I have a 2011 Forest River V-Lite 21WRS. I have a problem with my hot water when we use it hooked up to electricity. The propane heats the water fine. We thought maybe element was bad ordered another, installed it. Still no hot water. Checked breaker, it was fine. Made sure hot water heater was switched on . Made sure it hadn't tripped the reset buttons above the on switch. At this point we have no idea what to check next. Has anyone else had this problem? TIA!
I have a 2011 Forest River V-Lite 21WRS. I have a problem with my hot water when we use it hooked up to electricity. The propane heats the water fine. We thought maybe element was bad ordered another, installed it. Still no hot water. Checked breaker, it was fine. Made sure hot water heater was switched on . Made sure it hadn't tripped the reset buttons above the on switch. At this point we have no idea what to check next. Has anyone else had this problem? TIA!
Have you verified that there is 120 volt electricity going to the heater?
If no electricity:
I know this sounds simple, but have you also checked behind the water heater to make sure it is plugged into an outlet. The reason I say this, is we have seen this before with either the factory forgetting to plug it in, or a previous owner unplugging it during a winterization/draining to make sure they wouldn't burn up the element.
If it is plugged in to an outlet, can you verify the outlet is hot? This would give you another place to rule out where the problem may lie.
__________________ 2011 Flagstaff 831 RLBSS
A 72 hour hold in a psych unit is beginning to intrigue me as a potential vacation opportunity.
Have you verified that there is 120 volt electricity going to the heater?
If no electricity:
I know this sounds simple, but have you also checked behind the water heater to make sure it is plugged into an outlet. The reason I say this, is we have seen this before with either the factory forgetting to plug it in, or a previous owner unplugging it during a winterization/draining to make sure they wouldn't burn up the element.
If it is plugged in to an outlet, can you verify the outlet is hot? This would give you another place to rule out where the problem may lie.
Very good points. Get a digital multimeter and find out where the power is and isn't.
If you have verified the water heater is plugged into a power source and it does indeed have power......the you need to see if there is power at the electric heating element end.
If not, then another common problem is the hi-temp thermostat get's burned out. This is the resettable button underneath the rubber cover on the outside of the water heater that you said you have pushed the button on in your OP.
You should have two of the resettable buttons, if you have the Suburban brand water heater. One is for the 120 volt side, and the other is for the 12 volt side.
These hi-temp thermostats act like a fuse, and if they burn out, it will keep you from getting electricity to the element. It's also very common for these to burn out if the electric heating element burns out. You may replace the electric heating element, but it won't work until the hi-limit thermostat is also replaced.
Herk has a great and detailed explanation of all this which can be found here:
...If not, then another common problem is the hi-temp thermostat get's burned out. This is the resettable button underneath the rubber cover on the outside of the water heater that you said you have pushed the button on in your OP...
Glad you found the problem and can now get it fixed. We also always appreciate when members do let us know the final solution to their problem, as this may help other members in the future who are searching for answers to similar troubles.
Please remind your hubbie, to not forget to make sure there is no power going to the water heater when he replaces the hi-limit t-stat........as it is easy to forget to turn off power in the enthusiasm to fix it. He would literally be 'shocked' to realize he forgot this step.
__________________ 2011 Flagstaff 831 RLBSS
A 72 hour hold in a psych unit is beginning to intrigue me as a potential vacation opportunity.
Glad you found the problem and can now get it fixed. We also always appreciate when members do let us know the final solution to their problem, as this may help other members in the future who are searching for answers to similar troubles.
Please remind your hubbie, to not forget to make sure there is no power going to the water heater when he replaces the hi-limit t-stat........as it is easy to forget to turn off power in the enthusiasm to fix it. He would literally be 'shocked' to realize he forgot this step.
Thank you so much for the help. We HAVE solved the problem. The 120V t-stat was the problem. The picture below is a better view of the broken one. Installed the new one and 30 mins later we had HOT water again! Oh and we did get a laugh out of "literally be 'shocked' to realize he forgot this step!" Amazon.com: Suburban 520788 120V Electric Thermostat for SW Model: Automotive this is the one my camper took. Thanks Again Everyone!
Thanks for this tread. We just drove from the north Dallas area to Carlsbad NM to find no hot water on electric and propane is fine. No problems previously about a month ago and I will assume t stat on mine as well. I had spare elements but guess I'll be adding these as well.
Is it possible for the 120v hi limit to be defective without burning the element on it? If not what else could it be if I have power to the ac plug and it works fine on propane. I pulled the element first thing and it looked fine. And I have a switch which is on. Per the schematic there is nothing else between the ac plug and element. TIA.
Our hot water element also looked fine when we pulled it out, but we replaced it anyway just in case. When we removed the black reset buttons we found that the 120v t-stat was bad. Did you pull the reset buttons off to look at the t-stat?
There is a fusible link between the 120V thermostats (there are two Hi/Low one above the other). Pull the reset cover off and see if the wire link is in place on the left side set of thermostats. Right side is for the propane heater control.
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2008 Toy Tundra DC 5.7L Bagged w/LTs
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2012 Windjammer 3001W, Atriumed
I am having the same problem. I replaced the heater element and the switch. I checked the hi limit and it looks good. When I put a meter across the hi limit I get a reading of zero instead of 118. I checked the breaker and it is 118. I cannot find the 110 plug in. I have a FR 350 ts 2012. With the switch off I get 20 volts at the back of the switch, when I turn the switch on I get nothing at the element! I would like to check electric at 110 plug in. If any one knows wher it is please help. Thanks so much for help!
. Made sure it hadn't tripped the reset buttons above the on switch. At this point we have no idea what to check next. Has anyone else had this problem? TIA!
2011 Flagstaff 831 RLBSS
Linear Mode
