2-way water heater electric question

[Crazypill]

Hello,

Been enjoying my 21NE for several weeks now. One thing I haven't quite got working is the electric side of the 2-way water heater. Propane works great but when I have shore power I'd rather save on fuel. I've pressed the reset buttons in the side hatch but I'm not sure how to get it to prefer the electric over the propane.

Tried to search but the search function tends to be a little too imprecise. Any advice?

Thanks!

[Rockhead]

Have you flipped the switch on the water heater to the on position

[Crazypill]

Originally Posted by Rockhead

Have you flipped the switch on the water heater to the on position

Yes, it causes the propane to ignite. I can hear it ticking followed by a fwoosh.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Crazypill

Yes, it causes the propane to ignite. I can hear it ticking followed by a fwoosh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzIXArtmNRE

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Crazypill

Yes, it causes the propane to ignite. I can hear it ticking followed by a fwoosh.

That's the switch inside the trailer. See the video there is another switch outside that turns on the electric water heater.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

That's the switch inside the trailer. See the video there is another switch outside that turns on the electric water heater.

The person giving us our unwanted orientation on our 19 had been told about that switch but hadn't actually ever located it. Unless you've seen it or had it pointed out it's easy to miss.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Has ETI stopped providing instruction manuals with trailers?

[Crazypill]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Has ETI stopped providing instruction manuals with trailers?

Please spare me.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Crazypill

Please spare me.

Well, I'd re-read the section on the water heater to make sure I understand it.

[tdf-texas]

The elecrric switch for the Suburban hot water heater is somewhat hard to find and switching it is down for on / up for off.

I hated having to go outside every time I wanted to use the electric hot water so I added a switch inside the trailer so I didn't have to do that anymore. I did this about five years ago and it has never failed to work.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...itch-8535.html

It would be nice if Escape would add this to their options list.

[Crazypill]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Well, I'd re-read the section on the water heater to make sure I understand it.

Thank you for the sage advice, I will take this under consideration.

And more importantly, thank you to everyone else who responded kindly with actionable advice with the grace necessary to hold back the snarky obvious response of "read the manual lol".

[Iowa Dave]

Make sure your water heater has water in it before you snap the exterior switch to “On” or it will fry the heating element quickly. If you’ve opened both bypass valves and your hot water tap will push cold water through it , coming from your fresh water tank, when your pump is on, you’re good to go on flipping the switch. I’ll send you a picture if you need me to when I get back home from my current errand.
Iowa Dave

[Crazypill]

Appreciate it folks, it's up and running now.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Crazypill

Appreciate it folks, it's up and running now.

Most of the time you can just leave the outside switch on. That way anytime you have shore power the water heater will use electricity to heat the water.

It should be turned off prior to winterizing or draining the tank, so it doesn't burn out the heating element.

The other time you'd want to turn it off is when using a generator. If you have a 2000-2500 watt generator and are using it to run an air conditioner, the extra load of the electric water heater will be too much and you're likely to have issues.

Edit: one other time is if you leave your trailer plugged in at your home, you probably don't want to be paying to heat the water.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Crazypill

Appreciate it folks, it's up and running now.

What was the solution?

[Iowa Dave]

Propane here in Iowa is $1.30 per lb. So electeic in the campground where hookup is provided is judicious. I am plugged in at home all the time but keep the water heater off to bank more kWh off of my solar array. Only thing not mentioned is if you’re in a hurry for hot water after setting up, you can run both propane and electric at the same time. Glad you’re going now, puts you in the position to show or help the next person you encounter with that problem. Good luck and. Good camping
Iowa Dave