Hot water

[escape13]

Might be blind plus we're new at this. After a search didn't find anything about hot water for shower.

[bvansnell]

I'm not sure what your question is:

1. where does the hot water for the shower come from? There is a hot water tank which can be heated by propane or electricity, depending on the version you order.
2. how much hot water does it hold? I think it is about 6 gallons.
3. how do you turn the hot water on? There is a switch which turns it on inside the trailer.

I did a search for "hot water heater" and got lots of threads -- you could search through that.

[escape13]

Answers 1 and 2 apply Thanks.

[bvansnell]

Our hot water heater uses propane only. After you turn on the hot water switch it takes about 15 minutes for hot water. We usually heat up a tank of water then turn off the heater, and that works fine. The propane version is the only one you can use when you don't have an electrical hookup. When you are boon docking the hot water tank gets its water from the fresh water tank. You will need a source of water to refill the fresh water tank and will need to have a way of disposing of the grey water.

The dual fuel hot water heater which is now available can use electricity when you have hookups. It would be economical to run since usually the amount you pay for an electrical hookup doesn't depend on how much electricity you use. The duel fuel version is more expensive than the propane only version.

It is very important to make sure the hot water tank is full of water before turning on the heater, since otherwise you can melt the tank insulation. Don't ask me how I know this. When you are hooked up to water make sure to run the hot water until there is a steady stream of water coming from the tap.

[escape13]

Sorry to ask a question which I finally found @ Escape but it was under FAQ. I was looking at features, options etc. Had not read FAQ till now. Thanks everyone

[blugene]

Re: Dual hot water heater: how do I switch from gas to electric power (and later switch back switch back to propane)?
(This should probably be a new topic post but I can't figure out how to do those)

-Gene-

[Vermilye]

You don't have to switch - they are independent sources; if fact, you can use both at the same time if you are in a hurry.

If the circuit breaker feeding the water heater is on & the switch at the bottom inside the outside door to the water heater is on & you are plugged into 120V, you are on electric heat.

To turn on the propane, switch the inside switch with the light next to it on. The lamp should light, stay on for 10 - 15 seconds, then go off, indicating that the water heater has fired on propane. Some individuals have added a lamp to the switch assembly to tell that the water heater is on (on propane) since the standard lamp goes out after ignition.

[Glennrose]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

You don't have to switch - they are independent sources; if fact, you can use both at the same time if you are in a hurry.

If the circuit breaker feeding the water heater is on & the switch at the bottom inside the outside door to the water heater is on & you are plugged into 120V, you are on electric heat.

To turn on the propane, switch the inside switch with the light next to it on. The lamp should light, stay on for 10 - 15 seconds, then go off, indicating that the water heater has fired on propane. Some individuals have added a lamp to the switch assembly to tell that the water heater is on (on propane) since the standard lamp goes out after ignition.

OK - so if you are plugged in and everything electrical is turned on, the water tank is heated by electricity. Then, if you are off the grid (not hooked up to electricity) your tank wouldn't heat (duh) unless you switched on the propane, so it doesn't matter that you didn't turn off the electrical switch. Right? But you do have to remember to turn off the propane when done.

Being somewhat challenged in these areas, it never occurred to me that you didn't have to turn the electric unit off when using propane...:

Thanks!

Rosemary

[dbailey]

fwiw, I'd always turn off the electrical when I wasn't using it, for fear of forgetting it was turned on, and leaving it on when I emptied the tank.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Glennrose

OK - so if you are plugged in and everything electrical is turned on, the water tank is heated by electricity. Then, if you are off the grid (not hooked up to electricity) your tank wouldn't heat (duh) unless you switched on the propane, so it doesn't matter that you didn't turn off the electrical switch. Right? But you do have to remember to turn off the propane when done.

Being somewhat challenged in these areas, it never occurred to me that you didn't have to turn the electric unit off when using propane...:

Thanks!

Rosemary

You've got it! One last point - if you are connected to a 15/20 amp campground receptacle, you might want to switch off the electric side of the water heater, or, at least wait until it cycles off before trying to run other high draw appliances.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by dbailey

fwiw, I'd always turn off the electrical when I wasn't using it, for fear of forgetting it was turned on, and leaving it on when I emptied the tank.

Very true. Apparently the electric hot water tank element will burn itself out in a few seconds of operation if it is operated with no water in the tank.

[rubicon327]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I think this is important for people to see. My father was shocked on the trailer scissor jack and the trailer was also discovered to trip house GFI outlet when plugging in trailer (shore power). I want to stress that despite what is seen on some Internet posts it is NOT normal or ok for a trailer to trip GFI outlets. Something is wrong! After some investigation it became evident that the hot water heater switch (outside on face of heater) was inadvertently left on when the tank was drained (possibly by previous owner). This lead to the element burning out. With the element disconnected from power I checked for continuity to the trailer frame from the element terminals. I had intermittent continuity which means that the element sheath had to have failed with a hot-ground fault and was the cause of the shock to my father. This was also coupled with a bad ground pin on the extension cord to the outlet so the trailer was not properly grounded. The water heater element fault is also what was causing the GFI outlet to then trip. It is interesting to note that while troubleshooting we learned the house GFI tripped even with the inside water heater breaker OFF and other circuits with large loads were operated (A/C or microwave). This is the GFI detecting the issue, but can lead one to believe the issue is on a circuit that it is not. Also note that the trailer operated fine on a regular non-GFI outlet because without a GFI the fault could not be detected.

If my father was better grounded he could have been killed. I want to stress again that trailers tripping GFI's is not normal. Keep this water heater element issue in mind and always inspect your cords for proper grounding and plug in to a properly wired and tested GFI protected outlet.

[Fox hunt]

I guess I'm not completely understanding this. When I switch on the water heater in the trailer by the stove I'm using gas ? I thought that was the electrical switch and the gas one was outside somewhere

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Fox hunt

I guess I'm not completely understanding this. When I switch on the water heater in the trailer by the stove I'm using gas ? I thought that was the electrical switch and the gas one was outside somewhere

The remote switch (the one inside the trailer) is for normal LP operation. The light goes out once the water heater is successfully lit. For electric mode operation, you open the access panel (outside on the side of the trailer) and turn on the electric switch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rubicon327]

Just to clarify I am speaking about the Suburban SW6DE dual mode (gas/120V electric) water heater. It appears to be an option to add the electric mode, with standard being just gas that would be model SW6D. The dual mode units are easily misunderstood, but very simple in operation. As rbryan4 stated the inside switch is for the gas mode of operation with 12 volt direct spark ignition (DSI). The switch for the electric mode of operation (120V AC) is outside on the face of the unit and is a bit obscured on the lower left. If the trailer is powered and this switch is turned on without water in the tank the element will burn out instantly. This was the cause of the problem I described above coupled with a poor ground on the trailer power cord. It should be noted that as far as I can tell the optional Progressive Industries surge protection devices inside the trailer do not appear to protect from ground faults in the trailer - only surge and other source power inlet conditions. Here are a couple of pictures to understand the switches being referenced and a link to the owner's manual that describes proper operation in detail. The Escape orientation video discusses operation on gas, but does not discuss operation on electric probably because the unit shown appears to be gas only.

www.livinlite.com/pdf/service/wh/SW6D-SW6DE-SW6DM-SW6DEM-Installation.pdf

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Just to clarify I am speaking about the Suburban SW6DE dual mode (gas/120V electric) water heater. It appears to be an option to add the electric mode, with standard being just gas that would be model SW6D. The dual mode units are easily misunderstood, but very simple in operation. As rbryan4 stated the inside switch is for the gas mode of operation with 12 volt direct spark ignition (DSI). The switch for the electric mode of operation (120V AC) is outside on the face of the unit and is a bit obscured on the lower left. If the trailer is powered and this switch is turned on without water in the tank the element will burn out instantly. This was the cause of the problem I described above coupled with a poor ground on the trailer power cord. It should be noted that as far as I can tell the optional Progressive Industries surge protection devices inside the trailer do not appear to protect from ground faults in the trailer - only surge and other source power inlet conditions. Here are a couple of pictures to understand the switches being referenced and a link to the owner's manual that describes proper operation in detail. The Escape orientation video discusses operation on gas, but does not discuss operation on electric probably because the unit shown appears to be gas only.

www.livinlite.com/pdf/service/wh/SW6D-SW6DE-SW6DM-SW6DEM-Installation.pdf

The Progressive Industries HW30C does protect against open grounds between it and the power pedestal; From the Website: "Open Ground Protection:
If AC power has an open ground condition, the EMS will read an error code of E-2 and power will not be allowed to the RV."

It, and any other EMS that I'm familiar with cannot detect an open ground after its location...

As to the 120V switch built into the water heater, after replacing one I determined never to have to do it again (not much fun). I added an interior switch in series with the water heater circuit breaker letting me turn off the power when connected to 15 amp pedestals or during low voltage situations where I want to save every amp for other things.

[cpaharley2008]

another good reason to stick with the propane only water heater....

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

another good reason to stick with the propane only water heater....

Really didn't see the need for electric on the water heater . You turn it on for a little then turn it off and water stays warm for quite a while .You use very little gas doing it that way . Great idea to install light so you know when it is on or off . Can use that money you save for something else . And as Jim alluded to less problems just with the gas . Pat

[Jim Bennett]

Though we rarely used the 120V in our trailer, I was glad we had it when it could be used. Just leave it on at all times when connected to the grid, plus it is much quieter.

It will definitely be on our TA build.

[Patandlinda]

Scratching my head trying to figure all the noise from water heater . Reason you need to install light to know whether it is on or off , it's silent when water is heated .Pat