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Old 09-29-2022, 05:28 PM   #1
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How can I tell if My Suburban water heater has been upgraded

Good afternoon everyone.. I just bought a 2005 Roo a month ago and I was able to take it out this weekend. I noticed there was a lot of rust in the hot water so I figure its junk. The inside cabinet door says SW6P for the type of water heater. But it does have electric start on the wall.. If im not mistaken isnt a SW6P mean manual pilot light start from outside? Anyway like I said it has a button inside the camper to turn it on. And I just bought a SW6D online today Brand new in the box for 300. a savings of 400 dollars here in Canada.. Anyway There are no numbers on the tank itself to say what it is. How is the best way to find out
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Old 09-30-2022, 07:36 AM   #2
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welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. Best way to tell what is? You bought a new WH and you don't know what it is? are you asking about brand or size? I'm confused.
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Old 09-30-2022, 07:42 AM   #3
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What do you mean “it does have electric start on the wall”? Post a pic for us.
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Old 09-30-2022, 07:51 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skipw View Post
Good afternoon everyone.. I just bought a 2005 Roo a month ago and I was able to take it out this weekend. I noticed there was a lot of rust in the hot water so I figure its junk. The inside cabinet door says SW6P for the type of water heater. But it does have electric start on the wall.. If im not mistaken isnt a SW6P mean manual pilot light start from outside? Anyway like I said it has a button inside the camper to turn it on. And I just bought a SW6D online today Brand new in the box for 300. a savings of 400 dollars here in Canada.. Anyway There are no numbers on the tank itself to say what it is. How is the best way to find out
I don't have an answer for your not knowing whether you have a manual pilot water heater or a "electric start" (your words) water heater as much of your descriptions doesn't make sense to me. Either you have to open the door to light it or use the inside DSI switch, you never said.

As for the rust... did you remove the anode/drain plug and check the inside of the tank before purchasing a replacement water heater?
The suburban tanks are porcelain lined and very few actually rust to the point there is rust in the water. That is more commonly from sediment from poor water quality/conditions and a tank that was never cleaned.
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Old 09-30-2022, 09:47 AM   #5
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You can look at the gas valve and likely figure out a few things. If it is a unit with a pilot light, (and in 2005 those were around), there should be a red knob on top of the gas valve with a few positions, (off, pilot, on), and I am not sure that is the exact wording particularly for "on". Regardless, if you have the red knob you very likely have a pilot light that you need to light manually. You will need to put the red knob in the pilot position and hold it down. To light it when it has not been used for a while, you need to hold it down for a long time. After you have a flow of gas, you light the pilot and then continue to hold until the thermal couple is warm enough to keep the valve open. One nice thing, just the pilot burning will keep your water warm for a very long time. It will not heat the water, but it will keep it warm.
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Old 09-30-2022, 10:28 AM   #6
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I seem to remember that the SW6 pilot water heaters could be upgraded with a "Reignitor Kit". Perhaps that's what you have?

As for the rust, maybe the anode rod is depleted down to the steel core wire and that is where your rust is coming from.
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Old 09-30-2022, 01:39 PM   #7
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If the water heater were one of the Direct Spark Ignition (DSI) models, namely SW6D, SW6DE, or SW6DEL, and you looked at the back side (where the bypass valves are), you would see an electronic control board. If you looked at the front side, at the lower right, you would see a short piece of red high-tension wire (looks like spark-plug wire) that causes the electrical spark for automatic ignition.

Does it have these features?
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Old 09-30-2022, 04:22 PM   #8
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pictures

The picture is the water heater in there now.. The second is what it says on the door under the sink and the third is the switch on the wall/... This water heater doesn't have the manual pilot light on it But the label inside the door says sw6P

As for the rust in the tank Yes I ran the hose with the cleaner wand on it for 10 minutes blew it out with air and refilled it with a new anno rod..after I let it sit for a couple hours in the tank I ran it again There was still rust coming out ..

So I bought the sw6D online off facebook market place for 300 to replace it I cant find any markings on the one installed right now to say if it is a sw6d or not..
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Old 09-30-2022, 07:41 PM   #9
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The water heater in the picture is a direct spark unit.
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Old 09-30-2022, 07:52 PM   #10
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Quote:
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The water heater in the picture is a direct spark unit.
Yes... the orange "spark plug wire" can be seen in the far right shadow.
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Old 09-30-2022, 10:13 PM   #11
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The pic also shows the heater has a 120 volt AC electric heating element mode in addition to having direct spark ignition for the gas mode. You have a Suburban SW6DE model in this pic





This switch in the picture below is just for the gas/propane mode of operation. It turns on the Direct Spark Ignition (DSI).


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Old 09-30-2022, 10:15 PM   #12
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This thread will explain how to operate what you have pictured (Suburban SW6DE model).

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ad.php?t=36197
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Old 10-01-2022, 09:45 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asrabbit View Post
The water heater in the picture is a direct spark unit.
Yup, somewhere along the line the SW6P has been replaced with a SW6DE.
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Old 10-02-2022, 11:22 AM   #14
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Ok thank you everyone for your help I thought they had upgraded the water heater but I wasn't sure. Now I know for sure again thank you everyone for your help I will switch it out this week.. Here in Canada its starting to get pretty cool out.. Down to 34 F by Thursday Brrrr.. Camping till Oct 18 so
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