Electric problems

[Rasmussen Family]

Want to know if electric water heater will work if connected to 30 amp service. Have reflection 150. 273 with 50 amp setup. Thanks Neal

[Country Campers]

Want to know if electric water heater will work if connected to 30 amp service. Have reflection 150. 273 with 50 amp setup. Thanks Neal

Neal

Yes the water heater will work on electric with a 30 amp service. I have used it on a 20 amp service. The only issue is to remember not to have too many items on at the same time. The water heater draws a lot of amps and if it calls for heat while you are running the microwave then you may trip the 30 amp breaker at the pole.

Brain

[Cate&Rob]

Want to know if electric water heater will work if connected to 30 amp service. Have reflection 150. 273 with 50 amp setup. Thanks Neal

Hi Neal,
Welcome to our owners technical forum.

All "shore power" things in your Reflection operate on 120V. With a "50A" setup, you actually have 50A at 240V which is divided into two circuits providing you with 100A at 120V. When connected to a 30A service this is at 120V . . . so you have about 1/3 of the power available on a 50A service. All this to say that your water heater will work just fine on a 30A service, but it will draw about 10A, leaving much less power available for other things, than you would normally have with a 50A connection.

Rob

[Rasmussen Family]

Thanks all for your opinions. Water heater works great on propane but not electric. Looks like I have some investigating to do to see if something is blown on the electric side. Thanks again Neal

[TucsonJim]

Neal - Is it an Atwood or Suburban water heater.

A couple of things to check right away.

1. Make sure the water heater breaker isn't turned off or tripped. It's in the main electrical panel.
2. Some water heaters (Suburban I think) have a switch not only in the coach, but a second one actually on the water heater itself. And that switch on the water heater can sometimes be hidden pretty good behind other items. If it's turned off, the water heater will still function on gas, but not electric.

Jim

[Lonestar]

There is no chance you possibly turned on the water heater in electric mode while the tank had no water in it?? It will destroy the heating element almost immediately. I've burned a couple of them up through the years.

As mentioned above, first thing is to make sure you have 120 volts AC at the heater.

[Cate&Rob]

Rasmussen Family
This could be as simple as the water heater not plugged in. Some dealers unplug the water heater when they winterize the plumbing system to make sure the electric heating element is not turned on inside an empty water heater. Look behind the water heater for a regular 120V outlet and a cord and plug from the water heater.

Rob