the water heater switch that always made me nervous

[William Ute]

well it happened. brand new gas only suburban water heater (in brand new 13' scamp) was started with no water in tank. switch somehow accidentally tripped while working at stove. it started and fired for a short period and then popped and flamed out.

how to proceed to see how much damage was inflicted. hopeless or perhaps hopefully dodged a bullet?

any thoughts about what to check before loading it up with water and seeing what happens.

and for future (whatever that is) how can you disconnect the gas startup so it can never happen again. something better that taping it off. had breaker off at panel but since it is gas only i guess that didn't do the trick.

[Darwin Maring]

Ate you saying there is NO gas shutoff at the heater?

[William Ute]

not that I can see IMG_4596.pdf

not sure if this photo image went through

[CharlesinGA]

Its extremely doubtful that any damage was done to the tank or flame tube.

The simple solution is to keep the gas turned off at the bottles on the tongue when you are working in the trailer.

A second solution is to change out the rocker switch for an illuminated one so you will know it is switched on. I did a thread on this for Atwood and Dometic panels but the Suburban works the same way. You do have to add a pigtail for a ground so the LED in the switch will work.

Begins with post #7 how to install LEDs for the water heater switch panel

Another option is to find the 12v fuse that powers the water heater controls and whenever you are working in the area, simply pull the fuse, but that leaves you open to forgetting to reinstall it and losing it and going on a trip and finding you have a non functioning water heater.

The last option is a hinged clear guard over the switch panel.

The switches in your switch panel are 12 volt, they send a signal to the water heater to turn on, open the gas valve, etc., so turning off the 120v AC circuit breaker only prevents the electric heating element from coming on.

It is extremely rare to find manual shut off valves at appliances in RV's, that would cost money in the manufacture process for no real benefit.

Charles

[Darwin Maring]

The ones with a pilot light have a gas shut off.
Me, I think not having a gas shut off valve is dangerious.

[William Ute]

thanks guys for your input. i guess the best solution at hand is to fill up the tank (temps here in UT cooperating) and see if the heater is still working properly. if so then I can address the switch issue. if nothing else I have learned a bit more about the basics of the water heater world. of which I knew very little.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by William Ute

well it happened. brand new gas only suburban water heater (in brand new 13' scamp) was started with no water in tank. switch somehow accidentally tripped while working at stove. it started and fired for a short period and then popped and flamed out.

"Operation without water in the tank on the 12 VDC gas portion of the water heater can cause the copolymer insulation jacket to melt and can cause the ECO/Thermostat to trip."

[Joe MacDonald]

all of my appliances have a shut-off valve, but I only have the fridge with an auto igniter

Joe

[William Ute]

well the good news is i got to the trailer today and energized the water systems and everything on the water heater seems to be working just fine. it fired right up
and my relief valve is now back down to normal

[Little Richie]

Charles, your reply is very practical and should be helpful to many readers. For those that worry, pulling the fuse or breaker is a good strategy for a lot of appliances.

In thinking about the incident, in general it is something one should not do. That being said, water heaters do hVe thermostats that turn off the gas when things get hot.