
2nd. Open the propane tanks slowly.
3rd. Turn on switch inside trailer marked Water Heater. A red light will come on. The light will stay on until the water heater lights. The water heater will make three attempts to light then it will need to be recycled. Lighting the stove first will help purge the gas line of any air which will help the water heater light faster.
4th. Wait about 20-30 minutes and enjoy hot water!

Electric
1st. Make sure the heater tank is full.
2nd. Check to make sure the breaker inside trailer marked water heater is on.
3rd. Outside the trailer, behind the access panel there is a small black rocker on/off switch. Usually located behind some tubing in the lower left. There may be a pin in the switch locking it closed. Remove the pin and turn switch to the on position.
4th. Wait about 30 minutes and enjoy hot water!

You may use the gas or electric seperately or both at the same time, which will help with a faster recover time when taking showers, etc...

Hope this helps.

[herk7769]

And if THAT does not work (and it certainly should!) here is the manual.

WARNING: This photo shows a recipe for disaster since the AC power switch is on and the anode is out. If there is power on this guy's camper he will be buying a new AC heating element.

[Mark and Linda]

Sitting here thinking about what I don't know about on my new used TT. I thought, oh, the hot water heater. I got a quick walk through at the dealer's before I towed out the other day, I know where the little red switch is, the breaker for the AC, and how to get to the bypass valves. I didn't ask a question about the operation of it. So..I found what I need to know on this thread. I downloaded the instructions onto my laptop into a file. We didn't fire up the hot water heater on the walk through because it being winterized. Now I know how.

On the way home I noticed my access door hanging down. I had lost the fastener to it. I went to Lowe's, got a screw, pal nut, washer and a wingnut. Problem solved....

[Mark and Linda]

I haven't been out to check what model etc. I have, know I have a red switch...now question:

Quote: You may use the gas or electric seperately or both at the same time, which will help with a faster recover time when taking showers, etc...

Question...on the switch to use the option mentioned above...does the switch still have to be in the on postion?

I am going to look at my unit tomorrow from the outside....back later.

[Taranwanderer]

I think you're confusing yourself.. The red switch with the light inside is to turn the water heater on with propane only. The black switch outside on the body of the heater is to turn it on using electric only. You can use either separately, or use them both together to make your water heat faster.

[Mark and Linda]

Thank you, think I got it figured now. If it is raining....I will use the one inside, if I don't want to go outside to get wet. If I get to worrying about my propane useage, I will go outside and flip the switch to use the AC. I know that I won't use that much propane anyway...thanks so much. I can't wait to dewinterize it and get in a campground. I drove to one near our house yesterday and just walked around the campsites. I talked to one lady who was setting up her pup for the weekend. It made me want to go home and hook up to my TT. This forum has saved me from having to go up to the dealer's and bugging the repairman for these questions.

[Mark and Linda]

I went out and checked my hotwater heater, found the model number, etc. It is a 6W6 DE. I found the switch on the left side....has an off and on, so simple. The dealers had it in the off position. I know when we did the walk through with the service man I opened the converter box and flipped the breaker to off so I wouldn't inadvertently have it going with no water in it. I don't guess then I had noticed the little switch in the outside panel.

[bikendan]

just realize that it takes longer using electric, over propane, to heat the water.
just like the fridge.

a lot of us first heat the water with propane and then switch to electric to maintain it, if you have hookups.

since we rarely have hookups, we use propane almost all the time and it uses very little propane, unlike the furnace.