Oops! Water Heater Issues

[craig_evans]

For some unknown reason, I flipped on the switch for my winterized water heater while I was preparing our Roadtrek for our trip south and walked out of the van.
When I came back, I noticed the switch in the on position with no indicator light showing. I immediately turned it off, and seeing the light was labelled 'reset', I tried to push it, slide it, whatever, to remedy- with no results. I next checked the fuses, which seemed fine.
Next I referred to the manual.
The first safety warning notes it is IMPERATIVE that the water heater be filled or may result in damage.

Does anyone know what I may be looking at for repairs? Mine is a Suburban SW6D series
Thanks in advance

[JaxDad]

Hi neighbour, welcome.

When there’s no liquid in the heater the element quickly overheats and burns out. I’d be surprised if anything else would happen, the element overheats VERY quickly.

It’s possible the heat could affect other components if there’s plastic or something close by, unfortunately there’s no way to tell if it’s still water tight without pressurizing it. If you have a small compressor you could try putting 35 psi to it and see if it holds pressure or leaks down.