Using water heater when fresh water tank low

[Cincy6]

Camping this weekend with no water hookups. I filled my fresh tank and checked for pressure in the Suburban water heater and all was fine. At the site I turned on the electric switch on the water heater. All is fine but I had a question. When my water tank gets low to empty and starts spitting water, is my heater element in danger of burning out or does it stop heating automatically when water is low?
My water tank is just now running low and spitting so I turned off my water heater until I fill with more fresh. If I would have continued to use water until no more is coming out of the sink, is there still some water in the heater protecting the element or does it turn off automatically if I don't do it myself? I want to make sure I don't burn out the element.

Thanks

[ebcobra93]

The water heater element does not turn off automatically for low water levels, only cycles on/off to maintain temperature. With that said, as long as your water heater is full of water, you won't damage it. Just because your freshwater tank is low, it does not mean your water heater tank is also low. But, it wouldn't make sense to leave it turned on if you are out of water. Sorry if I made that sound confusing...made sense in my head. ☺️

[Cincy6]

Thanks for reply. So does the water heater hold water even when there is no more water coming from faucet so the element will not burn out?

[ebcobra93]

Yes, I believe you probably have a 6 gal tank. Unless you drain it (by removing the anode), it will have water in it even if your freshwater tank runs empty.

[ebcobra93]

But, like I said before, if you aren't going to be using it it's probably a good idea to just turn it off when you run out of water.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Cincy6

Thanks for reply. So does the water heater hold water even when there is no more water coming from faucet so the element will not burn out?

Like said above,turn OFF your W/H if your FW tank is Empty! There is NO way to tell if your element is "Under Water"! Turn it OFF until you have WATER! Element Only has to be Out of Water "Seconds" before it burns out! Youroo!!

[bikendan]

Why would you chance burning out the element, when you could run it on propane and not have to worry if the FW tank is low?

[CedarCreekWoody]

Why do you need hot water when you have no water pressure. Shut it all off!

[Cincy6]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Why would you chance burning out the element, when you could run it on propane and not have to worry if the FW tank is low?

My concern was how long it takes for heater element to burn out once I find I have no water flow in my Roo. I recall reading it only takes seconds for the element to burn out if there is no water.

The electric switch is outside on the water heater, not in the camper, so if I'm using water and it suddenly starts spitting and runs out, do I need to run out immediately and turn off the water heater or add more water to fresh water tank to prevent damage. From the responses it sounds like even though the water has stopped inside, there is still enough in the water heater to protect the element until I go out and turn it off or fill fresh tank.

[ScottBrownstein]

Unless you are opening the "low point" drains, it requires some pressure to push the water out of the HW heater. If you have no pressure on the pump since the tank is empty I know of no way to force enough air into the HW heater to expose the element and risk it burning out. If the water pump did that I would worry more about running the pump dry for long enough to pressurize the HW heater and push 3 or 4 gallons of the remaining water out.

Put in more water and turn off the pump or it will run...until you do!!!

[CedarCreekWoody]

You may have a dedicated electrical circuit for the water heater. If so you can just flip it off at the converter and not have to open the outside water heater compartment. That is how I control mine.

[ben31]

Concise answers

1. If you are washing, etc. and the pump stops pushing water (no more water in the fresh water tank), the water heater will not burn out in the few minutes to get to the switch and turn it off.

2. Do turn it off, when you run out of water, because you will be heating the water in the water heater for no reason (that water is going nowhere).

3. Turn the water heater back on after you refill your fresh Water tank. I would run the water a little, just in case any air did get in the line.

Enjoy your camping. One less thing to worry about.

[Cincy6]

Got it! Just one more piece of information about my Roo that's good to know!