electric / propane water heater question

BigRabbitMan wrote:

et2 wrote:

I have 2 switches in the control cabinet at the front of he MH. One for propane & the other for electric. There is no way to tell the electric is on ( no red light or else). There is a red light that would indicate a misfire on the propane but otherwise it's not lit.

Thanks for the replies!

It is possible that your problem is simply the temperature settings on the two modes of heating. If the propane side is set to take the water to a higher temp than the electrical side, it will periodically turn on even if the electrical side of working fine.

If that is the problem, just lower the temp setting on the propane side or increase the temp setting on the electrical side (if adjustable).

NO Water Heater from the factory has an adjustable tstat. You can purchase some as aftermarket install. Atwood LP/120 Water Heaters built in the past 10 years, use the SAME (140 degree) Tstat for both modes. Suburban Water Heaters use 2 different Tstats. An LP side and a 120 side, but BOTH have the same temp rating. Doug

et2 wrote:

I have 2 switches in the control cabinet at the front of he MH. One for propane & the other for electric. There is no way to tell the electric is on ( no red light or else). There is a red light that would indicate a misfire on the propane but otherwise it's not lit.

Thanks for the replies!

It is possible that your problem is simply the temperature settings on the two modes of heating. If the propane side is set to take the water to a higher temp than the electrical side, it will periodically turn on even if the electrical side of working fine.

If that is the problem, just lower the temp setting on the propane side or increase the temp setting on the electrical side (if adjustable).

We have a 2012 Fleetwood Discovery 40g and I was to trying to figure out the same thing this weekend.

Usually I leave the electric on and just use the propane when everyone is taking a shower. There have been a couple of times at night when I left the propane switch on with the electric on and the propane has come on to heat the water, so I would guess the threshold to turn each of them on is about the same temperature. You would think it could be a little smarter.

Anyhow, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to add some LED lights to the switches. A water temperature gauge would be nice also.

David

dougrainer wrote:

RayChez wrote:
Not sure what you have, but on mine there is a panel on the wall that says water heater pilot of and on switch. You turn the pilot light on and when the red light goes out, that means your water heater is running on propane. If you have it off and want to use electricity, THEN you go to an electric switch with a red light on it. When you turn the switch on and the light goes on, that means you are heating up the water heater with electricity.

We use the electric mode all the time when on full hook ups.

True, but if you have NO 120 available or the 120 element is bad, the light will still light up. There is NO indication on 120 Water heaters(Suburban and Atwood) that let you know if there is a malfunction of the 120 element. Doug

Doug: On my coach the AC switch will not light up if you are not hooked up to shore power and if the generator is turned off. It is strictly a 120 switch.
Now if you are hooked up to shore power and you turn on the electric 120 switch on and the water heater is not heating THEN you know that the electric heating element is burnt out. Easy repair! The red light on that switch has nothing to do with the condition of the heating element. All it is,is an OFF/ON switch.

RayChez wrote:
Not sure what you have, but on mine there is a panel on the wall that says water heater pilot of and on switch. You turn the pilot light on and when the red light goes out, that means your water heater is running on propane. If you have it off and want to use electricity, THEN you go to an electric switch with a red light on it. When you turn the switch on and the light goes on, that means you are heating up the water heater with electricity.

We use the electric mode all the time when on full hook ups.

True, but if you have NO 120 available or the 120 element is bad, the light will still light up. There is NO indication on 120 Water heaters(Suburban and Atwood) that let you know if there is a malfunction of the 120 element. Doug

Not sure what you have, but on mine there is a panel on the wall that says water heater pilot of and on switch. You turn the pilot light on and when the red light goes out, that means your water heater is running on propane. If you have it off and want to use electricity, THEN you go to an electric switch with a red light on it. When you turn the switch on and the light goes on, that means you are heating up the water heater with electricity.

We use the electric mode all the time when on full hook ups.

et2 wrote:

RCtime wrote:
Do you have an energy management system that shows the amount of amps being drawn when operating on 30 amp. or generator. Usually does not show when on 50 amp.
When I flip my elect. water heater switch I see a rise of 12-13 amps. showing it operating, plus I get hot water pretty quick. I cant see a great deal of difference between elect. or propane

I have 2 switches in the control cabinet at the front of he MH. One for propane & the other for electric. There is no way to tell the electric is on ( no red light or else). There is a red light that would indicate a misfire on the propane but otherwise it's not lit.

Yes I do have a EMS. That's part of why I question the electric not being on. I was connected to 50 amp and it showed the water heater as "on" but there was no amp usage. I even tried it running the Generator and it showed the same 0 amps.

I'm going to have to pay more attention on my next trip. I will keep the propane off and see ow it goes.

Thanks for the replies!

An EMS system will NOT show amp display or usage on true 50 amp service. On APU, does it show ANY amps? If you have a single phase APU (less than a 10k APU) it will show the amp draw of the RV on Genset. 10k and above are 2 phase output APU's and because of THAT, the amp display will be blank. If you want to show the amps of the Water heater just for your knowledge, connect your shore cord to a 30 amp plug with the 50 to 30 adapter. Leave all 120 appliances off just for this test, then turn the Water heater on 120 and watch the amp display. W/H'ers usually pull anywhere from 10 to 11.5 amps. Doug

Check your breaker panel while you are at it, make sure the breaker is on, never know if the previous owner turned it off or not.

RCtime wrote:
Do you have an energy management system that shows the amount of amps being drawn when operating on 30 amp. or generator. Usually does not show when on 50 amp.
When I flip my elect. water heater switch I see a rise of 12-13 amps. showing it operating, plus I get hot water pretty quick. I cant see a great deal of difference between elect. or propane

I have 2 switches in the control cabinet at the front of he MH. One for propane & the other for electric. There is no way to tell the electric is on ( no red light or else). There is a red light that would indicate a misfire on the propane but otherwise it's not lit.

Yes I do have a EMS. That's part of why I question the electric not being on. I was connected to 50 amp and it showed the water heater as "on" but there was no amp usage. I even tried it running the Generator and it showed the same 0 amps.

I'm going to have to pay more attention on my next trip. I will keep the propane off and see ow it goes.

Thanks for the replies!

Do you have an energy management system that shows the amount of amps being drawn when operating on 30 amp. or generator. Usually does not show when on 50 amp.
When I flip my elect. water heater switch I see a rise of 12-13 amps. showing it operating, plus I get hot water pretty quick. I cant see a great deal of difference between elect. or propane