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07-31-2017, 06:34 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 370
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Electric Water Heater
So on my water heater, I tried to use my electric option when I was on shore power and didn't seem to work. When I did my walk through they told me to flip the switch on the water heater furnace to "on" and that was it. Again, did that and it didn't seem to work...is there something else I'm supposed to do?
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07-31-2017, 07:48 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
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More then likely there was not any water in it when you turned it on and burnt the element. They neglect,to tell you that. If its a Suburban WH, fairly easy to fix.
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
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07-31-2017, 07:51 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Akron, OH
Posts: 3,294
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There is a breaker under the bed for the water heater also. Ours is the 2nd over from the left. They suggested we shut it off when traveling so we dont accidentally run it when its dry.
__________________
2023 Dynaquest XL 3700BD
Had...2018 Force HD, 2016 Force, 2014 Thor 33sw
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08-01-2017, 11:12 AM
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#4
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Bristol, IN
Posts: 19,005
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Jammer...what model/brand motorhome do you have? Sometimes we have electrical switches but they are not electric water heaters.
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08-01-2017, 11:27 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 310
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On our V-Lite it is just that easy, flip the switch when the heater is full, that's it. I always wait until I bleed all the air out of the line before turning it on. It is a 2011 and no issues. May want to check your element as mentioned above.
Can you heat by propane? That may be an indication if it needs a new element or not.
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08-01-2017, 08:02 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 370
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bclemens
Jammer...what model/brand motorhome do you have? Sometimes we have electrical switches but they are not electric water heaters.
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2017 Force BH HD
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08-01-2017, 08:04 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 370
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KKonyha
On our V-Lite it is just that easy, flip the switch when the heater is full, that's it. I always wait until I bleed all the air out of the line before turning it on. It is a 2011 and no issues. May want to check your element as mentioned above.
Can you heat by propane? That may be an indication if it needs a new element or not.
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Propane works fine....yes going to check element. I have always had it full of water when I tried it but it has never worked...maybe dealer could have burned element out. Now I just need to figure out how to test the element 
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08-01-2017, 08:27 PM
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#8
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Bristol, IN
Posts: 19,005
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Should be two switches inside. LP and propane. if not, switch could be on the water heater itself, behind the outside door.
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08-01-2017, 09:10 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 370
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bclemens
Should be two switches inside. LP and propane. if not, switch could be on the water heater itself, behind the outside door.
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On the inside I have an "LP GAS" switch and on the water heater itself I have a Electric On/Off switch. So when I turn the electric switch to "On" I make sure the LP GAS one is off; however, the water never get hot. As soon as I turn on the LP GAS you hear the furnace fire up. Besides the water getting hot I suspect there is no other way to tell of the electric is working as it is silent, correct? Got to figure out how to tell if the heating element is getting power and/or how to test of the heating element is bad.
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08-02-2017, 06:29 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Akron, OH
Posts: 3,294
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Did you check the breaker panel also for the Water Heater?
__________________
2023 Dynaquest XL 3700BD
Had...2018 Force HD, 2016 Force, 2014 Thor 33sw
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08-02-2017, 09:23 AM
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#11
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Consumer of Space
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Huntington Beach, Ca
Posts: 285
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Jammer,
Would you be willing to post up a picture? I haven't seen an electric switch on my Force HD 37BH. I wonder if ours are different...
__________________
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2018 Dynamax Force HD 37BH
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08-02-2017, 09:33 AM
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#12
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Northeast Louisiana
Posts: 33,960
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer151
On the inside I have an "LP GAS" switch and on the water heater itself I have a Electric On/Off switch. So when I turn the electric switch to "On" I make sure the LP GAS one is off; however, the water never get hot. As soon as I turn on the LP GAS you hear the furnace fire up. Besides the water getting hot I suspect there is no other way to tell of the electric is working as it is silent, correct? Got to figure out how to tell if the heating element is getting power and/or how to test of the heating element is bad.
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Sounds like you have the Suburban brand water heater. This FAQ may help:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html
Things to easily check for besides the electric heating element being burned up.
1. Make sure you are connected to a form of 120 volt AC shore power. The electric element only works off 120 volt AC power...... unlike the propane side which operates off of 12 volt DC(battery). Sometimes people forget this, and try to run the electric heating element when not connected to 120 volt AC power. Usually if your microwave won't work, neither will your electric heating element in your water heater.
2. Make sure the water heaters 120 volt AC connection is connected behind the water heater. We have many cases documented here on the forums, where the water heater just simply was not plugged into an outlet behind the water heater. See pic below and how the cord is just laying there and not plugged in:
Also make sure the circuit breaker to the water heater is on (not tripped) in your RV's electrical distribution panel. it will most likely be a 15 amp circuit breaker and labeled for the water heater.
3. Make sure the ECO/hi-limit thermostat has not tripped. You will have two of these and they are underneath rubber covers that usually say "reset" on them. Just press in on the rubber covers to reset them if tripped. The left one is for the electric heating element, the right one is for the propane. It's also explained here:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...de-135974.html
__________________
 2011 Flagstaff 831 RLBSS
A 72 hour hold in a psych unit is beginning to intrigue me as a potential vacation opportunity.
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08-02-2017, 02:29 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 801
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Water Heater electric switch. Only to be used when you are sure water is in the water heater. The elements burn out fast with no water. The big box stores will sell a replacement.
__________________
DYNAMAX 2016 FORCE HD
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08-02-2017, 07:37 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 370
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Quote:
Originally Posted by houstonstroker
Water Heater electric switch. Only to be used when you are sure water is in the water heater. The elements burn out fast with no water. The big box stores will sell a replacement.
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Yeap, this is exactly like mine. I have checked everything except that the 120v AC connection behind the who is plugged in. Will do that this weekend, other than that the next step will be to replace the elements.
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08-02-2017, 07:43 PM
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#15
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15,301
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Since you said you never used the WH since the PDI, it is possible that after the PDI, the dealer left the WH switch on and the tank was empty. If you connected to shore power even when loading up, the element would burn out.
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2015 Freedom Express 248RBS
TV 2015 Silverado HD2500 Duramax
TST Tire Monitors
Honda 2000I + Companion
2 100W solar panels
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08-14-2017, 11:19 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 103
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Following
Was wondering also, I have the same coach.
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08-14-2017, 05:58 PM
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#17
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Consumer of Space
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Huntington Beach, Ca
Posts: 285
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I have the switch under the outside cover too. It was switched off as deliveeed. This trip is the first one I'm not boondocking, so turned the breaker and the outside switch on... nice "free" hot water. No propane needed
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2018 Dynamax Force HD 37BH
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