hot water heater

[Jfmf527]

my hot water heater will not work on either gas or electric. when i noticed it wasnt working on electric i switches it on to gas, it fired up then shut down and said reset so i reset it and it came on then shut down and will not come back on. help please

[ksignoles]

Electric may have switch outside and circuit breaker. Make sure both are on. Resets are also outside. Open panel and you would see a reset popped out if needed to reset.


2013 Sierra 346 RET
2010 Ford 350 6.4 l CC SRW
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[KyDan]

Wild guess is the winterizing valves are still in bypass.
The water heater tank is empty and now the electric heater is burned out and the
gas over temp has tripped.

Are you SURE your water heater is full of water???
Only way to tell for sure is to open the outside hatch and pull the lever on the
pop off valve to see if water comes out.
Do this carefully! It might be full of hot water but I think not....

[Jfmf527]

yea i ran sink water for some time before i turned on electric switch. i checked the water heater bypass valve and its back in the open position and when i open the pressure relief valve water does NOT come out, only air which seems strange

[Ford Idaho]

Opening the pressure valve is just about the only way to be sure the tank is full, this includes the one in your house.

I am with KyDan and what he posted.

[Jfmf527]

so why would there b just air coming out when i filled tank and im almost certain bypass valve is open?

[bubbles]

There are 3 bypass valves for winterizing the system not just 1. All 3 have to be switched for normal operation. Yeah, I think your electric element is gone.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by bubbles

There are 3 bypass valves for winterizing the system not just 1. All 3 have to be switched for normal operation. Yeah, I think your electric element is gone.

Sometimes there are only two, both are two way valves.

[wmtire]

The water heater bypass valves set (which can be anywhere from 1 to 3 valves) are designed to tie the cold water line into the hot water line during winterization. This allows you to pump antifreeze only into the cold water line and it will also fill the hot water lines with antifreeze at the same time if the bypass valve is open.

Now, hence the cold water line and hot water lines are tied together, it would also fill the hot water heater with antifreeze (6-10 gallons worth depending on your water heater tank size. So to keep this from happening, there are valves to block the water heater inlet lines and outlet lines. The valves are open when the handles are parallel with the line, and closed when perpendicular to the line.

So, when you get ready to use the water heater, you have to open the cold water inlet valve, open the hot water outlet valve, and CLOSE the bypass line between the two so the cold and hot water don't mix.

If you just open a hot water tap on your trailer, if the bypass line is open (but the inlet/outlet valves are closed), then you will get water out of it...but it's coming from the cold water line, not the actual hot water outlet from the heater.

As you see in the diagram below for normal use, the inlet and outlet valve handles are open (parallel with the line) and closed for the bypass line (perpendicular to the line).



If you open the pressure relief valve and only air is coming out, then the inlet and/or outlet valves are closed...and there is no water in the heater. If you turned on the electric element like this, then it's most likely toast unless the hi-limit thermostat tripped or burned out first. It will most likely need replacing.

This may help.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

[Jfmf527]

i stand corrected i did not have valveopen it was actually in closef position. water is now heating up on gas just hope i didnt burn out electric element. ty all

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by Jfmf527

i stand corrected i did not have valveopen it was actually in closef position. water is now heating up on gas just hope i didnt burn out electric element. ty all

I'm thinking a trip to Lowes/Home Depot is in store for a new element and wrench.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by bubbles

I'm thinking a trip to Lowes/Home Depot is in store for a new element and wrench.

Unfortunately, I must agree. However, the member may also need a hi-limit/ Thermostat for the electric side, as they can often mess up in conjunction with the heating element burning out.

But as long as the propane side is working, the member can use it like that indefinitely...and not even bother with the electric element replacement.

That's the great thing about the dual power source water heaters. You can use one, the other, or both at the same time...if needed. If one side is inoperable, then you have the option of using the other and keep on camping ....provided of course you have propane and/or a source of 120 volt power for the electric element.

[Jfmf527]

is it easy to change out the element my self, im a newbie as u can tell

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Jfmf527

is it easy to change out the element my self, im a newbie as u can tell

If you have the Suburban water heater, you can go to the link I posted previously in post #9. At the very bottom of the linked tutorial is more information and a link to another tutorial from KyDan on how to replace the element.


EDIT:

Here is the FAQ link again from post 9.:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

[KCM]

Sounds crazy but I had it happen. The water heater was still in bypass so the overheat tripped. Very frustrating when I found it.

[alfista]

We went through this process with our 233s over this weekend. The bypass (3 valves) wasn't well explained during our PDI (we are new camper owners) and we expect we burned out the element. You are not alone.

How upset should we be that the trailer wasn't released in a generally ready state?