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Hot Water Heater Element
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jato View Drop Down
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Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Location: Kewadin, MI
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Posts: 3223 		Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hot Water Heater Element
    Posted: 10 Oct 2021 at 4:41pm
Not too often we are able to camp where electricity is available however on our last 3 week trip we were able to use this convenience for about 2/3 of our trip.  With about 3 days left my wife let me know that I forgot to turn the HW switch to on as she had no hot water.  I went to the switch and it was on, however the water was 'lukewarm' at best.  I tried to move the switch from 'on' to 'off' but no go on that - it was frozen.  So for the balance of the trip we used propane, that is what we normally go with anyway.

On our way home I figured on purchasing a hot water element since this original was going on 11 years of age and was probably kaput.  The RV dealer asked me to get the model # of the Suburban and so I figured 'piece of cake', well it wasn't as a big gob of silicone was perfectly placed over the number so they assumed that since 90% of 6 gallon Suburban's take a 11" long element that was the one I needed.

Got home late last night so after church this afternoon decided to see what the issue was.  Took everything apart and lo and behold noted a fair amount of scale build-up on the element to the point of it being about 1/16" thick over the whole thing.  Took my knife (carefully) a wire brush and some 120 grit sandpaper and cleaned it off.  Reassembled it, filled the HW tank back up, burped it (got air out) and let it sit for 35 minutes.  Checked it out, YES, super hot water once again, so next time I am back in Traverse City I will return this element.  By the way, this element is only 7 7/8" long so it must be one of the 10% of Suburban HW heaters that don't accept the 11 inch long one.

Only issue I now have is that rotten switch.  It is stuck, I tried a couple different sprays (CB blaster and WD 40) to no avail.  Should I leave well enough alone with the switch and just toggle the breaker inside from now on or try to replace the switch?  Is it a big deal to change out or not?  Advice will be welcomed.  Thanks.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2021 at 5:31pm
since it's stuck on I'd just leave it like that and use the breaker. I never touched my switch the whole time I had the rpod, just used the breaker to switch the element on or off. Easier than accessing the switch anyway.

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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JR View Drop Down
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Location: Manistee, MI
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Posts: 344 		Post Options Post Options   Quote JR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2021 at 6:35pm
jato,  as offgird indicates you can just leave well enough alone and use the breaker inside the trailer to turn the water heater off and on.  But I had my water heater switch go bad couldn't move it and I purchased 2 direct replacement rocker switches at my local rv dealer for $13 for both of them.  Its very easy to replace the switch, there are 2 plastic tabs on either end of the switch and if you gently pull or pry the switch out of the face of the water heater you then just have to switch out the electrical leads.  Hope this helps.
Jay

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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3223 		Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2021 at 7:28pm
Thanks Jay.  I am thinking I may have to replace the switch as I noticed a 'zing' on my finger when pushing it, maybe a little 120v leakage?  Anyway if it is doing that now, am sure it will only get worse if I simply look the other way.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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JR View Drop Down
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Posts: 344 		Post Options Post Options   Quote JR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2021 at 10:19pm
I think that is wise choice and it is really simple.  You are correct it will not correct itself.
Jay

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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Post Options Post Options   Quote lostagain Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2021 at 8:09am
We added a 3rd switch that was easy to get to and give us a fail safe protection for the heating element in our 172.  The switch on the water heater is a pain in the back side to use and is easy to forget and leave on.  Using the breaker works fine, except that if you have big fingers and presbyopia, it's easy to flip the wrong one when turning it off.  I located the third switch under the seat right next to the water heater and put a little protector over it to avoid an inadvertent bump, turning it on unintentionally.  

Now, in our Sonoma, we have that third switch in the main switch panel along with the lights tank level stuff.  There are two water heater switches in the panel; one for gas and the other for electricity, and both have nice red lights that remind you that it is turned on.  No more worries about burning up the electric heat element.
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poston View Drop Down
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Joined: 28 Mar 2018
Location: Nevada
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Posts: 195 		Post Options Post Options   Quote poston Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2021 at 6:22pm
Originally posted by lostagain

Using the breaker works fine, except that if you have big fingers and presbyopia, it's easy to flip the wrong one when turning it off.

No kidding.  I put a strip of white Gorilla tape on ours.  Much easier to identify and confirm.

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Jim
Virginia City, Nevada
2016 R-pod 180
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2021 at 7:32pm
Yep, a piece of red tape does it for me too. Mine was pretty much always off anyway since mostly boondocked and didn't want to ever load the generator with the electric element. Once you dewinterize though you're not going to have a dry water heater tank till fall so you could just leave the element on unless you use a generator.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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