The question I have is directly related to the InCommand system AND my water heater,,

Since getting our "20" we have always used the water heater on BOTH gas and electric, that is until our last outing. We used only electric, and low and behold, the heater would NOT work on electric..
The Redwood is at the dealer for a small list of warranty items with the water heater being 1 of them.. They reported to me that the heater was partially unplugged from the electric socket causing it to not operate on electric?? I have NOT looked at it yet but all my other water heaters had a hard wire run to the breaker box.. They ALSO told me that I needed to flip the rocker switch to "ON" that on the OUTSIDE of the water heater.??

Even on my "16" Redwood, i never had to touch that switch?

I was always under the assumption that the switch was an alternate switch ONly???

The question I have is directly related to the InCommand system AND my water heater,,

Since getting our "20" we have always used the water heater on BOTH gas and electric, that is until our last outing. We used only electric, and low and behold, the heater would NOT work on electric..
The Redwood is at the dealer for a small list of warranty items with the water heater being 1 of them.. They reported to me that the heater was partially unplugged from the electric socket causing it to not operate on electric?? I have NOT looked at it yet but all my other water heaters had a hard wire run to the breaker box.. They ALSO told me that I needed to flip the rocker switch to "ON" that on the OUTSIDE of the water heater.??

Even on my "16" Redwood, i never had to touch that switch?

I was always under the assumption that the switch was an alternate switch ONly???

Hi Joe,

I don't know how much help that I can be but I will try. My Redwood is a 2019. I have the InCommand system. I just go to the command board inside the trailer and go to the main page that is after the security screen. At the top of the screen there is the icons and at bottom of the screen there is a row of words. I chick on water heater and another screen comes up with choices. Electric, gas, or both. I just press on electric and I am all set for hot water. I hope this helps a little. Sorry, but I can't tell you if the hot water tank is hard wired to the fuse box or not.

Al

Thanks Al,

That is exactly what I do now... The fear is that IF I leave that rocker " ON", that it will energize the heater....

I think that I will have to call the mfg of the heater once I get the RV back home this weekend..

Thanks Al,

That is exactly what I do now... The fear is that IF I leave that rocker " ON", that it will energize the heater....

I think that I will have to call the mfg of the heater once I get the RV back home this weekend..

Hi Joe,

I will have to look at my hot water tank for this rocker switch.

Al

If you have the standard Suburban 12 Gal Hot Water Heater, there is a small Black Rocker Switch in the lower Left corner on the front of the unit. 120 VAC passes thru that switch before it goes to the T'stat/High Limit switch and then to the AC Element.
So yes that switch needs to be on before the unit will operate on AC.
If you drain the heater, it is advisable to turn off that switch to avoid possibly energizing the heater and burning out the dry element.

If you have the standard Suburban 12 Gal Hot Water Heater, there is a small Black Rocker Switch in the lower Left corner on the front of the unit. 120 VAC passes thru that switch before it goes to the T'stat/High Limit switch and then to the AC Element.
So yes that switch needs to be on before the unit will operate on AC.
If you drain the heater, it is advisable to turn off that switch to avoid possibly energizing the heater and burning out the dry element.

Hi mhs,

Thank you for the tip. I did find the rocker switch.

Al

If you have the standard Suburban 12 Gal Hot Water Heater, there is a small Black Rocker Switch in the lower Left corner on the front of the unit. 120 VAC passes thru that switch before it goes to the T'stat/High Limit switch and then to the AC Element.
So yes that switch needs to be on before the unit will operate on AC.
If you drain the heater, it is advisable to turn off that switch to avoid possibly energizing the heater and burning out the dry element.

I have never had to turn on that rocker, ever... At 1 point I had an RV tech that I knew doing some stuff next door and we wee chatting... He stated that the outside rocker was a secondary ON-OFF switch that RV techs could use when repairing WH without going inside the RV,??

He said that the water heater would work as promised with that switch off..

On my "15" all i ever did was flip the RED ROCKER inside to "ON", and I necer messed with the outside rocker..

I guess that when I flush all the pink stuff in April, i will have to mess with it to see. ..

Your RV Tech was correct. That switch is wired in series with the switch inside the coach. Both switches have to be on in order for the water heater to operate. The switch at the water heater allows it to be disabled outside so the water heater can be serviced. The reason yours always worked was that it just happened to be turned on so you never needed to touch it!

Your RV Tech was correct. That switch is wired in series with the switch inside the coach. Both switches have to be on in order for the water heater to operate. The switch at the water heater allows it to be disabled outside so the water heater can be serviced. The reason yours always worked was that it just happened to be turned on so you never needed to touch it!

No Guy,,,, mine was always OFF.... When I get it back I will dog the paperwork out and give a call.... very curious now..

AC Wiring diagram attached

Joe, if you were just looking at the switch at the water heater it would appear to be off, they mount the switch upside down so it doesn't get bumped "off", at least my last 2 RVs were.