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70ChevelleSS · 02-05-2017, 11:00 AM

Atwood water heater stopped working on electric. I searched here and learned about the ECO. Bit of a pain to get to but I was able to reset and all is good now. They should mention somewhere, maybe they do and I haven't seen it, that the engine heats the water to a temp that will trip the ECO when you turn on the electric heater. Again, thanks.

Old-Biscuit · 02-08-2017, 11:05 PM

2003 model ECO for electric heat source located on backside of water heater tank

Normal temp t-stat should have shutdown electric heating when temp reached 140*F
'Motor Aid' should on be able to heat water to 130*F +/- because of surface contact.....small diameter very short 'U' tube welded to backside of WH Tank so heat transfer is limited.
The motor aid and electric element together should not cause ECO to trip
ECO (Energy Cut Off---high temp t-stat) trips at 180*F WHEN normal t-stat fails to OPEN
So if you had to reset ECO then normal t-stat may NOT be functioning correctly.
Either it isn't opening OR is NOT in tight contact with WH Tank wall.

70ChevelleSS · 02-09-2017, 07:05 AM

Well it's worked fine on electric before and is working fine now. Not sure what happened but after driving, pulled into a campsite, plugged in and turned on the electric heater. No heat, I could tell as the amp usage didn't increase.

Old-Biscuit · 02-09-2017, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70ChevelleSS

Well it's worked fine on electric before and is working fine now. Not sure what happened but after driving, pulled into a campsite, plugged in and turned on the electric heater. No heat, I could tell as the amp usage didn't increase.

ECO doesn't trip unless temp is high. (180*F)
Temp goes high because normal t-stat didn't open (140*F)

Maybe fiddling around getting to ECO to reset it you h=may have bumped normal t-stat (they are side by side) and it is NOW making better contact with tank wall (where/how it gets temp sensing)

Should ECO trip again.......check normal t-stat function/tightness.
Otherwise ECO wouldn't have to trip

70ChevelleSS · 02-09-2017, 04:09 PM

Well it was another post here that mentioned the engine heat could exceed the trip temp of the ECO. That's what made me find and reset it. After running on propane for several days I got it reset and it has been running fine for several more days on electric. Guess I'll have to wait until it occurs again to investigate further. My MH is an 03, not sure what year the water heater is, certainly could be older as I suspect Winnebago would purchase in large lots.

Old-Biscuit · 02-09-2017, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70ChevelleSS

Well it was another post here that mentioned the engine heat could exceed the trip temp of the ECO. That's what made me find and reset it. After running on propane for several days I got it reset and it has been running fine for several more days on electric. Guess I'll have to wait until it occurs again to investigate further. My MH is an 03, not sure what year the water heater is, certainly could be older as I suspect Winnebago would purchase in large lots.

Atwood made design/control changes for 2004 and newer models
2003 and previous models were same.

Motoraid 'U' tube is very limited in ability to exchange heat from engine coolant system
Very small surface area......130*F best IF traveling for several hours