suburban water heater switch wires
We have a 2012 5th wheel with the 8 gal suburban gas/electric water heater. The switch went out bout 18 months ago and I had it replaced. Recently our water worked fine for a day and the next am lukew...
Forum Discussion
Your Suburban water heater most likely has a 1440 watt element meaning it pulls 12 amps. Even if it had a 1500 watt element it would only be 12.5 amps. And if someone happen to install a 2000 watt element it would be 16.7 amps.
The melted wires could have been caused by the switch overheating. But more commonly it is because of a poor wire connection; weak crimp, connector crimped on insulation, some wire strands missing from crimp, etc. Burned/melted insulation almost always occurs at a wire connection point. Poor connection equals resistance equals heat. And it doesn't take much resistance to generate enough heat to melt the wire insulation.
The melted wires could have been caused by the switch overheating. But more commonly it is because of a poor wire connection; weak crimp, connector crimped on insulation, some wire strands missing from crimp, etc. Burned/melted insulation almost always occurs at a wire connection point. Poor connection equals resistance equals heat. And it doesn't take much resistance to generate enough heat to melt the wire insulation.
