Hot Water Heater Burner Removal??

All,

I burned up the electric element in my SW6DE Suburban hot water heater by leaving the switch on with no water (bonehead move I know).

I got the replacement part and set to work but realize I need to remove the burner tube in order to get the old element out. I see a nut on the "flame side" that will need to come off in order to get that end out of the burn area.

But on the inlet side I see what looks to be about a 1/4" nut attached to the manifold tube on one side and the burner tube on the other.

Is the proper procedure to back this nut off? If I do this, will it break off of the manifold tube or is it designed to rotate around the end of this tube (with some kind of gasket in there then for sealing or something)?

Any help will be appreciated.

Mac

P.S. in an attempt to dump endless money into our trailer, we're about to replace our side AC unit too...

A boat is called a hole in the water into which you pour money. An RV is a land-based equivalent! I'm firmly convinced we don't RV with the intent of saving money...

I'll try to be a little more helpful. If you loosen the gas fittings at both ends of the tube going to the burner, it makes it easier to remove the burner tube. There might be a loose orifice in the end of the burner tube. Be careful not to lose it.

Finished the job and have electric water heat again. Some notes of use...

You only need to loosen the nut closet to the burner tube. It loosens right up and you can have the burner out of the way in no time.

The burner is behind the black plastic cap that is held in with three screws. Remove the screws and the cap comes off.

There are only two wires on the burner and my bet is that it doesn't matter where you put them since it's probably just a loop of electricity anyway.

The burner fitting is a 1.5" socket. I found one at Autozone because Lowe's didn't have it. It's the biggest one they sell at Autozone since there aren't many uses for a 1.5" socket.

It took a breaker bar to get enough torque to loosen the burner which looked like original equipment from 8 years ago. It was also a bit tricky keeping pressure on the fitting while turning the burner with the breaker bar as there was not much fitting for the socket to "bite". Keep pressure on the fitting or it will slip off easily.

Overall, once you have the tools and parts, it was a really easy change. Cost about $25 for the part and $7 for the socket.