Water heater not heating on electric

[cpa0912]

Hi everyone,
When my water heater runs in gas it gets nice and hot. But when I run on electric it only gets warm. Only really used it 2-3 times on electric since we really only boondocks. Any ideas what could be wrong or is this normal?

[norty1]

Not normal. Could be a thermostat that is loose on the hw tank.

[RedHorse1]

Heating element may be bad.

[cpa0912]

Gas & electric has separate elements?

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by cpa0912

Gas & electric has separate elements?

Yep, two different heating systems.

I know you say it only gets slightly warm, but I would check the easy things first.

Check the 120 volt breaker, turn it off than back on.
Double check that your bypass valves are turn to the correct possitions, especially check the bypass valve is closed.

Now things get harder; and a multimeter would be helpful.
There is not alot you can check on the circuit board as it has been potted to ensure it is weather resistant.
Check the thermal fuse, it's the little wire that is in a little plastic protective tube.
Check the voltage to heating element.
Check for continuity across the heating element and thermastat. However, both modes propane and electric use the the same thermastat.

Good luck.

[JFlightRisk]

Also, after you turn it on electric, how long do you wait before turning on for hot water? The electric side takes a while longer than gas to get to full temp.

[hoppers4]

My Suburban water heater has two thermostats. One for the propane side and one for the electric side. It could be a bad thermostat.

[norty1]

Mine is Suburban.

Here is a video on Atwood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYzqP2BFrMk

[cpa0912]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Yep, two different heating systems.



I know you say it only gets slightly warm, but I would check the easy things first.



Check the 120 volt breaker, turn it off than back on.

Double check that your bypass valves are turn to the correct possitions, especially check the bypass valve is closed.



Now things get harder; and a multimeter would be helpful.

There is not alot you can check on the circuit board as it has been potted to ensure it is weather resistant.

Check the thermal fuse, it's the little wire that is in a little plastic protective tube.

Check the voltage to heating element.

Check for continuity across the heating element and thermastat. However, both modes propane and electric use the the same thermastat.



Good luck.

Thanks will check all those items.

[cpa0912]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

Also, after you turn it on electric, how long do you wait before turning on for hot water? The electric side takes a while longer than gas to get to full temp.

Yesterday I had it on for about 30-40 min when I came back to check it was warm. Not steaming like on gas.