Suburban WH Element

[charliez]

Despite repeatedly informing the wife that you can't turn on the electric w/h withOUT water in it, (we had a hard freeze, so I drained it) she insisted on finding out on her own. It's a 6 gal. Suburban Gas/Electric. Are the elements replaceable, and if so, where can I order a replacement? I'll try to dig out the exact model number tonight.

And, I just may add a keyed switch and not give her the key if it's been drained.

[charliez]

Despite repeatedly informing the wife that you can't turn on the electric w/h withOUT water in it, (we had a hard freeze, so I drained it) she insisted on finding out on her own. It's a 6 gal. Suburban Gas/Electric. Are the elements replaceable, and if so, where can I order a replacement? I'll try to dig out the exact model number tonight.

And, I just may add a keyed switch and not give her the key if it's been drained.

[DavidMc]

The electric heating elements are essentially the same as those you find in a household water heater.

If you have replaced one of those in the past, you can expect the same safety, technology and tool requirements. However you may not enjoy the same ease of access. The element is on the "inside" side of the tank, so you will need to open up access through an interior cabinet.

For parts, you could check out the RVupgrades.com sponsor of iRV2.com, in particular this page Water Heater Parts

[Cruzer]

My 10 gallon Suburban on the last Bus had an ON-0FF rocker switch on the front of the water heater. If yours does you could just switch it off whenever you drain it. I generally turned off the circuit breaker on my AC breaker panel.

[Hitchhiker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">where can I order a replacement? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I found one at Home Depot for about $10 when that happened to my HWH. They also have an inexpensive socket that fits it so you can unscrew it. I think it was either 1 1/4" or 1 1/8".

I later learned that my HWH has an on/off switch on the back near the heating element, there for the purpose of accidentally turning it on from inside the coach when the tank is empty.

[charliez]

Awsome. I forgot about being able to use the outside rocker. I have it on and have just added an aditional lighted rocker for her to turn it on/off. I'll start using that and not tell her. The rocker will still light and she'll just think it's on.

I'll see if I can pull the element out tonite and match it tomorrow at Lowes.

[GaryKD]

The socket must be a thin wall socket for our 10 gallon HWH. My wife has done the same thing. Maybe they are related? Of course she blamed me for not turning off the breaker.

[charliez]

What chaps me is I TOLD her at least 10 times that she CANNOT turn it on becuse I purged all the water out. I ought to make her change it out.

[GaryKD]

In my situation, I had put the coach in store mode. She went out to the coach after dark and could not turn on the lights. She started fliping switches and pushing buttons until the lights came on. 4 days before our next trip I connected the coach to shore power (per the well know process). The next morning, I went into the coach to begin my pre trip tasks. I saw the red HWH light on and knew the element was cooked. The gas button had also been turned on! It's a good thing I had the propane turned off at the tank, only God knows what would have happened if the electric element and the gas burner kicked in on an empty tank. I was careful to question her so I got the truth on the first try. The wrench was very hard to find. All is now back to working order.

And she is not blonde.

I have added to turn off the switch at the tank and turn off the breaker. If the HWH had a plug, I'd also unplug it.

This isn't the only interesting thing she has authored. The list is long and I may write a book. When the kids lived with us I usually blamed them. Now they are on their own and the stuff keeps happening. The truth is finally unfolding.

[charliez]

Well I got the bad element out. She cooked it allright. It was actully accessible from the outside. There was a little black plastic cover over it. It took an inch and a half socket and a luckily, a regular automotive socket fit it. I did have to remove a little bit of the sheet metal around the propane burner part, just to access one of the screws better that held the cover on. It's a short little guy. I saw several short, 8" replacement elements online. They wern't exactly like this one, but hopefully one of our local big box hardware stores willl have one.

It's 110v. 1440 watts.

[Hitchhiker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It's 110v. 1440 watts. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Take it with you to Home Depot or Lowes or a similar retailer, you'll find a replacement that's 110 volts and 1500 watts that will work fine. The additional 60 watts will be negligible.

[charliez]

Got it. 120v, 1500 watts. Works perfect and I'll never tell her about the small switch outside.

[Hitchhiker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Got it. 120v, 1500 watts. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>