Outlet diffuser broke on Suburban WH

[Davidceder]

Has anyone ever replaced the Diffuser Outlet on a suburban water heater. Suburban was not much help. Suggested I take it to a dealer but did let me know it can be accessed from the rear of the heater. Mine broke. I have attached a picture of the broken art and it is available. Said the WH would work ok without it but not as optimally as it should so no real safety issues. If you have replaced it, was it difficult?

Thanks

[Davidceder]

I am reading 11.7 Ohms continuity on the element and the documentation I have found says it should be between 14.5 and 17 Ohms. This has nothing to do with the broken diffuser but my hot water on electric was only getting warm when the rig was plugged into a 110 volt outlet at my home. Does that seem correct? Could it have been because my 50 amp 240V rig was cabled down to 110V 15 amps.

[bubbles]

All those values seem high to me. I believe around 9+/- ohms would be normal for a suburban but your manual says otherwise. You did disconnect the wires from the element when you checked it, right? Another possibility is the thermostat may be bad shutting it down early. The way you are cabled would have no affect.

[bubbles]

If your element is the 1440 watt variety it should read about 10 ohms.

[HerveVR]

What is the model # of the water heater?

Even with the picture I couln't figure what you describe as a Diffuser Outlet; more info please.

trying to help

[Davidceder]

1) I disconnected one wire from the element as per this PDF file I found and it read as posted 11.3 Ohms. I thought this was a very informative manual.

Find it here

https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/...ban%20V1.3.pdf

2) The diffuser outlet does not show on any Suburban drawing. After talking with suburban I believe it is inserted into the heater from the back of the unit where the water lines attach. The cold water diffuser is white and the hot is black. The diffuser helps with the hot/cold water movement through the heater and helps create the air pocket on top of the heater.

Here is the diffuser on ebay. I ordered it hoping I could pull the water heater, which I have done before and repair. Could not get much info other than that from Suburban. Got the usual take it to a dealer who I believe will know less than I do. They said this part is not replaced very often.

https://www.ebay.com/i/112645811012?chn=ps

[Davidceder]

I think you can see the flange of the diffuser tube inserted behind the hot water outlet check valve on the bottom of page 15 in the posted manual.

[Davidceder]

First I want to say the Suburban has been great in its telephone support. They consistently preach that a dealer should work on the unit but at the same time they are very willing to help the end user. At least on my issue. I sent them an e-mail and they called me a couple of days later as well as always answering the phone when I called.

I received a call from their service manager and he informed me of the following:

There are two of these diffusers one on the cold water input line and one one on the hot water output line. The cold water diffuser is white in color and the hot water diffuser is black in color( smart thinking, so if one breaks you know which one) The diffusers are located behind the the cold/hot water lines or check valves if they are installed on the back of the water heater. They are tapped into place so no adhesive is applied. They suggest to get them out you use a carriage bolt screwed into the diffuser and wiggle and pull straight out. When installing the new diffuser the cold/white diffuser should have its tip pointing to the 6:00 position (pointing straight down) The hot/black diffuser should have it’s tip pointing to the 12:00 position (pointing straight up). The diffuser is seated by gently tapping into place. I plan on using some socket type device to seat the diffuser. They stated that the heater can be used just expect the water not to be as hot as normal as the cold water will mix more with the hot water. They stated this is a replaceable part and made it sound not that difficult, but we all know how that goes. I am hoping I can get behind my heater at least at an angle to do this. I pulled my heater once and do not care to do it again. On one call I was told the diffusers help with the air pocket inside the tank. So if this ever happens I would not leave the hot water always on. I do not know if the white diffuser breaks that the air pocket will be affected.

On the resistance of the heating element they confirmed that both wires should be removed and the reading should be 10 Ohms.

I hope you never need this info but if you see some plastic parts coming out of the heater when you drain it at least you will now have some idea what it is. I do not plan on tackling this for until sometime in March and will update the results at that time.

Thanks for all your input is is greatly appreciated.

[HerveVR]

Thank you for for detailled infos.

My Water Heater is a SW6DE by Suburban, that I had to replace (leaking reservoir- 6 years old) does not have such diffusers.

Your model must be different.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by HerveVR

Thank you for for detailled infos.

My Water Heater is a SW6DE by Suburban, that I had to replace (leaking reservoir- 6 years old) does not have such diffusers.

Your model must be different.

Are you sure yours didn't have the diffuses? Unless you remove the check valve or screw-in hose connector on the rear of the water heater and look inside for the flange of the diffuser, you'd never know it was there. AND that assumes you are aware that the flange you're looking at is a diffuser, and not just part of the tank connection (I wouldn't have known until today). I guess the other way to know would be to cut open the tank and look.

I know I'VE learned something new today.

[rockfordroo]

I'm guessing that without the hot water diffuser, the air pocket would be larger, as once water reaches the hot water outlet (which is lower down without the diffuser), air can no longer escape.