Our last couple of trailers had Suburban water heaters and my new one has an Atwood. What an unbelievable difference! For starters, even when trying to run the heater out of hot water in the shower I have not been able to, second, where my 30 lb. propane tank would last a couple of weeks before, now it seems to last close to a month. Just thought I would throw that out here.

The newer Atwoods also can't be damaged by turning on the heater without having the tank full.WoodGlue

WoodGlue wrote:The newer Atwoods also can't be damaged by turning on the heater without having the tank full.WoodGlueExplain this comment. It makes no sense. Doug

Atwood has an aluminum tank which might help distribute heat and provide faster heating and "recovery" than the steel/glass one in Suburban. We currently have Suburban SW6DE and I'm pleased with it. Like it better than a "standing pilot" Atwood we had, but technology keeps leapfrogging. Anybody looking at this thread, the two brands use different mounting orientations, so if you have either of these brands and it requires replacement, you'd probably be better off replacing with that same brand.

Doug, I think what this poster meant was that if you turn on a water heater with an empty tank, you will destroy the tank. It has to have water in it or the heat will damage it unless full of water. Apparently the new Atwood heaters have protection from this.

Thank you edatlanta for explaining it better than I did!WoodGlue

Atwood water heater VS Suburban | Good Sam Community

28 Replies

WoodGlue
Explorer
Jul 24, 2013
dougrainer - please go pound sand!
Huntindog
Explorer
Jul 24, 2013
dougrainer wrote:
Huntindog wrote:
So the Atwood "uses"8800 BTUs a hour and the Suburban 12000 ?
That is a measure of heat output... You burn propane and it produces heat. The more you burn, the more heat that is produced.

I think it is likely that the OPs new Atwood has a electrical element that his Subs did not...or they were not turned on. And that is why his propane is now lasting longer and producing more hot water to boot.

I have had both brands, and see no difference... Which is as it should be.

The design of the burner tube thru the interior on the tank and the Aluminum Atwood tank makes the Atwood a little more efficient on LP. They both heat up about the same rate, but the Atwood will burn less LP. Doug
If you had said, The Atwood will heat up a little faster due to the aluminum tank...I might agree with you. as aluminum is a better/faster conducter...But that works both ways. When the atwood is not running, the aluminum tank will cool the water faster as well... Net effect, is probably a wash.

At any rate I don't think the BTUs is the proper measurement for what you are trying to say.
BTUs is simply a measurement of burner output, which is based on how fast the propane is burned.
So the 12000 should burn propane faster and heat up quicker. But then there will be more off time once temp is reached... A wash.
C_Schomer
Explorer
Jul 24, 2013
In may 2001 us and several other friends went on our first camping trip for the year. The guy beside me had just gotten hooked up and he couldn't get hot water to the faucets so I asked him if he still had the wh bypassed and sure enough it was. So he switch the valves around and filled the wh and when he went to turn on the elec sw it was already on. So we were talking about if that 15 minutes or so with no water hurt the element and how long could they run dry. Then he said, well I have the record on that cuz his rv was plugged in all winter to keep the batteries charged and the elec element was on the whole time - October - May. It still worked and I know it is still working cuz I bought that 5er from him four years later and I still have it. Craig
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 23, 2013
WoodGlue wrote:
I just heard from Atwood:

Atwood Group wrote:
Our water heater elements are made of inkaloy material which is the same material an electric stove top is made of so it can burn a long time without burning out like the competitions elements will.

WoodGlue

Your point being???? They stated can burn a long time. DID NOT state that they can burn indefinitely. I have NEVER intentionally left a electric range burner ON longer than 5 minutes without a LOAD on the burner. The plain fact is, they WILL burn up and have NO device that stops them from continuing to stay ON until they burn up. Doug
WoodGlue
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
Inkaloy:

Inkaloy - Incoloy

Wikipedia wrote:
alloy 020 is designed to be resistant to sulphuric acid

WoodGlue
WoodGlue
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
I just heard from Atwood:

Atwood Group wrote:
Our water heater elements are made of inkaloy material which is the same material an electric stove top is made of so it can burn a long time without burning out like the competitions elements will.

WoodGlue
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 23, 2013
Huntindog wrote:
So the Atwood "uses"8800 BTUs a hour and the Suburban 12000 ?
That is a measure of heat output... You burn propane and it produces heat. The more you burn, the more heat that is produced.

I think it is likely that the OPs new Atwood has a electrical element that his Subs did not...or they were not turned on. And that is why his propane is now lasting longer and producing more hot water to boot.

I have had both brands, and see no difference... Which is as it should be.

The design of the burner tube thru the interior on the tank and the Aluminum Atwood tank makes the Atwood a little more efficient on LP. They both heat up about the same rate, but the Atwood will burn less LP. Doug
Huntindog
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
So the Atwood "uses"8800 BTUs a hour and the Suburban 12000 ?
That is a measure of heat output... You burn propane and it produces heat. The more you burn, the more heat that is produced.

I think it is likely that the OPs new Atwood has a electrical element that his Subs did not...or they were not turned on. And that is why his propane is now lasting longer and producing more hot water to boot.

I have had both brands, and see no difference... Which is as it should be.
gotsmart
Explorer
Jul 22, 2013
Chris Bryant wrote:
WoodGlue wrote:
Unless and until you are able to contact Atwood and confirm with them that your specific 2104 NEWER MODELS is one of the new generations of "idiot proof" WH's.
WoodGlue

I believe the 2104 models use Dilithium crystals to heat the water.

Beryllium spheres are more efficient.
mlts22
Explorer II
Jul 22, 2013
Has Atwood gotten their tankless heater into production yet? This is the one that fits in the 4/6 gallon bay, but can fit in larger ones with a door adapter.

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Atwood water heater VS Suburban

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