34IK can't shut off water heater

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

Won’t the water heater be a 20 amp? That would eliminate most of them.

We too have breakers in all 4 of our warehouses... that’s how we turn all the lights on...most have no switches or I haven’t seen them in 13 years. The number one warehouse has been there since ‘71.

Most all I have ever seen are on 15 amp circuit breakers. The Suburban electric heating element is 1440 watts or 12 amps.




Air conditioners are usually the ones on 20 amps.

[KyDan]

Mine is also a 15 amp.
Flipping breakers to see what they control isn't that hard.
MY water heater element "sings" when it's heating. I could flip the breaker off and tell pretty quickly which one it was.

[MikeRP]

There is one more thing which I haven’t looked at yet. Orvan told there is an electrical outlet I believe that they Suburban gas/electric water heater plugs into. So you go in the drivers side compartment, there is a thin plastic cover that can be easily remove behind the panel where all the controls are. That electric heating element plugs into that outlet.

Now i haven’t looked at it to confirm but he said mine was unplugged and wasn’t working so I was deluding myself that it was working partially.

So I turn the switch on when I get to the campground both for electric and gas. When the water is hot, I turn off the propane and I’m good to go.

[KyDan]

I have seen a new camper where the WH was not plugged in. Also heard from others here with the same issue. Apparently not that uncommon.

[5picker]

Just to clear up some confusion... many folks use the breaker as a switch with no ill effects. BUT, breakers CAN be rated as switches and using them as such is what they are designed for.

If your breaker has the SWD rating, it is designed to be used as a switch.

Here is a close up of a breaker in my WFCO distribution box in my 5th wheel and it is clearly marked with the SWD listing.

If your distribution box doesn't have breakers listed SWD, go buy one and replace the one in your box and switch your water heater on/off all you want.

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by KyDan

OK I will concede that circuit breakers are not exactly switches BUT-- My previous rig had the same type water heater.
I also hated to have to go outside to switch it on or off.
I used the easy to reach inside circuit breaker for that duty.
It worked fine doing that for over 4 years.

I worked in maintenance in a major factory. We had "personal" fans over many of the work stations. These fans were often controlled by circuit breakers which were flipped on and off daily for DECADES. Once in a great while we'd have to change one out but it was rare.

The circuit breaker in your rig costs less than 5 bucks. Chances are you will NEVER wear it out. If you do- it's not gonna break you to replace it. I'm betting you don't have to --- ever.

Don't sweat the small stuff and

Happy Trails!

I would also posit that the breaker would outlast the switch on the WH itself and not only that but replacing the breaker would be less of a hassle than replacing the switch on the WH due to space/access.

I've been using the switch on the WH itself as it's right by the shore power hookup and is easy to remember to flip on after setting up camp and flip off while disconnecting everything. Using the breaker doesn't fit into my workflow as well.

[OldJarHead]

If your hot water is scalding, then your high limit thermo switch could be defective and closed all the time. That happened to me. Easy to replace in a suburban water heater.

[tomkatb]

confused!

On my 18 Hathaway the non electric on demand water heater was the standard installation. Thus there is no 110 breaker, Duh!

I ordered the old fashioned electric gas model with the switch for the gas in the control panel with all the lights. The on command panel we have only controls the level system. Nothing else.

[Splashes3]

Tomkatb - that's exactly how my command center works on my 2019 Hathaway....also shows manuals.....I think they added all those additional commands in the 2019.5 models.

[tomkatb]

Makes me wonder!

Our breaker panel has a slot for inverter! We have the gas/electric fridge.

I wonder what the devil that breaker is for, to, about?

We have no inverter.

Any clues?

Come on. You guys know everything!

[PRay]

The switch on the front of the Surbanan water heater gives your the ability to cut off power to the electric heating elements which will burn out almost immediately if they are powered up with no water in the tank. ie to flush out the tank and/or winterize your system; please don't try to fill the tank with 6 gallons of anti-freeze.

Also, if your rig isn't hooked to shore power and/or a generator, you have no power to the water heater, so no need to fiddle with any switch or breaker.

I use the water heater switch on my control panel, which controls the propane 12 volt system, to help keep the water hot when taking a shower, or I have no shore power available. Otherwise, the switch is off and i rely on my electric water heater element to provide the constant supply of hot water for dishes, hand wash, etc.

Hope this is helpful to your question.

[gilly13]

Originally Posted by wmtire

It sounds like you may have a dual propane/electric Suburban water heater (SWDE model), whereas the switch to the electric heating element is located on the face of the water heater. This thread will show you where this switch is located, and how to operate it.

We have many members who do not know of this. If this switch is on, then anytime you are connected to shore power, the electric heating element will be on also.

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

I wanted to thank all "FROG" members for their helpful insights of experience and sharing that knowledge with us "newbies". I certainly appreciate it and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that sentiment. "wmtire" from NOLA, thanks for thread and pics on this subject matter.

[brewnut44]

I would start by testing your thermostat.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

Makes me wonder!

Our breaker panel has a slot for inverter! We have the gas/electric fridge.

I wonder what the devil that breaker is for, to, about?

We have no inverter.

Any clues?

Come on. You guys know everything!

Many times the parts used in R/Vs are for several models and someone likely assembles the breaker box and labels them ahead of time.

It would have the breaker and the label for the models that get the residential refrigerator/inverter and all the installer has to do is connect the wiring to the proper location. If it doesn't get a residential refrigerator/inverter, nothing gets connected to it but they don't remove the breaker or label.