Water Heater is leaking externally.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Rene T

Rene T

Site Team
Joined
May 20, 2011
Posts
22,412
Location
Farmington NH
My neighbor has an issue with his heater. It's a Suburban Model SW6DE.  There is water slowly by steadily flowing out of the heater tube. He purchased this RV a few years ago and it looks like the drain plug hasn't been removed for some time because it is really rusted in. I would not attempt to remove it. I'm thinking that there is no anode left (for who knows how long) and that maybe the tank just eroded away because of that. Does that sound right or could it be something else?
 
If he has water running out its toast.  Have him start looking online for a replacement.  Their not hard to change, maybe 2 hours tops.  Much cheaper to find one online then spend way more at CW or some similar over priced dealer.
 
Probably toast, but is the "heater tube" the drain/anode plug, or some other component?  If its the plug, then is water seeping around it, or through the tank wall adjacent to it?  In any case, there may be little to lose by attempting removal if it is already leaking.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Probably toast, but is the "heater tube" the drain/anode plug, or some other component?  If its the plug, then is water seeping around it, or through the tank wall adjacent to it?  In any case, there may be little to lose by attempting removal if it is already leaking.
Click to expand...

No Gary. The drain plug is dry. It is coming from inside the combustion pipe for sure.
 
IF the water is coming out the pipe where the flame goes in.. Bypass it Order a new tank kit and have tons of fun replacing the tank

Or if you have more money than skill Order a whole new water heater  Way easier to replace the whole thing for the DIY Types like me.. But .. Well.. I did the tank.

I have not done a surburan.
 
Mr. Rainy,

I have been trying to give away that very model hot water heater.

However I do not think it is worth sending it to Florida or New Hampshire.

I think it was just a few hundred dollars thru PPL in Houston.

It was working fine when I replaced it because my Aunt who I gave the Motor home to thought it was bad.  It was only a fitting that needed tightening.  I went ahead and replaced it rather than dealing with a return.

I would be real surprised if it did not work fine.

I am in AZ but ask your friend if they have someone in the LA area of California, (Corona) to pick it up and they can have it for free.

 

Attachments

  • 004_1.jpg
    004_1.jpg
    328.7 KB · Views: 15
  • 005_1.jpg
    005_1.jpg
    331.6 KB · Views: 11
  • 006_2.jpg
    006_2.jpg
    252.5 KB · Views: 11
  • 003_1.jpg
    003_1.jpg
    260.6 KB · Views: 13
OK, got it. There is no water in the burner tube, of course, but likely there is a crack or pinhole in the tank above it.  Sounds like the gas burner maybe was left on while the tank was empty. In any case, it's toast.  Can't weld the glass-lined Suburban tank. I've not seen a replacement tank for a Suburban either - maybe not user replaceable like the Atwood?

There is a YouTube video on replacing that model heater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY-rHSulMps
 
After all this time, I always thought that the Atwood heaters were lined and didn't require the sacrificial anode and I though the Suburban were not lined requiring the anode thinking the anode would get eroded away instead of the tank. Guess not.
 
Atwood are lined sSububan with anoderod are not. I might be wrong but don't think suburban made a lined tank for rv's
 
This is out of a Suburban manual:

A. Glass-lined Tank
The steel, glass-lined tanks provide long life under varying water conditions. This same construction
is what is used for more than 7 million residential water heaters sold annually. The baked-on enamel
process reaches temperatures in excess of 1600?F. Three (3) year tank warranty, replaceable anode
rod, high output, fast recovery, gas connection supplied, foam jacket on all gaslelectric models.
B. Anode Protection - Water Heater
Each Suburban water heater is equipped with a replaceable anode rod. The sacrificial anode
equalizes aggressive water action providing cathodic protection for the tank. The anode rod is a very
important factor in tank life and should only be removed for inspection of draining. Replacement of
the anode rod is recommended when consumption or weight loss is greater than 75%. With regular
inspection and replacement of the anode (part number 231419), tank life can be greatly extended.
Frequency of anode replacement will vary depending on the water conditions and usage.

I don't know what Atwood does to stop the corrosion of the tank.

Update: I may have just answered my question. Suburban has a steel tank and they line it because of that and maybe Atwood uses a aluminum tank which may not corrode like steel would.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,042 (members: 22, guests: 1,020)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,925
Posts
1,387,606
Members
137,675
Latest member
ozgal
Back
Top Bottom