Oops! My water heater...

[davehultin]

Well, after over a decade of camping, I did it. I left the power switch on my water heater set to "on" which means as I'm getting it ready for the season I discovered that the water bypass valve was still bypassing and I'm heating up an empty tank of air. I've had the shore power plugged in for several days now, and when I went to check it tonight I noticed a nice warm breeze coming out of the water heater drain, so it appears the element is still working.

So, what have I done? Or perhaps the better question is: Is there something I SHOULD be doing now to avoid more problems down the road?

[DiskDoctr]

Water heater electric elements are about $10 or so. I believe you need the short version, check your wattage 😉

[davehultin]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
AFTER a few hours you had hot water..........??
Did it take that LONG?
OR
Was it that long before you checked for hot water?

It was that long before I checked for hot water.

Honestly, I'm as shocked as you!

[Old-Biscuit]

AFTER a few hours you had hot water..........??
Did it take that LONG?
OR
Was it that long before you checked for hot water?

Suburban/Atwood elements are rated to heat water from initial fill temp to t-stat at ~6 gallons per hour (cold fill)





Suburban Water Heater SERVICE and TRAINING Manual

"By far the most common trouble with electric water heaters results from energizing the water heater before it is filled with
water. Even brief operation of the electric element without water in the tank will burn-out the electric heating element"





Atwood Water Heater Manual

"The screw-in heating element is rated at 1400 watts just like the bolt-on element.
It is an incalloy element and can be run for a limited amount of time in a dry
tank without shorting out.

CAUTION: If the heating element is allowed to run with a dry tank, allow the tank to cool down for 2-3 hours before adding water. Adding water before
the tank cools sufficiently could collapse the tank."




Both Brands state elements WILL be damaged when operated DRY.

They 'require' submersion IN water to absorb heat generated.
AIR is not sufficiently 'dense' to do that

[mat60]

Is it April 1 again. Ha Ha. Thats just not suppose to happen.

[davehultin]

I just fired it up and after just a few hours, to my BIG surprise, I have hot water! My best-guess explanation: We still have plenty of cold North Dakota nights that provided the necessary "resistance" to the element's energy. Don't know if that's correct or not, but I'm going with it ... and going to use the hot water!

[MSchu]

When I bought my used trailer, it had been plugged in for months or (or Years) at the PO's house to keep the fridge running. It was winter so I couldn't check out the water. Come spring, I was working on it and had it plugged into my workshop to run the AC and it kept tripping the breaker. Turns out the water heater had been turned on all that time, with the water heater empty! I couldn't believe that it still worked, but 2 years later it still works fine

[boogie_4wheel]

Worst case is the element is shot.

I flipped on my gas only heater last spring without any water. Tripped the thermal switch. Filled it with water and good to go, luckily.

[nineoaks2004]

I agree with romore, it just takes a short time to fill, heat and check, no reason to replace the element if it is good.

[ScottG]

There's no chance it survived if the element was on and the tank was empty. It takes only seconds to kill it.
There are some video's on Youtube on how to change it.

[romore]

I would fill the tank and see if the water gets hot. If it does you're golden. If not time for a new element.

[Lwiddis]

Test it after filling the water heater. I wouldn’t think the electric mode’s life expectancy is long however.