Forum Discussion

trailerbikecamp's avatar
trailerbikecamp
Explorer
Jun 30, 2018

New one on me...for the electricians

SIL and her husband bought a new to them fiver this year. Last night when they got to the unit, sitting on a seasonal site,the water in the tank was already hot. The power switch for the tank was in the off position and propane tanks were both turned off.

Another friend had the exact same issue last night, but her hybrid TT was only put there yesterday afternoon. Same thing, power switch to hot water tank and propane were both off.

These 2 units are fed from the same distribution panel in the campground.

Both trailers had hot water before having their tanks turned on, using either electric or propane. Power is 120V, 30A typical rv outlet.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 30, 2018
    What HW heater?
    My guess if its a Suburban WH the outside switch failed in the on position.
  • trailerbikecamp's avatar
    trailerbikecamp
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2018
    Both tanks have a local switch at the tank and a primary switch inside the camper. The switch inside was turned off on both campers.

    Not sure of the tank brand. Will have to look tomorrow.

    The power switch on the tank of the fiver was replaced about a month ago, because it failed in the off position.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 30, 2018
    Again IF your talking about a Suburban water heater there is a small switch outside down low on the left front of the panel. This switch is very prone to failure. Dont remember ever seeing one fail closed, but with that cheap piece of junk anything is possible.
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2018
    trailerbikecamper wrote:
    Both tanks have a local switch at the tank and a primary switch inside the camper. The switch inside was turned off on both campers


    I thought the inside switch was for gas and the outside switch was for electric. If the outside switch was left on it would explain this...
  • red31's avatar
    red31
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2018
    What temp was the water? My cabin's well water has a pressure storage tank in a small shed that gets very warm in the summer with little use. Same with the small unplugged hot water storage/heater indoors.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 30, 2018
    sch911 wrote:
    trailerbikecamper wrote:
    Both tanks have a local switch at the tank and a primary switch inside the camper. The switch inside was turned off on both campers


    I thought the inside switch was for gas and the outside switch was for electric. If the outside switch was left on it would explain this...

    Generally speaking there can or cannot be a switch inside for the electric side. There will also be a breaker on the main panel. On my last fiver there was a 20A breaker, no inside switch and an outside switch because it was a Suburban water heater. If there is no inside switch and the outside switch fails in the closed position then the water heater will be on. There is only one sure fire way to prevent this, turn the breaker off before you leave.
  • trailerbikecamp's avatar
    trailerbikecamp
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2018
    Both campers have a switch inside for gas and a second switch for electric. This is in addition to the power switch that donno0128 mentioned, that is on the tank itself.

    The weather was warm yesterday, but the water temp was well above what the temp was. It wasn't steaming hot, but not far off it. It felt close to what our hot tub is, just for comparison. Ambient temp yesterday was 23C,(73F).
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Jun 30, 2018
    The electric power was on at the water heater, now you just have to find out which switch, or both, was actually turned on even though it didn't look like it. If the propane was turned off, that's the only way it will work.

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