Community Forums

travelorer99 · 07-04-2020, 08:34 AM

Anyone have the electric switch go bad on the suburban 6 gallon water heater, the switch bottom left of tank?
I replaced the electric heater element yesterday, and still nothing. The element was probably good, because still nothing. It had lots of build up on it, and I always clean tank and keep anode up.
I have power going to switch, but its raining today and not taking stuff off to get to cover to check load side of switch today.
It looks like a cheep switch, and costs $10 so ordered a new one.

Ljwt330 · 07-04-2020, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traveler4321

Anyone have the electric switch go bad on the suburban 6 gallon water heater, the switch bottom left of tank?
I replaced the electric heater element yesterday, and still nothing. The element was probably good, because still nothing. It had lots of build up on it, and I always clean tank and keep anode up.
I have power going to switch, but its raining today and not taking stuff off to get to cover to check load side of switch today.
It looks like a cheep switch, and costs $10 so ordered a new one.

Yes, I have, and it's not uncommon. As you suspect, it is a simple switch and "cheap" in more ways than one. Before you replace, however, wait until things clear up and test the load side as you planned, or simply remove the switch and use an ohm meter to test continuity between the switch connectors. Also, use the meter to check the Ohms on the element to ensure that it's good.

My switch tested bad and I removed it, disassembled it, and was able to repair it--it's that simple of a switch--because nothing was actually broken. The switch is notorious for becoming hard to switch ON/OFF and that contributes to its failure. My practice now is to always leave the switch ON, and turn OFF the heater from the circuit breaker to prevent accidentally heating the element should the tank be empty.

travelorer99 · 07-04-2020, 04:06 PM

Thank you. I am no stranger being a high voltage lineman, to electric. juts trying to know if anyone has problems with them, as I would keep a second on hand. lots of sealing fans get tossed for no reason, as its take it apart and find a bad capacitor, and replace and reinstall.

Alpine36 · 07-04-2020, 04:19 PM

Yes, ours failed. It was super hard to turn on.
Replaced it and now just use the circuit breaker as the control switch also.
I suppose you could just bypass it and do the same thing.
I can't tell you how much better the tank functions on LP and AC simultaneously. A new element, flush and anode is just good preventative maintenance anyhow...

dkoldman · 07-04-2020, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ljwt330

My practice now is to always leave the switch ON, and turn OFF the heater from the circuit breaker to prevent accidentally heating the element should the tank be empty.

I see a little irony, I have suburban Gas Only. It drove me nuts that it has no switch to turn off when I had drained the tanks. ( note I do believe it will auto-cut-off if it started to overheat; but why should it even be possible if winterized?)

So I actually ran to ACE hardware and installed my own switch and thus far it has been flawless. Once my water heater would not heat water; but it was on?, I thought it may have been related to my switch but it was the gas safety (not an issue for you Electric folks). I turned mine off for 5 minutes and it fired up like a champ.

bddadles · 07-05-2020, 06:05 AM

I have the Surburban 10 gallon and I have never turned the switch off. Maybe that's because I have another switch inside so have never had the need. I would put the meter on the element and if there is power to the element the switch is working. Have you tried the thermostat reset? You should be able to see 2 soft spots in the rubber cover. Right is electric and left is gas.

Did you get a burning wire smell? These things will move a bit and chafe the wires. Here is what I would check.

1) You have cleaned the tank and changed the element. Good so far.
2) Check if element is getting power. If yes the switch is good.

3) If power to the element pull the rubber cover off the thermostats. One on the right is for electric. You may see a bad thermostat ( broken connection between the top and bottom) or just burned connections. The thermostat is easy to change and about $12. I have personally had to change a wire connection or replace a piece of wire 4 times in the last 11 years. I called service the first time and watched him closely. That time was expensive but I learned.

Hopefully that should be enough to get you fixed.

travelorer99 · 07-05-2020, 08:59 AM

Its nice to have a dual choice, if one goes bad. I only use the electric if electric is included. Im not a big fan of using the breaker as a switch, as the switch is cheaper to replace. If and or when it goes again, ill relocate it with a better switch. Being a lineman, I should have known better and tested the switch before ordering and installing a new element. This being ritired is making me soft.

450Donn · 07-05-2020, 09:05 AM

After the first one burned out I just bypassed the crappy switch and used the main breaker to switch the 120VAC on/off when I needed to. Thise switches are rated for maybe 5A but so much more has to pass through them. Just not worth the hassles.

Ljwt330 · 07-05-2020, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traveler4321

Its nice to have a dual choice, if one goes bad. I only use the electric if electric is included. Im not a big fan of using the breaker as a switch, as the switch is cheaper to replace. If and or when it goes again, ill relocate it with a better switch. Being a lineman, I should have known better and tested the switch before ordering and installing a new element. This being ritired is making me soft.

Just a note on the bold, above, for clarification. The breaker is rarely used.

I use the breaker only as a safety back-up if I empty the water from the tank. If there's water in the tank, no need to shut off the electric. If traveling and moving from site to site, no need to shut off electric. If only a few weeks between trips, I don't drain the tank.

My storage area has no electricity so even in storage I can keep the breaker ON with an empty tank. However, as we all know, some minor things can be forgotten and it is possible, even plausible, that I might move the coach to my home and plug in for a while while preparing for a trip. That's when the safety back-up comes into play. More often, I tape a message on the dash panel that reads, "WH breaker is ON." That forces me to remember, when I move from storage, that the element is at risk.

Still, you are absolutely correct, a switch is cheaper than a breaker.

dkoldman · 07-05-2020, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bddadles

I have the Surburban 10 gallon and I have never turned the switch off. Maybe that's because I have another switch inside so have never had the need.

I have a factory switch inside as well. And that is what I use exclusively during normal operating season, however, we use our coach year round. I also occasionally will have it drained due to a pending freeze (meaning hot water tank drained). I then turn my MOD outside switch off so it is impossible to turn on from inside. Without the switch outside to turn it off when I do drain it, I, my wife, or kids could easily forget or not know that it was drained and turn on switch inside.

travelorer99 · 07-13-2020, 09:17 AM

Just put switch in this morning. Switch was bad, and very cheap. One connector showed browning. Its easy to clean it up and tighten it, and I used penotox, its an anti oxidation that we used in high voltage.
Next time, its getting a good switch relocated that I can solder the end of wires and wrap around the screws and tighten, to make a better connection, and use heat srink to seal the back up.