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Old 06-16-2015, 10:35 PM   #61
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We are new users and if we are on propane have left it on overnight without issues. It is noisy though, so we tend to switch off at night and find it is still pretty warm the next morning and takes little heating.
For early morning starts, not just in the trailer but at home, we put boiling water in a vacuum flask, and that takes only a minute or two to come back to the boil.
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Old 06-17-2015, 01:08 AM   #62
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Sorry to have hijacked the water heater thread to discuss propane, but since I did, I just want to add that propane is really cheap at the Ace Hardware in Sedro-Woolley, WA. It was $1.55 / gallon when I filled a tank yesterday, for a total price of less than nine dollars. I was amazed.
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Old 07-03-2015, 11:57 PM   #63
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I am tacking on to the water heater thread that became a propane tank thread.

Debbie and Larry at Little House Customs sell water heater elements. Escape still uses a Suburban, right? And is that what Casita uses? LHC sells mostly for Casita. I figure we won't be so lucky as to not ruin the next element so we need an extra.
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Old 07-04-2015, 12:03 AM   #64
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Home Depot sells water heater elements, that is where I got my replacement.
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Old 07-04-2015, 03:07 PM   #65
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Casita does use a Suburban and Little House Customs has many other items we can use. Want to patronize a fiberglass trailer parts seller when possible.
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Old 10-04-2016, 06:29 AM   #66
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We were camping this past weekend and the electric side of our hot water tank wasn't working. Switched to propane and had hot water.

Checked the breakers - they seemed fine.
Any thoughts on what the fix/ problem might be?
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Old 10-04-2016, 06:53 AM   #67
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Originally Posted by Chapitre View Post
We were camping this past weekend and the electric side of our hot water tank wasn't working. Switched to propane and had hot water.

Checked the breakers - they seemed fine.
Any thoughts on what the fix/ problem might be?
Something to check...
Look at the bottom of page 6 and the top of 7 for hi temp 120v resets.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/60...?page=6#manual
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Old 10-05-2016, 08:48 AM   #68
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Originally Posted by Chapitre View Post
We were camping this past weekend and the electric side of our hot water tank wasn't working. Switched to propane and had hot water.

Checked the breakers - they seemed fine.
Any thoughts on what the fix/ problem might be?
Either the electric heating element has failed (possible) or it isn't getting power. Two potential causes of a lack of power have already been checked - the circuit breaker and the limit switch - but a failed wiring connection or malfunctioning thermostat could also keep power from getting through. The control of propane and of electrical operation are normally through separate thermostats, so it could have a bad thermostat for the electric side and still work normally on propane.
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Old 10-05-2016, 09:59 AM   #69
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You probably burned out your electric element, you can still use the heater but just off propane now until you replace the element.
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Old 10-21-2016, 09:23 PM   #70
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Thought I would let you know how my dilemma ended. After Jim mentioned the heating element, I didn't recall leaving it on, I was pretty sure I didn't. I went on line to look up problem solving for the heater...they mentioned the "on/off switch"; they explained if the switch was hard to turn on or off, that the switch may be bad. I then remembered that on that trip I had a really hard time switching it to On. I took the trailer to in for service for greasing and packing the wheels and asked them to check the water heater, in particular the switch. The service guy said that it happens often with the switches, they burn out or break inside. Sure enough that was the problem, new switch and all is working again.
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Old 10-31-2016, 09:38 PM   #71
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hot water

We just got our escape 21 delivered to Chicago Area .We will be taking a 2 week easy ride down to Naples Fl. I started up the furnace and it ran great .I also started the hot water heater on propane first then shut it down and pressed the elec button and tried to start it again in elec but propane came on instead. How does one start the water heater on elec only ? I don't want to shut the propane off for fridge and reg heater ? Jim
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Old 10-31-2016, 09:45 PM   #72
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Originally Posted by jennykatz View Post
We just got our escape 21 delivered to Chicago Area .We will be taking a 2 week easy ride down to Naples Fl. I started up the furnace and it ran great .I also started the hot water heater on propane first then shut it down and pressed the elec button and tried to start it again in elec but propane came on instead. How does one start the water heater on elec only ? I don't want to shut the propane off for fridge and reg heater ? Jim
Jim, we don't have the two way, but I believe they all work this way: the interior switch is always for the propane igniter. To run the water heater on electric only, simply turn on the electric switch outside (in the access panel) and don't light the igniter. I would bleed the relief valve while I was at it, to make sure the water heater is full before turning on the electric switch.
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Old 10-31-2016, 11:40 PM   #73
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That's right - the control of the propane burner and of the electric heater are completely separate. To use the water heater with electric heat only, don't turn on the switch for propane heat. It does seem strange to operate an appliance with no visible control inside the trailer, but that's the basic configuration of both common brands of RV water heater.
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Old 11-01-2016, 05:47 AM   #74
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If you're a tinkerer, some have modified that outside switch so it can be turned on from inside of the trailer.
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Old 11-01-2016, 08:27 AM   #75
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Jim, One other thing.

When your outside/panel switch is left "on" (water in tank, of course), the electric heater automatically defaults when you plug in to 30 amp service. We use the propane option only when unhooked from shore power.
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Old 11-01-2016, 09:31 AM   #76
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and...will blow out real quick if left on and there is no water in the tank, as in dewinterizing in the springtime.
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Old 11-01-2016, 10:35 AM   #77
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To run the water heater on electric only, simply turn on the electric switch outside (in the access panel) and don't light the igniter. I would bleed the relief valve while I was at it, to make sure the water heater is full before turning on the electric switch.
Assuming that Escape is still using the Suburban SW6DE 2 way water heater here is a picture of the outside switch location. Not obvious at first and may have a cotter pin through a small hole so that it is not turned on accidentally. I suspect that most people don't use this feature, but both sources can be used simultaneously for faster recovery rate. Gas provides 10.2 gals/hr, electric 6 gals/hr...combined 16.2 gals/hr recovery.
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SW6DE outside switch for 120V element.JPG  
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