Electric connections & Post install
-> The 12v connections take a bit of research and planning. I doubt if every PC is wired the same so invest some time to understand the old connections and the switch wiring to get this right on the suburban. Also... I have no idea why the PC has a black and white white for the ground. I just reused it as-is.
I traced the yellow-red-blue 12v wires back to the 2 switches under the sink to verify and the colors were as follows:
PC electric switch = yellow wire
PC gas switch = red wire
PC indicator light = blue wire
... And this led me to the following connections (pic) :
Atwood PC Wires Suburban
White Yellow Orange (electric)
Orange Red Red (gas)
Blue Blue Blue (indicator light)
Green White&Black Green (ground)
]Also, for some reason the new Suburban blue wire wanders around the water heater and through 2 brackets for no reason and is too short (pic). I pulled it out of the brackets and gained a lot of wire,,, enough to cut off extra.
-> This is an important one. The suburban has an outside master power switch. When I got ready to try it the WH for the first time, I turned on the 120V breaker and then pressed the propane switch to test if it would light .... Nothing happened. What?!?! I then tried the electric switch and waited. Again... Nothing happened. (more choice words, but at least no scratched knuckles). It then occured me that the master switch was off. I turned it on and the burner ignited on the 2nd try. Yay. It also heated up on electricity. double yay. It also heats up quicker with both on... Just like the Atwood did. Time to celebrate.
-> Another important point to highlight. The behavior of the red indicator light between the gas and electric switch is different. It comes on immediately when you turn on the gas switch. It goes off when the burner is ignited. If you leave the gas switch on and the water reaches the "hot" limit the burner then goes off. When the water cools down and needs heating, the red light will come on for a few seconds while the burner is lighting. If the burner fails to ignite, then the red light stays on. On the Atwood I only saw the red light when there was a problem... We're used to the light ONLY being on when there is a problem. With the suburban the red light comes on when the water is cold and the propane burner has not lit yet.
-> About 3 years ago I had replaced the thermostat on the Atwood with a 3rd party variable temp version,,, because I was tired of burning my hands. I can't find a variable thermostat for this suburban. Darn, back to burning myself until I can find a compatible variable temp thermostat.
-> Now to the plumbing advice... I saved this one for the end as it turned out to be the most troublesome.
###THROW AWAY THE OLD PLASTIC ELBOWS FOR THE HOT AND COLD WATER CONNECTIONS AND REPLACE THEM WITH HIGH QUALITY BRASS.###
One of mine was in bad shape; the other not so bad. I tried re-using the better one, but it leaked immediately. This leak took weeks to fix and delayed this writeup. I'm still not sure if the brass elbows were also damaged, poorly made, or if the water heater hot port was defective,,,, or some combination of defects. I tried using a lot of white silicon tape, no help. It leaked immediately. I added Tplus2 plumbers goop and it no longer leaked with normal water pressure (40psi), but it started leaking as soon the water heater was hot. (I learned this while living in my PC after the hurricane and had to dry out the floor covertly because the RV park had a strict NO REPAIRS rule!). I then tried 2 more new brass elbows (each a different brand, ranging from $7 to $17. ) and finally one of them snugged down well. Of course, the one that worked the best was the most expensive. However, it still leaked a tiny amount (at the rate of 1 or 2 drops in 4 to 5 hours) when hot. After a lot of research and talking to a commercial plumber, I found a better kind of plumbers goop called TRU BLU (pic) that is designed for long hot connections with vibrations. I put a heat gun on it for 10 minutes and then let it set for 24 hours.
..... Finally. Success. No more leak. And STILL No Leak after camping for a week. Happy dance.
-> One of last things to do was to reattach the original door on the outside using the provided new clips. The old clips are too short since the inner bracket moved a bit, so be sure to use the new clips that come with the suburban. With a bit of pressure they line up the door with the opening and the latch,,, it looks perfect. (pic).
After about a month in Texas heat I found that the Butyl tape had oozed out of every corner and edge and the outside cover was sticking. I probably used too much Butyl, but that was better than not enough. I cleaned up the extra with a putty knife and it looks great now and the cover works perfectly. I've washed my PC a few times and survived another tropical storm and there are no leaks getting past the Butyl.
-> This Suburban draws 12 amps on 120v. The Atwood only drew 9 amps. I could run my 15k btu AC (with a SoftStart) and Atwood (and convertor, fridge, water pump, lights etc) at the same time. Now the WH, A/C and DC convertor together usually pop the 30amp camp post breaker if they are not the only things running. I'm thinking about adding a resistor to bring the 120v amps back down enough to keep it at 10 amps. Or changing the heating element... Or something. I'll work on this idea over winter when I have time to do research.
In summary...
Overall, I'm glad the new water heater is in place as cold showers are no fun. It was a lot of work, but it worth it. I can see a lot of pits in the old aluminum Atwood tank so it was only a matter of time before I had a big leak. I'm glad I discovered the tiny leak and didn't wait for a mess and major floor damage.
This new Suburban has a steel tank that is glass lined... Which makes it heavier, but it should last longer. I think the water out of it smells & tastes better too. I can make tea with this new WH,,, whereas the old [aluminum] one created nasty tasting and smelling tea.
I wish I had measured how loud the Atwood was while heating on gas to be able to compare, because this new one is almost silent inside the PC. Since I don't trust it and the indicator light yet,,, I have to step outside to know if the burner is lit.
I do have an anode rod to change annually now,,, but I can deal with that. And since this "fits" where the Atwood was and I can continue to use the original exterior door, I feel it is a win win,,, but plagued with a cumbersome/challenging installation.
Larry
