I "de-winterized" our coach in preparation for a trip to FL and AL next week. No hot water from the electric side of the water heater!
Suburban SW10 DEM model. First I checked the breakers and power to the switch, good, then checked function with gas, all good. Then 110v to water heater with switch on: good.
Next, (check the simple stuff first!) pulled the gas tube out of the way, removed the cover over the electric heating element, checked 110v with switch on, check. Turned switch off, manually tripped the circuit breaker (no desire to do the 110v dance around the yard when wife accidentally turns on the electric switch instead of, well, whatever)!
Removed the two 110v wires from the element head. Checked with a multimeter, dead open, so the element is fried. At some point either myself, or my wife may have turned on the electric element over the winter with no water in the tank. Or maybe the electric element just decided it was time to die. I'm leaning toward the later, since I turned off the water heater CB when I drained the water heater.
Turned off two bypass water valves so I could remove the element without draining the water tank, (here's where it get's embarrassing). Bled off the water pressure so I would not get soaked when I removed element (Note: Remember that I turned off bypass valves BEFORE I bled off the pressure?!?)
Well, what I did was trap residual pressure in the water tank, making bleeding off the water pressure in the rest of the system immaterial
Anyway, went to Lowes, and picked up a new 1500 watt heater element for less than $10.00. Needed to pick up a 1 1/2" socket as well as the 1" drive 1.5" socket I had wouldn't fit into the recess where the element is because the socket sidewalls were too thick. Anyway, went to the tool section, picked up a 1.5", 1/2" drive Kobalt socket, then went back to the water heater section, selected the heating element, and then saw the "Special Socket for removing heating elements". Stamped and formed metal, but thinner than the Kobalt, so I bought that as well, figuring ONE of them had to work.
Got home, tried the "Special" socket, it fit, but just flexed and slipped!
What piece of junque. Anyway, the Kobalt did the trick. Loosened the element (refer back to where I bypassed the heater BEFORE I bled down the pressure
. Got a bath when the socket came out . . . . and it was COLD outside . . . . Anyway, put the new socket it, hooked everything back up, turned the bypass valves back open, bled the air/filled the water tank by venting with the outside shower hot side, pmc's everything, all okay.
Now to replace the inside kitchen faucet with the new "hi-rise" with sprayer, but the damn fittings are 3/8" female when I need 1/2" male pipe thread . . . . ARRRGH, back to Lowes, and I'll return the "special" piece of junque when I get my new fittings! The Kobalt goes into the RV box of tricks in the basement.
Linear Mode
