Suburban IW60 Tankless Water Heater

[Bobh62]

Hello, fellow RVers!

We have the Suburban IW60 Tankless Water Heater. We've had trouble with it running water out the drain tube on random occasions. Back around the first of December it was cold outside and the water froze in the line which caused a blockage. Water spilled out of the water heater and there was water under the water heater on the floor. I thawed the line and didn't have any more trouble until it got really cold the first week of January and we had frozen water lines. They thawed and thankfully we had no leaks. But occasionally water will either drip out the water heater drain line or flow in a steady stream.

Is this part of the "built in anti-freeze protection" (not liquid antifreeze, a process that is to prevent it from freezing up). Is the relief valve going bad or have something stuck in it that keep it from always sealing? Or is this normal? It's a PITA to have to go out and check the drain line all the time to make sure it's not frozen shut before using hot water.

I made a cover to put over the air intake/exhaust output when we're not using it as it is on the north side of the trailer where we are parked. The water heater compartment is heated by the furnace as it's open to the underside of the shower. I also leave the access door under the closet in the bedroom open for added warmth in there.

Looking forward to temps staying above freezing...I know...it will be a few weeks.

Thanks, all!

2016 Cedar Creek 38FL6 here.

[mppd20]

I don't have an answer for you, but I am considering the Suburban IW60 for my RV and was wondering if you are happy with its performance and would recommend it?

[Bobh62]

Originally Posted by mppd20

I don't have an answer for you, but I am considering the Suburban IW60 for my RV and was wondering if you are happy with its performance and would recommend it?

We do like the water heater. Never run out of hot water. You do have to learn how to adjust the water as the slightest adjustment can cause it to kick off. But once you learn it it’s great.

[brusso]

X2 on it's great. Replaced our 6 gal tank heater in our 06 toy hauler 5 years ago. When we purchased our 38EL 18 months ago the IW60 was standard. Once you learn how to adjust it to your desired temp, you can say in there all day, Lol, and when the next shower can start right away without the need to wait for it to recover. Another advantage is that they weigh a little less and you don't carry about an extra 96 to 100 lbs of water.

[dmbrown925]

Hello, any chance you could shoot me some pics of the wiring configuration on the iw60? I'm trying to get mine connected but having some issues. Thanks, Dave

[dmbrown925]

Not sure if this will help anyone but wanted to post my Suburban IW60 install experience. I want to preface by saying I'm pretty handy but an amateur when it comes to this stuff.
I started with the standard Suburban 6 gallon water heater but wanted to upgrade it. I disconnected the 6 gallon which has two electrical connections, one for electric and one for just propane. The electric connection is just as you would find in your house plug in, 12VAC. The gas side is the 12VDC electrical connection. Since the IW60 only works on propane the plug connection or 12VAC is not needed for this install. The water connections were pretty easy and straight forward. The electrical side was the one that gave me extra grey hairs! I'v posted some pics that I hope will help but you shouldn't rely on the colors matching your RV, just the concept of the current flow. You will notice you have 6 wires coming from the IW60:
Black (-)12VDC
Red (+) 12VDC
Blue and Orange - For a lamp connection
White - 2 white lines for the On Demand Control Center
After taking out the 6 gallon I had these wires left over:
Black (+)12VAC
White (-)12VAC
Blue (+) 12VDC
Green/White (-)12VDC - this is a multi-colored wire
White (+)12VDC - this wire was connected to the Green/white(as in photo)
This is where you will need to use your multi-meter to determine what you have. First off you can eliminate the 12VAC lines used for the 6 gallon as the IW60 only uses 12VDC. On my control panel for the RV I have a switch for a water heater, connected to this switch was a Blue (+)12DC wire. I connected this wire to the Red (+)12VDC wire on the IW60. This will allow you to turn the IW60 off and on by flipping the switch on your control panel. I did have another wire Green/White(-)12VDC and White(+)12VDC. I connected the Green/White (-)12VDC to the IW60 Black (-)12VDC. The white (+)12VDC I left open and unused. Though I didn't try it I would assume you could use this for your (+)12VDC connection but the unit would remain on all the time. By connecting to my switch panel it was not necessary and I thought it better to be able to switch off and on as needed. So now we are down to 4 wires left open on the IW60. The Blue and Orange lamp wires were not needed for me as I used the panel lamp/switch. The two White wires go to the Control Center. This completed my wiring connections. I want to say it was easy but the difficult and time consuming part is determining what wires are what. This is where the muli-meter came in handy. I attached some photos as well. Hope it helps! Dave