Community Forums

Black Hawk · 10-25-2005, 04:21 PM

oldtimers have told me to put an electric element in my suburban gas h.w. tank. the owners manual advises against it. whats your openion?

2. is it hard to hook up an extend a stay to my motorhome?

Black Hawk · 10-25-2005, 04:21 PM

oldtimers have told me to put an electric element in my suburban gas h.w. tank. the owners manual advises against it. whats your openion?

2. is it hard to hook up an extend a stay to my motorhome?

Gary RVRoamer · 10-25-2005, 06:47 PM

I've used aftermarket electric elements in a couple of Atwood heaters, but never tried it with a Suburban. A Suburban should have an anode rod where the element usually goes - is there a way to have both the anode and the heater element? [Atwoods don't use/need anodes, so this is not an issue there].

An Extend-A-Stay is a piece of cake if you can wield a pair of wrenches. Just disconnect the line at the regulator and add the Extender in line with it.

RV Wizard · 10-25-2005, 10:41 PM

Black Hawk, welcome to iRV2.com, we are glad to have yo join us here. As Gary has stated an anode rod is used in the Suburban to absorb the deterioration that would otherwise surely attack the tank of your water heater. It is a slow process but none the less the anode is needed. Not saying you can't put in an electric element in its place but I would not recommend this. There are electric and gas models that have a threaded nipple for the element. Extend - A - Stay is an easy add on; just check for leaks after installation before using.

Black Hawk · 10-28-2005, 09:34 AM

Thank you for such a fast reply

"007" · 10-28-2005, 12:04 PM

I have electric heating element in my Suburban HW heater it hooks up in the rear of tank. I also have the anode rod in the front drain location. If you have your installation specs for WH they may help you if you have the correct model heater. If your WH is mounted in kitchen cabinet under sink you will see the rear of WH where it would be installed.

"007"
By the way welcome to irv2

Black Hawk · 10-29-2005, 02:22 PM

thank you, i will crawl around tomorow and have a look under the sink. if not how bad would it be to remove the rod for 3 months ,replace with electric element while i am here and replace with rod after that have any idea i know it is not the best situation but am in a place that is difficult to pull out of for propane.

"007" · 10-29-2005, 02:40 PM

The rod is alot cheaper than a new HW heater, the tank needs that rod. You could shut of WATER HEATER when you don't need the hot water dependant on your size WH, the water will stay hot for washing hand during shut down because tank is insulated. You don't say what size tank you have my tank lasts all summer an than some, maybe you could add a external tank.

"007"