water heater

I removed what I believe is the panel outside for the water heater on/off switch that I've read here as having a cotter pin . I don't see it. I assume it's the first picture, which would be to the far right in the second photo.I'm attaching a few pictures, if anyone can offer an insight I would be grateful. BTW, My inverter is located on the bathroom enclosure, on the other side of the tub. It's pretty darned inconvienent but, the last picture is about a foot over from it. It is ,I think, another satellite TV feed. I don't intend to subscribe but does anyone know what the circular above the coax connector is?

As for the water heater switch - yours appears to be completely different than mine so not sure where the switch is. On mine it is some what hidden behind some tubes, but is very obvious when you look around the tubes.

The round connector you refer to is a 12v plug - accepts a typical cigarette lighter plug that you'll find with most car chargers for phones, GPS units, and other 12v accessories. It is powered directly from the battery when no shorepower is available and through the inverter/converter when plugged in to shore power.

BTW, the plugs by the inverter are on newer models - my 2003 does not have it.
Alan

I think I can see the bottom of the 110 volt switch for the water heater in the 1st photo. On the bottom left, behind the gas line loop, to the left of the round plastic cover (110 volt element ??), I can see the bottom of the (maybe) 110 volt toggle switch.

The switch is in the lower left corner behind all those tubes and wires, you can almost see part of it in you're photo.

Ed

On second look - I think I do see it - now that Digger and mtnguy's sharp eyes located it. For some reason the configuration didn't look right. But now I see it is the same as mine after all. They say the memory is the first thing to go.

[Bill]

The first photo shows the outside of the water heater. As others have stated, the switch for the electric heating element is in the lower left, and in this photo is hidden behind the various pipes.

The second photo shows the upper and lower access panels behind the refrigerator (the pair on the left), and the panel behind the water heater (the single panel on the right).

The third photo shows the indoor switch controlling the gas heating element for the water heater. It is completely independent of the electric switch in the first photo - don't confuse them.

The fourth photo shows the indicator and test light panel for the battery, and fresh and gray water levels. The refrig fan switch is also on this panel.

The fifth photo shows the aux cable TV outlet near the floor next to the bed, along with an aux 12-volt cig lighter outlet. As is true of the coax connector near the refrig, you can get a signal from the TM's rooftop-mounted batwing antenna through this connector, or a signal from the campground cable TV outlet if you are hooked up to it. Satellite TV is not involved unless you bought a satellite dish and satellite TV tuner box. This connector is an electrical copy of the connectors on the panel to the right of the refrigerator.

By the way, I don't think you have an inverter unless you installed one as an aftermarket item. I think you are referring to the factory-installed converter.

Bill

Thanks for all the quick replies. There is no price that could be put on the quality of information and generosity of spirit that I have received from the members of this forum. I thank you all. I did find the on/off. It was on the back wall lower left, behind everything, of the compartment, next to the rubber re set buttons. I could see no place for a cotter pin to inhibit the on/off function, but I'm happy to have found it anyway. It was on off. However, no hot water on shore power. (haven't tried gas) Do these rubber re set buttons have anything to do with it? In the TM, there is the on/off and next to it is a red light marked re set. It,however, doesn't move. When I first turned it on, after making sure as best I could that the hot water heater had water, the light was on. Then it started going on and off. Now it's off. I have no hot water. Am I in hot water?

[Bill]

First, I wouldn't be concerned about the cotter pin. I never saw much use for it, and I "lost" mine almost immediately.

The two Rubber Reset Buttons, each about the size of a quarter and covered with a black rubber membrane, are there to turn off the heat if the thermostat fails, to avoid a steam explosion I guess. You can push each one with your thumb, and if it clicks, you've found something. But it is unusual to have one trip, and I would expect nothing more than a squishy feel as you push.

If you are plugged into shore power, and if you have confirmed that the water heater's circuit breaker is on (the breakers are in the brown panel outside the bathroom near the floor), and if you put water in the heater, and then you turn the electric switch on, you should have hot water in less than 10 minutes. If you don't, then the electric heating element has almost certainly burned out. There was a thread not long ago about how to replace it. Not hard or expensive. The SEARCH tool should bring it up.

As I mentioned earlier, the switch inside by the sink controls the gas part of the heater. When you turn the switch to ON, the red light will come on. This signifies that the unit is trying to light the gas flame (it has an automatic lighter). The light itself does not move, but the switch should rock up and down like any other switch. When the flame lights, the red light will go out. The auto-lighter will try a certain number of times to light the flame - I think three - and if it fails, I think the light will go out, so having the light go out is not definitive. Naturally, there has to be gas in the tanks, and the tanks have to be turned on. Does the stove light (with a match)? Many people, including me, feel that you should always light the stove before trying to light anything else. It clears the air out of the gas line.

If you don't get hot water on gas, then you have a different problem - different from the electric problem. Since the gas heater and the electric heater are not connected in any way, I think it is unlikely that both failed at the same time, but stranger things have happened.

Bill

If the HW heater has not been run on gas for a while, it may take a few tries to light itl as you need to purge the lines. This also holds for the stove and the fridge. Suggest you make yourself a note on the shore power plug to check HW heater switch before plugging in as Bill mentioned. It takes about 5 secs to burn up the heating element if it is turned on without being full of water.

[rotor_wash]

Another way to tell if the 110V element is working is to turn on the fridge fan and then listen for the fan noise to slightly reduce as you turn on the hot water tank switch in the outside compartment. You must of course be on shore power and make sure you have completely filled the hot water heater by running a hot faucet until you get a steady flow. I would also say five seconds to element burn out is a bit on the long end.