TT Newbie has questions, help?

Make sure you are not in bypass mode for the winterize valve. You can get water out of the hot side of the fixturess even if the water heater is empty. As mentioned, tug the relief valve to make sure you have water in the tank.

Two things to add. 1) when filling the water heater to make sure it is full I open the pressure relief valve and make sure some water comes out. If I am hooked up to "city water" Turn on the water hot and cold at one of your sinks inside then turn on the water a the hose , hold the pressure relieve valve open till it spits close walk inside and close valves at sink once water comes out. Then bleed air from every other faucet, toilet. With water from the tank open a faucet and then turn on the pump, open pressure valve , let it spit then turn off valves one you have water Bleed all other fixtures.

2) On my electric/gas heater I have two switches to turn on electric Block rocker switch outside. Open the door to the water heater open pressure relief valve to make sure it spits then kneel down and look for the black rocker switch turn it on. I say kneel because I must have bent over and looked ten times and could not find the switch so was unable to use electricity to heat water till I finally kneeled down and finally saw the switch. The other switch is inside the camper it has a red lighted light switch. No markings it appears to be a light switch that does not work. in a the main room while the gas water heart switch is labeled part of a panel in the bathroom . It is only red if the outside switch is also on and there is power to the heater. I took a galvanized 1/2 inch pipe hanger and put it on the switch to act as a guard to try and prevent it being turned on or off at the wrong time. Just take the screw out of the over plate put the pipe hanger on over the switch and use a little longer screw to put it together.

I always double check if the heater is full by pulling on the by pass valve on the tank it self. just me I guess, but I don't want to ruin my water heater by not making sure the tank is full. the water stays in until you either blow it out with compressed air or pull the drain valve at the bottom of the tank. access through the water heater door out side. if you notice a smell in the water when you leave the water in the tank for any length of time, then you have a water problem and it needs to be drained and cleaned. I don't think I would leave my heater, electric or gas, on while parked by the house. no need to leave it running all the time. it would be a waste of gas and electric if you do. if you have electric and gas heater, while camping I only leave on the electric and only turn on the gas just before bathing. the electric will keep the water hot enough for dish washing etc. while showering be sure to do the navy shower routine, wt down, turn off water, soap down, rinse. shut off water.

I dont believe we have the optional heating element, i looked all over back there in the WH compartment and i dont see any kind of switch. The only switch i know of is above the control panel that checks the tanks for how full they are over by the sink. That must be the electric ignitor i guess. In the WH compartment there isnt any kind of dials either like a water heater at home. I will keep water in there before hooking up to electricity regardless just to make sure. Thanks alot guys.

You have the fill part right.

Your water heater is most likely fired with propane and will need the propane tank on and some battery power for the igniter. No need to plug in except to keep the battery charged.

Some also have an optional electric element that draws a lot of power. About 12 amps. There will be a separate switch to control the electric element if you have this option. My switch is outside behind the access panel. Possible to have an inside switch. The 12 amps is a heavy load and will max out the typical 15a supply you might be plugged into. Especially if the converter is also charging the battery or the fridge kicks on electric. If you use an extension cord it should have minimum #12 wire. And of course if you plug in and it is already on be sure the heater is full of water.

If power is ever limited or marginal I recommend just using propane only.

Electric element and propane ignition are on separate switches. If you have a Suburban WH the switch may be outside in the WH compartment. A black on/off toggle switch. If you have electric hookups at the campground save your propane and heat with electric. You can run both for quicker recovery. If I know I'm going camping again within a few weeks, I leave the water in my tank when we're done. I always turn my electric switch for the WH off before I unhook the water when I break camp.
#2. I leave my propane on when we camp. If the 2002 models do not have a CO or propane detector I would install one. The only thing I turn off if we leave camp to go sightseeing is the water. And that's just an AR precaution.

owenssailor wrote:
As described above, the water heater must be full of water before any heating. When we pull into a campground and plug in we turn on the electric heater. It stays on all the time. Occasionally we'll also turn on the propane as well for showers to speed recovery times. Normally the propane heater is off.

We left the propane cylinders on all the time. When plugged in the fridge is on electricity. When travelling it runs on propane to keep temperature constant.

This worked well over the 4 months we travelled last winter. I hope this helps.

Our is gas, but has an an electronic ignition....so i suppose that means we turn on the city water, once the water heater is filled with water, plug in the electricity, then turn on the propane then flip the switch that activates the electronic ignitor. Jesus, i just want to go camping ha!

dtzackus wrote:
Rule #1, never turn on a water heater unless it is full of water, those heating elements will burn out very quickly if not water is there.

Once you connect to the city water part of your camper, I would turn on the hot water till all the air comes out of the line (the 6 gallons) then you are ok to turn on your heater. It typically takes 20 minutes on propane to heat the water up. The water heater will only turn on if you turn the switch on, plus you will have to turn on the propane, not sure how the electric ones work (never had one)

I always dump the water before I leave the camp site, why tug an extra 48 lbs (6 gallons at 8 lbs each). I typically drain all water before we leave.

When we 1st started camping, I would always turn on the gas when I needed it, then turn it off when I didn't. Anymore, I just simply leave it on anymore...

Dan

Okay, that about answers my questions. Thanks so much! you would think they would mention in the owners manual that very important part but i never saw it. Ha. If my friend wouldnt have mentioned that to me i would have just come home and hooked up the electricity and burned up the element inside. good lord. what else and i missing? ha ha. Thanks again.

As described above, the water heater must be full of water before any heating. When we pull into a campground and plug in we turn on the electric heater. It stays on all the time. Occasionally we'll also turn on the propane as well for showers to speed recovery times. Normally the propane heater is off.

We left the propane cylinders on all the time. When plugged in the fridge is on electricity. When travelling it runs on propane to keep temperature constant.

This worked well over the 4 months we travelled last winter. I hope this helps.

Rule #1, never turn on a water heater unless it is full of water, those heating elements will burn out very quickly if not water is there.

Once you connect to the city water part of your camper, I would turn on the hot water till all the air comes out of the line (the 6 gallons) then you are ok to turn on your heater. It typically takes 20 minutes on propane to heat the water up. The water heater will only turn on if you turn the switch on, plus you will have to turn on the propane, not sure how the electric ones work (never had one)

I always dump the water before I leave the camp site, why tug an extra 48 lbs (6 gallons at 8 lbs each). I typically drain all water before we leave.

When we 1st started camping, I would always turn on the gas when I needed it, then turn it off when I didn't. Anymore, I just simply leave it on anymore...

Dan