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Old 01-27-2018, 05:47 PM   #1
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Smile Water Heater Question

I just found out that my hot water heater in my Georgetown 328TS is both gas and electric. (Who knew?) I thought it was only gas. And I found a switch in the water heater compartment that was hiddden from view that switches it to electric. (Now I won't worry about propane.) So I switched it to electric.

NOW MY QUESTION. Inside the coach is a switch for the hot water heater, with a light beside it, and when I turned it on (on propane) the light would come on indicating (I think) that the burner was lighting. Do I need to turn this on now that I have flipped the switch on the outside to 'electric' or will just having that switch on heat the water.

Thanks to all on this forum. I always get answers that help me with my ignorance.

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Old 01-27-2018, 06:01 PM   #2
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I believe that the ELECTRIC side of the equation ONLY works when running the generator or plugged into 120v power.... otherwise you are turning on the PROPANE side... it will know the difference and use which one is available - the Electric side first, if you have power, or Propane if you don't.

other owners of your same or similar model will let you know if any different...
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:02 PM   #3
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If you want to heat the water with electricity.....outside switch on only.

If you want to heat water with gas....inside switch on only.

For faster recovery....if having two showers back to back....both switches on.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:02 PM   #4
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water heater

So if I understand correctly, if it is switched to electric (and I have power), then I still leave the switch in the coach on, and the water heater knows it is electric? Thanks.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:03 PM   #5
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The two switches are totally independent. You can run on propane ( inside switch), electric ( outside switch) or both. Both will give you a somewhat faster recovery for things like showers. As mentioned you must have 120VAC ( pedestal or generator) to run on electric.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:05 PM   #6
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water heater.

Y'all rock. Thanks for the great (and fast) info. Safe travels.

Jim Fitz
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:08 PM   #7
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Assuming you have a Suburban water heater, it will have a model number similar to SW6DE or SW6DEL. The 6 is the size in gallons, so instead of 6, it could be 10, 12, or 16. If you have no "L" then you have no inside switch for the electric element. If you DO have the "L," then you DO have an inside switch for the electric element, in addition to the inside switch for the propane. They often look like this:

Name:   Electric-Gas switch.jpg
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If you DO have the inside switch, it is 12VDC that closes a 12VDC relay at the water heater that then supplies 110VAC to the outside switch, and then to the electric element. So you still need the outside switch turned ON for the inside switch to work.

No matter which water heater style you have, you can run electric or propane separately or together. Running both will give you a little big more hot water and allow a faster recovery.

I've attached some Suburban manuals for you.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:10 PM   #8
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each coach is different, but it sounds like yours has an outside 'independent' switch, on the heater itself, if you want to use ELECTRICITY, while on generator or plugged into 120v.
it sounds like the inside switch is ONLY for the propane side, though you can certainly use BOTH at the same time, and the propane should only fire if it really needs to, though mostly the Electricity will be the main power source...

we use both sometimes, as using a lot of heated water for showers can deplete our 10gal tank fairly quickly, and the propane does a better and FASTER job of initially heating the water, but the Electricity side does a more economical job of KEEPING the water heated.... so both are good for the respective needs.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:10 PM   #9
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So if I understand correctly, if it is switched to electric (and I have power), then I still leave the switch in the coach on, and the water heater knows it is electric? Thanks.
No, this is not accurate. You can run either, or both. But the heated does not do an automatic switchover.
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:32 PM   #10
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No, this is not accurate. You can run either, or both. But the heated does not do an automatic switchover.
Iwish my GT300 was electric AND propane. I really miss having an electric option! One good thing about propane only is not ever having to replace a burned up element [emoji31]!
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:33 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by JimFitz View Post
I just found out that my hot water heater in my Georgetown 328TS is both gas and electric. (Who knew?) I thought it was only gas. And I found a switch in the water heater compartment that was hiddden from view that switches it to electric. (Now I won't worry about propane.) So I switched it to electric.

NOW MY QUESTION. Inside the coach is a switch for the hot water heater, with a light beside it, and when I turned it on (on propane) the light would come on indicating (I think) that the burner was lighting. Do I need to turn this on now that I have flipped the switch on the outside to 'electric' or will just having that switch on heat the water.

Thanks to all on this forum. I always get answers that help me with my ignorance.

Jim Fitz
The operation of the Suburban tank type water heater can be found here at this FAQ. This is a very common question, about the two switches.

The DSI fault lamp is explained in the 5th post there too.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html
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Old 01-27-2018, 06:40 PM   #12
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Water Heater

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Originally Posted by wmtire View Post
The operation of the Suburban tank type water heater can be found here at this FAQ. This is a very common question, about the two switches.

The DSI fault lamp is explained in the 5th post there too.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html
So if I am full timer, which I am, and there is always water in the HW heater, do I need to turn OFF the outside electric switch when I disconnect power and move down the road, or can I leave it on and it will pick back up when I plug in. Thanks.
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Old 01-27-2018, 07:12 PM   #13
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Iwish my GT300 was electric AND propane. I really miss having an electric option! One good thing about propane only is not ever having to replace a burned up element [emoji31]!
There are a few aftermarket kits that allow you to add electric heating to your water heater. I have added Hot Rod kits to many RV’s I’ve owned in the past. Check EBay. They range in price from about $69.00 to $100.00. Just takes 30 minutes or so to install and of all the ones I’ve installed I never had one go bad. Also nice to not have to fill propane tanks as often !!
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Old 01-27-2018, 07:14 PM   #14
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So if I am full timer, which I am, and there is always water in the HW heater, do I need to turn OFF the outside electric switch when I disconnect power and move down the road, or can I leave it on and it will pick back up when I plug in. Thanks.
To be on safe side I would turn it off, and then turn on only after knowing heater had water in it. The elements burn out if not in water in matter of seconds.
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Old 01-27-2018, 07:29 PM   #15
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Nope.

There’s are two separate ways to heat the water. Electric OR propane, and only YOU DECIDE.

When you have electricity from a campground, or you run your generator, you turn on the switch located outside in the water heater compartment.

IF you want to run on propane because there is no electricity, you turn off the switch outside and turn on the inside switch to start the propane heater to the water.

There’s no intelligence between the two heating systems.
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Old 01-27-2018, 07:59 PM   #16
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There are a few aftermarket kits that allow you to add electric heating to your water heater. I have added Hot Rod kits to many RV’s I’ve owned in the past. Check EBay. They range in price from about $69.00 to $100.00. Just takes 30 minutes or so to install and of all the ones I’ve installed I never had one go bad. Also nice to not have to fill propane tanks as often !!
Could you please give me a link to add the electric WH PARTS?
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Old 01-27-2018, 08:02 PM   #17
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Some units have an additional electric switch inside the trailer. Mine is under the sink near the WH. Makes it convenient not to have to go outside and take the cover off.
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Old 01-27-2018, 08:08 PM   #18
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Could you please give me a link to add the electric WH PARTS?

Just go on EBay and do a search for RV electric water heater kits.
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Old 01-27-2018, 08:11 PM   #19
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Here ya go. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F273043785957
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Old 01-27-2018, 08:13 PM   #20
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That’s the exact kit I have used a couple times. Easy install.
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