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Old 06-14-2014, 07:22 AM   #1
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Suburban water heater help

Does anyone have any idea what the life span of a Suburban hot water heater is? I think I may have sprung a leak and hope is something simple. Are there any valves on the tank?
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Old 06-14-2014, 07:37 AM   #2
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If the anode rod has been changed as needed, the tank should not be leaking and the heater should be good for many, many years. The heater does have valves on the back side. Usually there are 3 valves. One is a bypass valve, one is an inlet valve and the last is an outlet valve. On the exterior side there is a high pressure relief valve.
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Old 06-14-2014, 07:40 AM   #3
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Here is typical valve arrangement for a suburban water heater.
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Old 06-15-2014, 09:25 PM   #4
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Water Heater Leak (Update)

I got the water heater out and the tank bottom was a rusty mess. The Styrofoam was stuck to the tank and would not come off whole. I rinsed it at the beginning and end of the season and changed anode rods as needed. I'm sure it was some other type of error on my part. Has anyone switched out the Suburban for an Atwood? It looks like the Atwood has a glass lined tank to prevent this in the future. Any input on dealers to purchase from?

Ken
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Old 06-15-2014, 09:56 PM   #5
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I got the water heater out and the tank bottom was a rusty mess. The Styrofoam was stuck to the tank and would not come off whole. I rinsed it at the beginning and end of the season and changed anode rods as needed. I'm sure it was some other type of error on my part. Has anyone switched out the Suburban for an Atwood? It looks like the Atwood has a glass lined tank to prevent this in the future. Any input on dealers to purchase from?

Ken
Looks as though you had a leak keeping the foam insul damp 24/7 As you can see the Suburban tank is steel while the Atwood is Alum. Both are subject to corrosion and pitting inside and out side of the tank. Some of these heaters are installed inside the coach and others in outside bays. Looks as though yours is outside. Both tanks will fail if allowed to get and stay wet to corrosion.
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Old 06-16-2014, 10:39 AM   #6
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water heater leak.

It is actually an inside unit mounted under the kitchen sink. I just pulled it out from the outside. It is an electric plug, a wiring harness and 11 screws. I just need to trap a new unit ASAP. I was not sure if the Atwood's held up better. It is an 08 so it has been about six seasons.
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Old 06-16-2014, 11:30 AM   #7
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Most likely you have a 6 gallon, propane DSI and 120 volt electric, here a few places to buy...

Amazon.com: 6 gallon suburban water heater

Search - suburban water heater 6 gallon - Camping World
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:06 AM   #8
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Anode Rod Neck Leak

I think I have found my leak. It looks like the neck for the anode rod has a rubber gasket between the tank neck and the face plate. It is wet, gummy, and torn. I looked at the inside with an inspection camera this morning and the tank inside does not look too bad. I flushed the tank with water and checked the result. The bottom of the tank was dry and the floor underneath was wet. It appears the water may have been running down between the tank and the Styrofoam and sitting there rusting my tank exterior.

Is the gasket a replaceable item? I do not see it on the exploded view diagram. If so where do I get one? Is there an easy way to release the compression clip holding the neck from the front plate? If I can not get one does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative fix? I thought I saw something about this but can not find it now.
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:17 AM   #9
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No gasket- that is tapered thread, use non hardening pipe dope or tape .
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:25 AM   #10
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Tank leak

Thanks Vince..

It is black rubber and can be seen at the bottom center of my tank pic. It is between the tank and clip holding the neck to the face plate. I may have to consider JB weld or a mig weld.
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:29 AM   #11
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Thanks Vince..

It is black rubber and can be seen at the bottom center of my tank pic. It is between the tank and clip holding the neck to the face plate. I may have to consider JB weld or a mig weld.
That looks like a rubber grommet used to keep water from behind that panel.
Road vibration could have caused it to get cut/torn.
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:35 AM   #12
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Leak Picture

I circled the gasket and put an arrow pointing to where the leak appears to be.
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Old 06-22-2014, 08:39 AM   #13
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I circled the gasket and put an arrow pointing to where the leak appears to be.
That what I thought.
Weight of the tank itself plus 6-8 gallons of water @18 pounds per gallon.
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Old 06-22-2014, 09:20 AM   #14
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I circled the gasket and put an arrow pointing to where the leak appears to be.
Either the relief valve leaking when tank gets hot or a slow leak from thread of the anode rod has been drooling down and past that plate to tank fitting grommet which was probably never seated correctly. If the tank was holed you'd know it before now. That seal is not for the tank but for the opening from outside to your kitchen. Electrical sealant putty or DuckSeal would work as many other compounds.
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Old 06-22-2014, 09:31 AM   #15
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Either the relief valve leaking when tank gets hot or a slow leak from thread of the anode rod has been drooling down and past that plate to tank fitting grommet which was probably never seated correctly. If the tank was holed you'd know it before now. That seal is not for the tank but for the opening from outside to your kitchen. Electrical sealant putty or DuckSeal would work as many other compounds.
My thought exactly. This is an "outside" leak that got inside.

I have found that the inner and outer wall seals can be poorly caulked allowing water from rain and possible leaks from the anode/pressure relief to get inside the camper.
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Old 06-22-2014, 10:07 AM   #16
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... Weight of the tank itself plus 6-8 gallons of water @18 pounds per gallon.
Wow, that's heavy water. And I've always used 8.34 pounds per gallon.
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Old 06-22-2014, 10:13 AM   #17
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Wow, that's heavy water. And I've always used 8.34 pounds per gallon.
Ya, by the time I saw it was to late so I left it
It was supposed to be just 8 pounds.
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