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Old 06-11-2021, 08:45 AM   #1
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Water Heater Issues

Good Morning Everyone,

So I have a brand new 304BH with the suburban water heater. As most trailers come with 20lb'ers from the dealer I quickly ran empty back in late April, and wanted to switch to 30lb'ers anyway. So the water heater functioned normal till I ran out of gas. Then it wouldn't fire up. I eventually got it working good again till one of my 30's kicked this past weekend. (Seasonal Site) so I am always there.

Now I'm in the same position again. It won't even attempt to fire up now. Yes i hit the reset in heater itself. I have gas at my stove and outdoor kitchen so its not that. Is there some other type of reset process that I am not aware of?

I turned it off inside. I flipped the breaker on and off. Still won't fire up. I even ran all the hot water out of it and made sure my electric wasn't on and it didn't work. I suspect something is faulty. Just looking for some advice. Dealership isn't very helpful at all.

Thanks all in advance.....
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Old 06-11-2021, 09:20 AM   #2
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the size of the propane tank has nothing to do with the operation of the WH. Have you actually verified that you are getting propane to the WH? (crack the fitting at the gas valve and see if you have propane there) Is there 12V being supplied to the control board? Pull up the suburban trouble shooting guide on line and follow the steps. Let the forum know what you find.
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Old 06-11-2021, 09:32 AM   #3
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Do you hear sparking (clicking) of the burner attempting to light when you first turn on the LP switch? The LP switch typically has a FLT (fault) indicator or reset indicator next to the switch. When you first turn on the LP switch, the FLT/Reset indicator will illuminate until the burner lights. When the control board senses flame, it will turn off the FLT/Reset light. If the burner never fires, the FLT/Reset indicator will remain on, indicating you have an issue.

We need to know if the control board is going into lock-out or if you have a LP delivery issue.



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Old 06-11-2021, 09:35 AM   #4
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I know the tanks don't matter. I was just explaining what I did. I could crack the fitting. I didn't do that yet. I am getting power there. I ran through the guide just about 15mins ago while here at work and have done all of what they suggest.

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the size of the propane tank has nothing to do with the operation of the WH. Have you actually verified that you are getting propane to the WH? (crack the fitting at the gas valve and see if you have propane there) Is there 12V being supplied to the control board? Pull up the suburban trouble shooting guide on line and follow the steps. Let the forum know what you find.
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Old 06-11-2021, 09:38 AM   #5
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No clicking. Thats the issue. Its like its not even attemping to fire. I do have the fault light as well. However when I flip my switch that doesn't turn on anymore. It was all working fine till I switched the tanks again. Its like its stuck in some kind of fault mode but no matter what I do it won't reset. Only thing I need to try again is turning the tanks on slowly. I really feel that my autoswitchover is bad, or going bad. But again I do have gas inside and out to my outdoor kitchen. I'm baffled on this one!



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Do you hear sparking (clicking) of the burner attempting to light when you first turn on the LP switch? The LP switch typically has a FLT (fault) indicator or reset indicator next to the switch. When you first turn on the LP switch, the FLT/Reset indicator will illuminate until the burner lights. When the control board senses flame, it will turn off the FLT/Reset light. If the burner never fires, the FLT/Reset indicator will remain on, indicating you have an issue.

We need to know if the control board is going into lock-out or if you have a LP delivery issue.



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Old 06-11-2021, 09:44 AM   #6
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Pull the fuse. (or disconnect the 12v source)

If it isn't clicking, then it has went into lock-out.
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Old 06-11-2021, 09:55 AM   #7
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I was also reading on the way you actually have to open the tanks. As in very slowly. Thats definitely something I didn't do. But again I do have gas inside. Cooked a meal on the stove last night and was definitely running it for a good 25mins. I'll try all this stuff once I get back to camp after work today! I appreciate the help.

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Pull the fuse. (or disconnect the 12v source)

If it isn't clicking, then it has wen into lock-out.
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Old 06-11-2021, 10:09 AM   #8
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Yes the tank connection has a excessive flow valve that can sometimes trip when opening a tank valve too quickly on a system that was run empty. The inrush of LP into an empty system can sometimes trigger the EFV to shut off.

Even with the EFV tripped, it will allow a small flow of LP. Not enough to run the furnace or all three burners of the stove on high but if you used the stove for 25 minutes (and it operated correctly) I highly doubt you've tripped the EFV.

Again, if it isn't clicking and the FLT/Reset light isn't even coming on, you are either in lock-out, have a control board issue or no 12v.
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Old 06-11-2021, 10:18 AM   #9
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I don't seem to have a fuse for 12v for my water heater. I just had a friend who camps next to me send me a photo of my fuse panel. I do have a breaker for it but no 12v fuse. And yeah what you said about using my stove has me wondering why it won't fire up. I just don't get it. When I switched the tanks it fired once but didn't last to long. I assumed it was because I was up to temp already. But I've showered the last two mornings before work and it never fires up to reheat. When in the past it did.

I'm aggravated about this because its not the only issue I have and the dealership is giving me the run around on the other issue. I didn't even attempt to ask them about this one yet.


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Yes the tank connection has a excessive flow valve that can sometimes trip when opening a tank valve too quickly on a system that was run empty. The inrush of LP into an empty system can sometimes trigger the EFV to shut off.

Even with the EFV tripped, it will allow a small flow of LP. Not enough to run the furnace or all three burners of the stove on high but if you used the stove for 25 minutes (and it operated correctly) I highly doubt you've tripped the EFV.

Again, if it isn't clicking and the FLT/Reset light isn't even coming on, you are either in lock-out, have a control board issue or no 12v.
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Old 06-11-2021, 10:25 AM   #10
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Can you post a pic of your power center (fuse panel)? Sometimes the water heater is on a circuit with other things.

When you're there sometimes you need to pull the fuses and trip the breakers one at a time and correctly label them as to their purpose.
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Old 06-11-2021, 10:29 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by JesseC1006 View Post
I don't seem to have a fuse for 12v for my water heater. I just had a friend who camps next to me send me a photo of my fuse panel. I do have a breaker for it but no 12v fuse. And yeah what you said about using my stove has me wondering why it won't fire up. I just don't get it. When I switched the tanks it fired once but didn't last to long. I assumed it was because I was up to temp already. But I've showered the last two mornings before work and it never fires up to reheat. When in the past it did.

I'm aggravated about this because its not the only issue I have and the dealership is giving me the run around on the other issue. I didn't even attempt to ask them about this one yet.
I know in a prior post you mentioned something about turning the electric side off. Did you erroneously turn it back on? My electric thermostat is slightly higher than the LP thermostat (they are separate) and my LP will never fire up once the electric side comes up to temp.

The electric side and the LP side are two completely different systems that can be used separately or together for faster recovery. Each side has their own switch, thermostat and energy supply, with the LP side additionally having a control module. The breaker you were throwing in the power distribution box is for the electric element only and has nothing to do with it firing up on LP.
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Old 06-11-2021, 10:33 AM   #12
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I realize they are separate. I ran my tank out of hot water but running the outdoor shower. I had the electric shut off. I turned LP on and still nothing.


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I know in a prior post you mentioned something about turning the electric side off. Did you erroneously turn it back on? My electric thermostat is slightly higher than the LP thermostat (they are separate) and my LP will never fire up once the electric side comes up to temp.

The electric side and the LP side are two completely different systems that can be used separately or together for faster recovery. Each side has their own switch, thermostat and energy supply, with the LP side additionally having a control module. The breaker you were throwing in the power distribution box is for the electric element only and has nothing to do with it firing up on LP.
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Old 06-11-2021, 11:29 AM   #13
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I hope you find a solution. One way to avoid running out of propane and ending up with appliances in fault mode is to leave both tanks open. Granted this will require you to check them often or depending on usage (maybe weekly if the RV is occupied everyday). When the tank that the auto-switch over regulator is pointing to shows red, then that tank is empty but, since both tanks were open, there was no interruption in gas flow. That's when I switch the lever over to the full tank & take the empty to be refilled.
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Old 06-11-2021, 11:44 AM   #14
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Force of habit from my older setup I always had my second tank off. So with this one I never opened the second tank. I never even though of it.

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I hope you find a solution. One way to avoid running out of propane and ending up with appliances in fault mode is to leave both tanks open. Granted this will require you to check them often or depending on usage (maybe weekly if the RV is occupied everyday). When the tank that the auto-switch over regulator is pointing to shows red, then that tank is empty but, since both tanks were open, there was no interruption in gas flow. That's when I switch the lever over to the full tank & take the empty to be refilled.
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Old 06-11-2021, 11:53 AM   #15
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Sorry for the delay. Stupid photo from my phone wouldn't upload.




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Can you post a pic of your power center (fuse panel)? Sometimes the water heater is on a circuit with other things.

When you're there sometimes you need to pull the fuses and trip the breakers one at a time and correctly label them as to their purpose.
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Old 06-11-2021, 01:10 PM   #16
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Quote:
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Sorry for the delay. Stupid photo from my phone wouldn't upload.


A fuse is missing in #4 position.
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Old 06-11-2021, 01:30 PM   #17
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The water heater is powered through a fuse with something else and it could be the kitchen, so that missing fuse could affect the operation of the heater.
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Old 06-11-2021, 01:37 PM   #18
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I've been missing the Kitchen fuse since day one so its not that.

The kitchen fuse is the other issue I am having!

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The water heater is powered through a fuse with something else and it could be the kitchen, so that missing fuse could affect the operation of the heater.
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Old 06-11-2021, 01:38 PM   #19
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Yeah. Its another issue I have. If you are familiar with the 304BH model. My lights in the kitchen slide and the oven knobs and oven light itself don't work.

Brand new and haven't worked at all.


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A fuse is missing in #4 position.
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Old 06-11-2021, 01:45 PM   #20
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Cant wait to hear the result on this one. Had the same thing happen years ago and never figured it out. All of a sudden it started to work and never another problem.
Go figure.
Good luck and don't forget to post the resolve.
Thanks
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