Forum Discussion

NErunner's avatar
NErunner
Explorer
Sep 06, 2020

Did I ruin my water heater, please help!

Hi all!

I'm new to the forum and RVing. I recently purchased a Prime Tracer 24DBS camper and went on my first trip with my family. All went well considering it was our first one, we loved it. Fast forwarding 2 weeks, as we prepare for our next trip, I discovered the battery is drained, not sure how it happened since it has been parked in my driveway since we came back. Then, I just realized I did not turn off the electric switch for the water heater after I left the camping 2 weeks ago. Now I wonder if the heater was working on battery without the water connection after I left the camping (hence the drained battery) and its heating element has burned (due to no water connection). Should I prepare for cold showers in my next trip next weekend or these heaters are like house heaters that don't burn if if shut the main water valve?

Thanks in advance!
  • NErunner's avatar
    NErunner
    Explorer
    Sep 06, 2020
    K Charles wrote:
    There is a lot of stuff running your battery down even when everything is off. Rather plug in the camper to keep the battery charged or disconnect it to keep it from going dead.


    Thanks, learned something else today, it does have a battery disconnect plug, I'll just do that between trips.
  • NErunner's avatar
    NErunner
    Explorer
    Sep 06, 2020
    CarnationSailor wrote:
    Your water heater stays full until you unscrew the drain plug such as when you winterize it.


    Thank you so much! That's a relief.
  • K_Charles's avatar
    K_Charles
    Explorer
    Sep 06, 2020
    There is a lot of stuff running your battery down even when everything is off. Rather plug in the camper to keep the battery charged or disconnect it to keep it from going dead.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Sep 06, 2020
    “Fast forwarding 2 weeks, as we prepare for our next trip, I discovered the battery is drained,..”

    Read the basics of RV electrical online. Batteries die from abuse. In two weeks without at least trickle charge a connected battery will completely discharge. A completely discharged battery is DEAD forever. Buy a new battery, do the reading.
  • NErunner's avatar
    NErunner
    Explorer
    Sep 06, 2020
    Hi, thanks, here is the problem, I plugged it to my home electricity (for about 1 hour I think) using a 15 to 30 AMP adapter after I arrived at home so we could plug in the vacuum using the RV outlet to clean it up. Could that be an issue? I drained the gray and black tanks before leaving but perhaps the water heater still had some water on it preventing it from burning the heating element?
  • Flute_Man's avatar
    Flute_Man
    Explorer
    Sep 06, 2020
    My water heater only works off of 120 V AC or Propane. 12 V is required for the circuit board. I would suggest that you keep your camper plugged into your house power while you are parked there so that your converter will keep your battery charged. Your water heater should remain full of water unless you specifically drained it.

About Travel Trailer Group

44,026 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 03, 2025