Hot Water Heater - Event Date: 06 Aug 2016 - 13 Aug 2016

Hello all. We are having trouble with our Hot water heater. The electric light went out inside the trailer and the burner doesn't want to fire either. Just started this yesterday. I checked all the breakers and they seem okay. Thanks for help. Gary

It sounds like you might be out of propane or you might have an airlock.  First make sure you do have propane and that it's on.  Light the burners on the stove and let them run for several seconds.  Then try the water heater again.  The light on the switch goes off when the water heater is working. It's on when it's trying to light.  I think it will make 5 attempts to light then quit and you need to flip the switch off and back on if it's really not working. 

If you have flame at the stove, give the water heater 5 or 10 minutes then try it again.  If you still have no luck, you're beyond my ken.

TT

Originally posted by DaveGamble Does the electric switch need to be on for the WH burner to start on propnae, or is it only for use if I want the electric on for heating the water?

The small black rocker switch on the WH inside the service panel is for electric only. It does not have to be on for propane operation. The WH switch on the wall next to the red light is for propane operation. It has no effect on electric operation.

Lets start with.. do you have hot water?

The light on the panel/switch is a FAULT light. If the water is hot, the burner won't light. It doesn't have a "pilot" it's Direct Spark Ignition. Only lights when needed.

Originally posted by renosteve Hi Folks, just tried to use the electric burner in our 2012 177 for the first time (instead of propane). Left the water heater switch at the door off. Plugged into shore power and turned on the black switch at the heater. The water got hot, but in the middle of the night I was awoken by sounds like boiling water or rain hitting the roof. I quickly turned off the black switch for fear of the element burning in the heater. The water tank was full with water. Anyone have any ideas?

The water should not boil in the WH. There are two thermostats and a safety temp/pressure valve to prevent it. If the water got that hot you should have seen water dripping from the safety valve on the heater. However, sometimes the element can make a similar noise due to minerals or crud buildup in the heater. I've never heard it in a camper, but I hear it all the time at home. Remove the anode and flush out the heater.