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07-12-2018, 06:18 AM
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#1
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Kanadian Kamper
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 8,129
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Propane water heater comparisons
Suburban versus Atwood water heaters....
The tanks are made out of different materials, therefore Suburban have their “sacrificial “ anode and Atwood’s do not.
They both have proprietary “motherboards” to be the brains of the operation for heating, monitoring, etc.
Both have proprietary igniters and flame sensor units for gas operated units.
Atwood heaters have an adjustment slider on the front of the burner tube to fine tune the actual propane flame, Suburban units are factory set, and not adjustable.
Are these statements correct?
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Ken and Terry
2018 Sunseeker 2430S-CD, nicely modified and carried by a 2017 Ford E450 Sport
Former Georgetown 330TS owner for 10 years with more mods than I can count, pushed by our 2017 GMC Terrain
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07-12-2018, 06:35 AM
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#2
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Just as confused as you
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: south central Wisconsin
Posts: 5,108
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I believe you are correct except some Atwoods also have an adjustable temperature setting. I don't recall seeing that on a Suburban for quite some time.
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Richard & Jill
2014 Flagstaff 832IKBS Classic Super Lite
2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4WD All Star Edition
Camping since 1989, Seasonal since 2000.
Car Shredder Op/Tech, Scrap Metal Recycling - retired
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07-12-2018, 07:29 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,179
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And your point is?
Either brand seems to work adequately for years, soooo.
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07-12-2018, 07:39 AM
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#4
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Coach
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Western PA
Posts: 667
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We went tankless. No regrets.
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Cut it 3 times and it's still too short...
2017 Sandpiper 381RBOK
2006 Ram 3500 Cummins Dually
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07-12-2018, 07:43 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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I have had both each requires min maintenance to operate correctly to me the only really big difference is the anode and cost to replace.
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Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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07-12-2018, 03:31 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 9,458
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Plastic?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaDog
I have had both each requires min maintenance to operate correctly to me the only really big difference is the anode and cost to replace.
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Doesn't Atwood use a plastic drain plug which can have a limited number of cycles before the head rounds off?
Larry
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07-12-2018, 03:49 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Central Oklahoma
Posts: 339
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Never had an Atwood plug round off and be unusable. Use a socket wench that fits and no problems. On our third RV with Atwood, never had a Suburban, over 13 years with no rounding off.
Frank
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Frank & Brenda
Thor Windsport 27K TST 507 Tire Monitors
2012 Jeep Liberty Limited Jet 4X4, Hopkins TOWD light wiring, Blue Ox baseplate W/Ready Brute Hercules tow bar and Ready brakes
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07-12-2018, 03:51 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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X2 what FrankMor said about the socket
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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07-12-2018, 06:30 PM
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#9
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Kanadian Kamper
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 8,129
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Thanks for the inputs.
There’s YouTube videos about setting the flame correctly for efficiency.....nice blue, not too much yellow, no soot, and how the slider makes those changes. Always shown on Atwood units.
I’ve never had anything but Suburban, and being that they don’t have an adjustment mechanism, it means the flame they produce is set for life, and the user can’t adjust it.
I just wonder why Atwood seems to feel there needs to be a way to adjust the flame for best case scenario.....but could be set incorrectly if the user sets the adjustment incorrectly.
__________________
Ken and Terry
2018 Sunseeker 2430S-CD, nicely modified and carried by a 2017 Ford E450 Sport
Former Georgetown 330TS owner for 10 years with more mods than I can count, pushed by our 2017 GMC Terrain
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07-13-2018, 08:09 AM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 80
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No expert here, but I wonder if it has anything to do with altitude?
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09-27-2018, 12:57 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Southern Illissouri
Posts: 922
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nailz
No expert here, but I wonder if it has anything to do with altitude?
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That would be my guess.
My question: I have an Atwood heater, which the owners manual states does not need an anode, and use of an anode voids the warranty. However, you can buy anodes specifically for my Atwood WH...
Why?
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Brian & Becky
2018 Avenger ATI 27RBS
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09-28-2018, 11:27 PM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 82
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First thing I do to a new camper is remove the drain plug and install a twist drain.
Easy to do for both major brands of hot water heaters. In fact, my current HW heater has a hollow sacrificial anode and a petcock drain on it. Takes me 2 seconds to drain the hot water heater without having to find the socket to remove the drain plug.
HW heaters with adjustable venture airflow seem to have better ignitor start reliability then those that don't when camping at 8000 feet or higher.
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