Suburban HW Heater Issues

[Smith98132]

So I have a question for all of you that are way more knowledgeable than I am. Last night just before cleaning the kitchen, our GFCI tripped. I read online that these can trip due to Phantom issues so I wasn't worried, reset it, and went about cleaning the kitchen. About 2 minutes later, while my daughter was on the phone in the bunk room (we have a 390 MBL) she heard a "fizzle" sound and a pop coming from the breaker box. Opened it up, and the breaker for the hot water heater was tripped. There was also a smell like burning wire insulation. So, obviously, there's something going on with the 120 going to the hot water heater. The water heater that we have is the Suburban 12 gallon. I switched it off of 120 and started it on 12 volt thinking that if there was an issue with the 120, then I just wouldn't use the 120... It seems to be working just fine on 12 volt. I understand that this is just a short term fix, but since we are still in need of hot water, I'd like some advice on what could be the issue that we're having.

I read other's comments about their problems with their hot water heater, but could find a problem that sounded like this one. I've already called the dealer and got the standard "if can bring it in, we'll check it out, but there is a waiting list" response. That's not an option at this point, so, I figured I would ask to see if someone could help me out before Monday when I plan on calling in to Heartland Customer Service to see what they could tell me about this issue.

 

[boatto5er]

You may have a loose wire behind the circuit breaker. Easy to check and fix if you are comfortable around electrical panels. Make sure you are disconnected from shore power if you decide to check that.


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[danemayer]

Hi Smith98132,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

While there's nothing wrong with running the water heater on propane for an extended period, electrical problems where you smell burning insulation do require immediate investigation.

Normally when you trip a breaker, you don't hear a "fizzle" sound and smell burning insulation at the breaker box. That might indicate a loose wire at the back of the circuit breaker. A loose wire doesn't conduct well and might lead to a voltage drop, excess heat (burning the insulation), and eventually a tripped breaker as it tries to supply the water heater with enough power.

If you're comfortable working on electrical components, unplug from shore power and pull the breaker box away from the wall to inspect the back of the circuit breaker. If you find any discolored insulation/wire, it'll probably need to be cut back before reconnecting to the breaker. Also check the row of white wires (neutrals) that are on a separate buss to make sure they're all tight.

You'll also need to check the campground power pedestal with a volt meter to make sure you don't have any problems with the power coming into the rig. Check the shore power connection at the trailer to ensure it's tight and the connections are not discolored.

There's a remote possibility that the junction box on the water heater has a problem, but that might be harder to get to. Check the easy stuff first.

If you're not comfortable working on electrical components, you might check with the campground to see if they can recommend a mobile servicer with the right skill set. If you're under warranty, just ask Heartland to authorize the use of mobile service before getting the work done. They're usually pretty flexible. You'll have to pay the travel time charge, but that's often a good trade off compared to breaking camp, towing back and forth to the dealer twice, and waiting on the dealer.

 

[Smith98132]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll try these things out and let you know what I come up with.

Follow up question, does it make sense that the GFCI would trip?

 

[danemayer]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll try these things out and let you know what I come up with.

Follow up question, does it make sense that the GFCI would trip?

The GFCI trip may or may not be related.

If you have a loose connection where shore power plugs into the camper, or a problem at the pedestal, it might account for both problems. The noise and burnt insulation smell at the circuit breaker panel could also account for both, if the problem is loose wiring to the mains on the panel.

If you find damage to just the water heater hot wire at the breaker, I'd guess the problems are unrelated.

 

[JohnDar]

If you look at the labels for your circuit breakers, you should find one for the GFCI and a separate one for the water heater. They should not be on the same breaker. Beyond that, the advice given is about as far as you can go with diagnostics. There isn't a whole lot to the 120V system on the water heater.

 

[Smith98132]

I pulled it apart, the black wire going to the water heater looked like it was the one that had gotten warm. Other than that, I couldn't see anything else wrong. Seeing as how we've been running on the 12 volt for a couple days without any issues, I think when we get to the next stop I'll get a mobile tech to come out and check the water heater itself...

thanks for for your help.