Newbie looking for help with Electric water heater

[pchop6t9]

Hello there,

I recently purchased the 2021 Grand Design transcend 297qb. I paid a company to do my setup at a camp site with water and electricity. During the setup process, after the power and water was connected and turned on. Roughly 5 minutes after turning the water on the service technician told us to run the shower to see if water was coming out, at whichpoint cold water was. The service tech said that since water is coming out of the shower that means that the water tank has water in it and advised me that it was safe to flick the electric water heater switch on, at the control board. After about 5 minutes I decided that I would use propane instead to heat the water and turned the electric water heating switch off and the propane switch on. I ran the water on propane and got hot water without any issues.

A week later since I was running low on propane I decided to heat the water with electric mode, I flciked the switch and the light turned on. After about 2 hours I had no hot water completely cold not even luke warm. I checked the fuse panel with nothing was tripped and the outside access to the water heater panel switch was in the on position.

Did he burn my heating element by not allowing enough time for the water tank to fill before instructing me to turn on the electrical water heater switch?

Sorry I'm completely new to Rving and would appreciate your advise.

Thanks

 

[NB Canada]

So you have no idea if the electric side ever worked?

And no, if you had water coming out of a hot line in the shower there was no harm turning on the heater

Is this trailer on a seasonal site?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[pchop6t9]

No, I have no idea if it ever worked because the trailer is brand new. There was cold water running through both taps when we turned on the shower before turning on the heater with the electric switch flicked on, no hot water came out as the hose was only on for 5 minutes. Yes it's on a seasonal site. Ok
I guess I'm going to have to go through the manufacturer warranty to get it fixed.

Does anyone know if the manufacturer will send someone out to repair or will I have to tow it 2 hours to the dealership where I bought it as there are no other grand design dealerships close by. Not sure how the 1 year manufacturer warranty works.

 

[NB Canada]

No, I have no idea if it ever worked because the trailer is brand new. There was cold water running through both taps when we turned on the shower before turning on the heater with the electric switch flicked on, no hot water came out as the hose was only on for 5 minutes. Yes it's on a seasonal site. Ok
I guess I'm going to have to go through the manufacturer warranty to get it fixed.

Does anyone know if the manufacturer will send someone out to repair or will I have to tow it 2 hours to the dealership where I bought it as there are no other grand design dealerships close by. Not sure how the 1 year manufacturer warranty works.

I would call the dealership first to see what they say

They may have a mobile tech that GD will authorize

I personally wouldn’t spend money towing it two hours or even paying a mobile tech’s service fee because it is likely an inexpensive fix

Is there anyone you know in the campground that can diagnose it ?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[AZMike]

Most dual mode water heaters have a switch on them. If you remove the outside cover off of the water heater you should be able to see a rocker style switch toward the bottom right. With that being said, I assumed you were referring to the switch on your panel on the inside of your rig.

 

[NB Canada]

Most dual mode water heaters have a switch on them. If you remove the outside cover off of the water heater you should be able to see a rocker style switch toward the bottom right. With that being said, I assumed you were referring to the switch on your panel on the inside of your rig.

He said in his post that he checked the switch in is outside panel and it was on


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[AZMike]

He said in his post that he checked the switch in is outside panel and it was on


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

He also said that when he flicked the switch on the light came on. I am not aware of any light on the actual water heater which lead me to believe that he was referring to the control panel inside of his rig. Since he did not post any specifics we're not exactly sure what he is referring to. Just trying to help and eliminating the simple stuff.

 

[jmbopp]

So you have no idea if the electric side ever worked?

And no, if you had water coming out of a hot line in the shower there was no harm turning on the heater

Is this trailer on a seasonal site?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

Um, no - if the WH is in bypass mode you can get water out of a hot side faucet but the tank can still be empty.

 

[pchop6t9]

Yes the outside water heater switch was turned to on. I got hot water on propane just not electric. I called the dealership where I bought it and they are sending someone to fix it as they are too busy to do it. They said it sounds like it's the heating element. Thanks for all your help guys.

 

[NB Canada]

Um, no - if the WH is in bypass mode you can get water out of a hot side faucet but the tank can still be empty.

This is true but since the OP said she had hot water on Propane I knew this not to be the case here


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Dakota]

I can’t get my water heater to work on electric. Brand new 303RLS. I don’t see an outside switch anywhere. The inside switch is on and lit. Hot works very well on propane. Where is the outside switch? Thanks.

 

[Redapple63]

Suburban Wh have a switch on the wh itself with an anode rod, Atwood’s have an aluminum tank so no anode rod and no separate switch on the wh. Ohm out the heater element to see if it is bad. Let me look for a resource to get the ohms reqmts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dakota]

Well I’ll be darned! Check the breaker numbskull. Lol. I looked at the fuse box. Didn’t find one. Forgot all about the breaker. Checked it. Yep. There’s 90 minutes I’ll never get back. I think they may leave it off so you don’t turn on the electric without water in it by mistake. I’m not much of a handyman, but I’m sure I’ll become one soon enough!

 

[Lovetowanderrv]

Do you have an Atwood or Suburban water heater? The Atwood will have a plastic drain plug. If you have the Suburban there is a black panel just above the burner tube and below the pressure valve. It has two covered black push buttons. The one on the right is the T-stat and ECO or emergency cut off for the 120volt side of the heater. It may have been tripped. Just press on it to reset. The next possible issue may be a burned out or defective heating element.. Without knowing if it worked prior its tuff to say. Best I can do without knowing more.

 

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Water Heater

I can’t get my water heater to work on electric. Brand new 303RLS. I don’t see an outside switch anywhere. The inside switch is on and lit. Hot works very well on propane. Where is the outside switch? Thanks.

We had the same issue! Turned on the water heater using electric and the light on the control panel would come on but then after about a minute it would go out. Finally gave up on electric and turned on the propane and it worked fine for our trip. Had the dealer look at it when we returned and they narrowed it down to a circuit board near the water tank. He said there was a recall on the boards and swapped the board out in five minutes. Has worked fine ever since.