Caution with Drained Water Heater

[boats742]

I winterized my Solera and drained the water heater a month ago. Today I brought it to my house and plugged-in the shore power. It kept blowing the breakers within 60 seconds in the house. The water heater was off on the RV systems panel. I could see the RV was pulling amps, so I turned-off the breakers one-by-one and sure enough the electric water heater element was on. Apparently the RV panel only controls the gas part of the water heater, so you have to either throw the breaker or go outside to the back of the heater and throw a switch to off (I read now).

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by boats742

Apparently the RV panel only controls the gas part of the water heater, so you have to either throw the breaker or go outside to the back of the heater and throw a switch to off (I read now).

Unfortunately, that's the way it works on many Suburban water heaters. This is also a very overlooked thing in PDI/Walk thrus.

Bad news is, you have likely burned out the electric heating element now (thus the breakers tripping)......and it will need replacement.

Instructions/links are here:

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

Good news is, you'll most likely only do it once... and after this, you'll know how to replace the element. It happens fairly frequently, thus the reason for the detailed instructions in the FAQ section.

No need to knock yourself over it. It's just one of those live and learn things.

[Mark and Linda]

I make it a point to flip my breaker inside the travel trailer whenever I am not using the hot water heater. When I pull out the anode for draining, etc. I flip the outside switch. One of my things on my check list. Hey, we are always in a learning process. When I de winterize I will probably forget to flip my switches until the DW complains the water is not getting hot enough.

[rockfordroo]

You found out the hard way. Sorry.

I always open the breaker when I pack up to leave camp, then I can't inadvertently burn it out. When I get to camp, I let the propane heat the water. Once it's hot and I know the heater is full, I'll turn the breaker back on.

[Hudlow]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Good news is, you'll most likely only do it once...

But always have a spare....

[boats742]

Thanks for the info... Why would it blow breakers if the element was bad? I thought it wouldn't pull any current...
It was 25 degrees when this happened, so maybe I will be lucky and it will still work...

[rockfordroo]

Normally the heater element is a fairly large resistance due to its length. This resistance keeps the current at it's "normal" value. Usually when an element burns out, it "opens up" the electrical circuit and that's that. But once in awhile, when it burns through, one piece of the element can drop down and touch another portion of the element, reclosing the electrical circuit, but now the "effective" element length is much shorter. This means the resistance drops and the current goes up and it trips the breaker. Sometimes you can get this with an incandescent light bulb, too, where it trips the breaker as it burns out. So my guess is your element shorted as it destroyed itself.

[bob213]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

You found out the hard way. Sorry.

I always open the breaker when I pack up to leave camp, then I can't inadvertently burn it out. When I get to camp, I let the propane heat the water. Once it's hot and I know the heater is full, I'll turn the breaker back on.

Unless designated otherwise, breakers should not be used as on/off switches. You may not be replacing a burned out element, but you stand a very good chance of replacing a worn out breaker. The outside rocker switch is your best bet.

[SaskCampers]

Originally Posted by bob213

Unless designated otherwise, breakers should not be used as on/off switches. You may not be replacing a burned out element, but you stand a very good chance of replacing a worn out breaker. The outside rocker switch is your best bet.

Or do as a few other FR members have and install a switch with an indicator light inside the RV in a place where it is easily seen.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by TheSasks

Or do as a few other FR members have and install a switch with an indicator light inside the RV in a place where it is easily seen.

Such as.

TURBS

oc's buddy

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by bob213

Unless designated otherwise, breakers should not be used as on/off switches. You may not be replacing a burned out element, but you stand a very good chance of replacing a worn out breaker. The outside rocker switch is your best bet.

In the factory where I worked we used circuit breakers to control
over head fans over the work stations. These were cycled off and on
almost daily for years and years. Occasionally we'd have to replace one
or more but not very often.

In the case of an RV I would be VERY surprised if you managed to wear
one out. If you do, they are typically standard plug in breakers which
can be bought at HomeDebit or Lowes or a good hardware store for
around $5. A "risk" I'm willing to take for the sake of convenience.

[bob213]

KyDan...
I would imagine those breakers were designed to be used as on/off switches. If I were replacing my WH breaker in my RV I would try and find an upgraded one if I was going to use it for that purpose. That's just me..

[rockfordroo]

I work at a electric power plant. We cycle breakers all the time. We have many circuits that don't necessarily have switches (they're on all the time) and if they do, you still need to kill the power, so if we want to work on them, you have cycle the breaker. I'm not saying you'll never break one, but most breakers have been tested through 4000-8000 cycles by the manufacturer. I don't think I'll be pushing that limit any time soon -

[bob213]

I bet my Wfco has the same quality of breakers that you are using in the power plant. Do as you please...I'm just trying to pass on what I have been told by electricians in the trade. Sometimes it's just better to read than to post on this forum

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by bob213

I bet my Wfco has the same quality of breakers that you are using in the power plant. Do as you please...I'm just trying to pass on what I have been told by electricians in the trade. Sometimes it's just better to read than to post on this forum

Regardless, the breakers are cheap, readily available and easy to replace on an rv.

[Hudlow]

If you have a breaker and a switch - please turn both off and check the circuit before doing any repair work or modifications. I've seen both fail.

If by chance you do lose a breaker out in the boonies - you're pretty well stuck. If you break a switch you can turn the breaker off, connect the switch wires together and then use the breaker as a switch until the switch can be replaced. In industrial situations breakers can cost thousands of bucks, switches cost very little compared. We always killed the load on the circuit with the switch - then turned the breakers off.

[Cherokee39]

Most circuit breakers today are switch duty rated. The next time you are at the big box stores look at one. It will have SWD on the label or on the side of the breaker. WFCO and other converter manufactures do not make their own AC breakers. They use either Square D, Cutler Hammer, GE, Siemens, or others. This is posted to remove myths and doubts.

[kidagn11]

Thanks to boats742 for posting this issue and to entire for the response. I had drained the water heater and had plugged into house current to keep the coach batteries fully charged on our new 24R. When I read the post I feared the worst. The outside switch on the back of the water heater had never been mentioned during PDI. To my surprise either FR or my dealer had placed a white tape over 3/4 of the switch thus "locking" it in the off position. Now I realize what must be done when we want to use shore power to heat water AFTER filling it.

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