Suburban Water Heater Thermostat Replacement

The current Suburban thermostat is black with the element wire burnt in half. No doubt this is the problem. House fuse box switch was still active - not thrown. There had been contact with a small piece of fiberglass insulation.

Probably easiest to take the 60 mile drive today and get a new Suburban; however, I may call Rheems tech; as j-d said, this is a simple circuit. There should be a Rheems equivalent-some with variable temperature controls. I would imagine this is what cpaulsen is purchasing at Home Depot and Lowes.

I have replaced the heating element several times now with a hardware store Camco 1500W, as our hard water seems to be the cause of element failure. Definitely the thermostat this time, but never have seen a burnt up one.

Thanks for the help!!!