I just replaced mine today. It was pretty easy. My element is on the inside under the kitchen cabinet, so it was a bit of a squeeze. I first drained the water heater, then I took some 1/4" OD clear tubing and siphoned the rest of the water out. I bought a 1 1/2" socket from lowes and used that to loosen the old element and then installed an tightened the new element. No water came out at all because I had siphoned it out already. I flushed the tank while I had the drain plug out. Entire process less than 30 min. I also had the high pitched noise coming from the circuit board. I fixed that by replacing the cheap chinese made board with the American made Dinosaur Electric one.
Hey Bill! Didn’t have a failing element but just wanted to stay ahead of any fail issue, so, I replaced mine, (same as yours) and bought a back up on have on hand. I emptied the ENTIRE tank with NO water spillage other than a couple drops soaked up by a towel removing the heating element by putting aquarium air tubing into outside main drain and in the bypass line inside and hooked up to small pond pump after priming, and did fine.
If you have to do the element again in your rv or in another person's then after you drain it initially, reinstall drain plug thread a 2 to 3 inch niple into the thermal relief valve, clamp a hose from shop vac to it, lift lever on relief to open then with the shop vac running you can pull the old element and install the new one without a mess
Thanks! I was trying to find the electric heating element on mine. Like you, I'm hoping I can wait on it. I don't have anywhere near the clearance you do. I can barely SEE the relay box, much less access it. I did read someone suggesting blowing out the water. That's probably a good first step before trying to get it with a shop vac.
Yesterday I was going to replace my element in my Atwood (Domestic) RV Hot Water Heater. Like you I couldn't find the element on the outside. Finally found my Instruction Book that shows the element on the inside. Thank goodness for you video; and like you I will wait till it goes.
I did mine today, sucked the tank dry with a shop vac and clear tubing then remove the 2 wires on the element, then remove the plastic junction box by removing two 3/8" nuts on the sides, lay it out of the way and remove element with socket. I placed rags and a cashew container cut off low to catch any residual water.
Thanks for the heads up Bill....we have gas and electric!!! We own a site at a camp ground and we have a clubhouse with showers, so my hot water tank is on bypass and empty for last 3-4 years. Well now my wife decides she wants to shower in camper, so was gonna get new element and rods so was new and no problems!!!! Couldn't find videos of how to change Atwood element, now I know why lol!!!! Mine is under the rear bunk bed so might not be to bad, but think I'll be cooking the water with gas 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm at a point of resealing many of my exterior gaskets. So, I think you for showing where this is. It is shown in my manual, but not well labeled. I also need to clean all of the connections, so yanking it makes sense at this point. Thank you.
This is a helpful video, thank you. I've bookmarked this one. A helpful tip for you. I dry winterize my trailer using 50psi from my air compressor. I can blow out all the water in my W/H out the drain port. That's a lot easier to do than what you suggested in the video. I have a 16" hose, with a valve on the end, connected to the drain port. I pressurize both the water system and empty tank, then open that valve, and all the water gets blown out. Also, mine has sung since it was new. I learned the circuit board gives off a high pitch sound. Spoke to Atwood about this and they said that's normal. Not sure if that's your issue or not. Thanks again.
Yep, found out later it was the circuit board. Still singing years later! For winterizing, I blow out the lines but still run a little pink thru the pump from a suction line just before it to the closest outlet just because I'm not 100% sure blowing gets all the water out of the pump or not.
Thanks for a good info that is what I had to do pull out the water heater from outside and change the element , that was a good idea because the stuff that comes out of the bottom is just nasty chunks of calcified water and rust, also that way you can flush the tank real well.
Boy I sure like the. access that you have there !! The way it's setup pulling it out wouldn't be that big a deal. I agree that the design is suspect though. Heck my whole RV is suspect
I had to pull my water heater out a few months ago, I wish I had known the element was on the inside at the time, I sure would have changed it then cause I have no access from the inside, and it need changed before next trip.
Get a piece of 1/2 hose stick it in the drain hole attach that to your water vacuum. Make sure the hose is aimed to the bottom of the tank you can suck out the rest.
Very helpful. I'm getting some confusing results from G16-EXT. Somehow with both the switches down (propane/electric wall switches) my water is being heated... but irregularly. It made me wonder which if I should be flicking the switches up or down to turn on the heater. Up on the propane starts the burner... it's driving me nuts.
I usually tilt my trailer using leveling blocks to let as much water out of the tank when winterizing. Perhaps this could be done to help with the element change as well.
You have way more room than I did. I ended up just pulling the whole water heater out. I just had a leak under the water heater and I am pretty sure it was right there. I will be putting a new element in just because I don't want to do that again. Ended up my element was a 91160 and I will be putting a 92249 in.
I have an Atwood water heater in my fifth wheel they say the element is in the back and not on the outside I cannot find mine on the outside or the inside where could it be?
Its got to be on inside inside black electrical box. Look for wires going into it. I think they are all 1 1/2 inch hex. As other in comments said, siphon out water thru drain using flexible line after draining and no water comes out.
You should just take it out to replace the heating element. Making a big deal out of zipping out a few screws, cleaning off some old sealant, and applying new. Ya, it's a 2 hour job but it's not that big of a deal
Did you ever take the heating element out, or find a verdict to why the electric heat will not work? I have the same issue, so I'm curious. I'm changing the ECO and Thermostat, since it's only $10, but I'm pretty sure that the heating element is old. Also, will a regular wrench work to remove it, or will you need one of those hex keys/wrenches to remove it? thanks
Having same problem, checked heating element for olm, reading 25 to much resistance indicating element is bad. the only way I can change that is by pulling the unit to change element. OLM reading should be no more than 10 OLMs.
gabe deal I fixed it. After trouble shooting several connection pints, everything pointed to the heating element, so I changed it and it works on both electric and gas. 2005 Itasca Sunrise 35A. When on electric 12VDC goes to a DC Relay that triggers the 120VAC to element via the YELLOW wire from circuit board Troubleshooting -DC Relay/element are on backside of water heater tank under the protective cover. -DC Relay AC wires......melted/broken is common fail point. -Ground wire connection is to a stud on tank...common fail point. Element... -Open the 120VAC Circuit Breaker for element. Voltmeter continuity tests. -Remove Black & White wires..test for continuity between the 2 terminals. NO continuity....element BAD Test for continuity between White wire terminal and element flange Got Continuity..element shorted. Why do you need to pull the unit? What model Rig do you have? Typically you can get to them. Either opening a slide out and unscrewing the sidewall, or having your water heater inside like this video, with full access.
@@gabedeal5807 I was able to get to it, and change it without pulling it out. was a tight space, but they give just enough room. I purchased a Camco socket from amazon ($14) that worked perfect for my Atwood. 1/2 socket drive. What kind of RV do you have?
@@gabedeal5807 good video to easily test the continuity of the heater. th-cam.com/video/xu9EqCPmLOk/w-d-xo.html he also has a few other informative videos.
Dometic is notorious for terribly designed products. My guess is this is an intentional design so once you pull the whole unit out you just end up buying a new one. If you ever pull it out I would put a tankless unit in
It was almost a low whistle. Very clearly audible when on electric, none when on gas. I think its caused by localized bubbling around an old corroded heating element, not air escaping. You could hear it was inside the tank and not at the pressure releif valve.
@@billmonroe7328 But,...you didn't mention if that 'singing', was heard while you're inside the RV, at the kitchen faucets, or outside, next to the water heater. Also, i'm new to Rv's, but in my case i need to know how to test the heater on/off toggle switch, in the kitchen, as it fells loose,, so possible heater isn't getting a solid electrical current. Thanks.
My God some people make everything more difficult then it is. first off your by pass vales are in the wrong places while your hear fix that problem by rearrange those lines so there out of the way and next time you'll just have to turn off those valves and it wont leak next time . think ahead.
Get the car keys out of your ears. You can do whatever you want to "think ahead", but the first time you take that bypass off in order to be able to think ahead and reroute it, you have to deal with the fact that the bypass lower inlet is well below the outside drain and the heating element is even further below the outlet, so rerouting outlet only solves a small part of the water problem. The big one is when you pull element out which is the lowest (and largest) hole on the whole darned heater. If you have a way to take the element out without getting water all over I am all ears. Best I could figure is to use a shop vac hooked up to a bent hose, stuck it in drain and worked it around until most the water was out.
This video isn't all that helpful you show where the black box is, that's good but largely digress from there. The black box appears to have a relay of some sort inset into the cover which is not discussed and barely noticeable, as well, you never actually show the heating element which is obscured from view
I just replaced mine today. It was pretty easy. My element is on the inside under the kitchen cabinet, so it was a bit of a squeeze. I first drained the water heater, then I took some 1/4" OD clear tubing and siphoned the rest of the water out. I bought a 1 1/2" socket from lowes and used that to loosen the old element and then installed an tightened the new element. No water came out at all because I had siphoned it out already. I flushed the tank while I had the drain plug out. Entire process less than 30 min. I also had the high pitched noise coming from the circuit board. I fixed that by replacing the cheap chinese made board with the American made Dinosaur Electric one.
Genius!!! 🤓
I'm going to do what you did. 👍🏼
Thank you so much Mike!!! 😁
You siphoned the restnof the water by the drain plig? How do you get it to syphon! With a seringe ?
Hey Bill! Didn’t have a failing element but just wanted to stay ahead of any fail issue,
so, I replaced mine, (same as yours) and bought a back up on have on hand.
I emptied the ENTIRE tank with NO water spillage other than a couple drops
soaked up by a towel removing the heating element by putting aquarium air
tubing into outside main drain and in the bypass line inside and hooked up to
small pond pump after priming, and did fine.
If you have to do the element again in your rv or in another person's then after you drain it initially, reinstall drain plug thread a 2 to 3 inch niple into the thermal relief valve, clamp a hose from shop vac to it, lift lever on relief to open then with the shop vac running you can pull the old element and install the new one without a mess
Nice trick. Thanks.
Thanks! I was trying to find the electric heating element on mine. Like you, I'm hoping I can wait on it. I don't have anywhere near the clearance you do. I can barely SEE the relay box, much less access it.
I did read someone suggesting blowing out the water. That's probably a good first step before trying to get it with a shop vac.
Yesterday I was going to replace my element in my Atwood (Domestic) RV Hot Water Heater. Like you I couldn't find the element on the outside. Finally found my Instruction Book that shows the element on the inside. Thank goodness for you video; and like you I will wait till it goes.
I did mine today, sucked the tank dry with a shop vac and clear tubing then remove the 2 wires on the element, then remove the plastic junction box by removing two 3/8" nuts on the sides, lay it out of the way and remove element with socket. I placed rags and a cashew container cut off low to catch any residual water.
Thanks for the heads up Bill....we have gas and electric!!! We own a site at a camp ground and we have a clubhouse with showers, so my hot water tank is on bypass and empty for last 3-4 years. Well now my wife decides she wants to shower in camper, so was gonna get new element and rods so was new and no problems!!!! Couldn't find videos of how to change Atwood element, now I know why lol!!!! Mine is under the rear bunk bed so might not be to bad, but think I'll be cooking the water with gas 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thanks, that was helpful. I have terrible access to mine. This makes it obvious now, that I will need to pull the whole thing. That's life...
I'm at a point of resealing many of my exterior gaskets. So, I think you for showing where this is. It is shown in my manual, but not well labeled. I also need to clean all of the connections, so yanking it makes sense at this point. Thank you.
This is a helpful video, thank you. I've bookmarked this one. A helpful tip for you. I dry winterize my trailer using 50psi from my air compressor. I can blow out all the water in my W/H out the drain port. That's a lot easier to do than what you suggested in the video. I have a 16" hose, with a valve on the end, connected to the drain port. I pressurize both the water system and empty tank, then open that valve, and all the water gets blown out. Also, mine has sung since it was new. I learned the circuit board gives off a high pitch sound. Spoke to Atwood about this and they said that's normal. Not sure if that's your issue or not. Thanks again.
Yep, found out later it was the circuit board. Still singing years later! For winterizing, I blow out the lines but still run a little pink thru the pump from a suction line just before it to the closest outlet just because I'm not 100% sure blowing gets all the water out of the pump or not.
Thanks for a good info that is what I had to do pull out the water heater from outside and change the element , that was a good idea because the stuff that comes out of the bottom is just nasty chunks of calcified water and rust, also that way you can flush the tank real well.
Boy I sure like the. access that you have there !! The way it's setup pulling it out wouldn't be that big a deal. I agree that the design is suspect though. Heck my whole RV is suspect
It sure seems like it could have been on the outside. I really like the Atwoods other than this.
I had to pull my water heater out a few months ago, I wish I had known the element was on the inside at the time, I sure would have changed it then cause I have no access from the inside, and it need changed before next trip.
Get a piece of 1/2 hose stick it in the drain hole attach that to your water vacuum. Make sure the hose is aimed to the bottom of the tank you can suck out the rest.
Yeah can you just siphon it out?
Very helpful. I'm getting some confusing results from G16-EXT. Somehow with both the switches down (propane/electric wall switches) my water is being heated... but irregularly. It made me wonder which if I should be flicking the switches up or down to turn on the heater. Up on the propane starts the burner... it's driving me nuts.
I usually tilt my trailer using leveling blocks to let as much water out of the tank when winterizing. Perhaps this could be done to help with the element change as well.
Others have said using a shop vac and plastic tube you can suck almost all the water out.
Thanks you saved me a bunch of time.
Exactly what I needed, thanks.
Where is the on off switch? I can't find it anywhere
You have way more room than I did. I ended up just pulling the whole water heater out. I just had a leak under the water heater and I am pretty sure it was right there. I will be putting a new element in just because I don't want to do that again. Ended up my element was a 91160 and I will be putting a 92249 in.
The model number for my water heater is GC6AA-10E
Get video, very informative, 5 stars!
Thanks. I have been looking for a video like this.
Mine was making noise while outside next to the water heater, i changed the control board, and whala electric side irks now also
What tool did all you guys use ?
I have an Atwood water heater in my fifth wheel they say the element is in the back and not on the outside I cannot find mine on the outside or the inside where could it be?
Its got to be on inside inside black electrical box. Look for wires going into it. I think they are all 1 1/2 inch hex. As other in comments said, siphon out water thru drain using flexible line after draining and no water comes out.
Thanks for the good news, bad news! I can only get one hand under my cabinet to service this unit ! ugh
I have a 2015 thor 34J. Forget doing it without taking it out of the RV...
My next RV WILL NOT have a Atwood/ Dometic water heater!!!
Where is the switch to go to electric on yours? I'm everyone's is on there's mine isnt....
My switch for electric or gas is on my rv panel with the water tank levels. Note that some heaters are gas only.
You should just take it out to replace the heating element. Making a big deal out of zipping out a few screws, cleaning off some old sealant, and applying new. Ya, it's a 2 hour job but it's not that big of a deal
Did you ever take the heating element out, or find a verdict to why the electric heat will not work? I have the same issue, so I'm curious. I'm changing the ECO and Thermostat, since it's only $10, but I'm pretty sure that the heating element is old. Also, will a regular wrench work to remove it, or will you need one of those hex keys/wrenches to remove it? thanks
Having same problem, checked heating element for olm, reading 25 to much resistance indicating element is bad. the only way I can change that is by pulling the unit to change element. OLM reading should be no more than 10 OLMs.
gabe deal I fixed it. After trouble shooting several connection pints, everything pointed to the heating element, so I changed it and it works on both electric and gas. 2005 Itasca Sunrise 35A.
When on electric 12VDC goes to a DC Relay that triggers the 120VAC to element via the YELLOW wire from circuit board
Troubleshooting
-DC Relay/element are on backside of water heater tank under the protective cover.
-DC Relay AC wires......melted/broken is common fail point.
-Ground wire connection is to a stud on tank...common fail point.
Element...
-Open the 120VAC Circuit Breaker for element.
Voltmeter continuity tests.
-Remove Black & White wires..test for continuity between the 2 terminals.
NO continuity....element BAD
Test for continuity between White wire terminal and element flange
Got Continuity..element shorted.
Why do you need to pull the unit? What model Rig do you have? Typically you can get to them. Either opening a slide out and unscrewing the sidewall, or having your water heater inside like this video, with full access.
@@philipmontera3092 Thanks, did you have to pull tank or able to change it without pulling it.
@@gabedeal5807 I was able to get to it, and change it without pulling it out. was a tight space, but they give just enough room. I purchased a Camco socket from amazon ($14) that worked perfect for my Atwood. 1/2 socket drive. What kind of RV do you have?
@@gabedeal5807 good video to easily test the continuity of the heater. th-cam.com/video/xu9EqCPmLOk/w-d-xo.html he also has a few other informative videos.
Make sure you have enough room to get the element out ask me how I know lol
How?
Thank you for posting. Ugh. 😢
Read some of the other comments....others came up with ways to suck most water out with a shop vac before changing.
Dometic is notorious for terribly designed products. My guess is this is an intentional design so once you pull the whole unit out you just end up buying a new one. If you ever pull it out I would put a tankless unit in
When you. Say singing are you talking about a low tone beep
It was almost a low whistle. Very clearly audible when on electric, none when on gas. I think its caused by localized bubbling around an old corroded heating element, not air escaping. You could hear it was inside the tank and not at the pressure releif valve.
@@billmonroe7328 But,...you didn't mention if that 'singing', was heard while you're inside the RV, at the kitchen faucets, or outside, next to the water heater.
Also, i'm new to Rv's, but in my case i need to know how to test the heater on/off toggle switch, in the kitchen, as it fells loose,, so possible heater isn't getting a solid electrical current.
Thanks.
Just remove the check valve and stick a harbor freight $10 hand pump hose and suck the water out
My God some people make everything more difficult then it is. first off your by pass vales are in the wrong places while your hear fix that problem by rearrange those lines so there out of the way and next time you'll just have to turn off those valves and it wont leak next time . think ahead.
Get the car keys out of your ears. You can do whatever you want to "think ahead", but the first time you take that bypass off in order to be able to think ahead and reroute it, you have to deal with the fact that the bypass lower inlet is well below the outside drain and the heating element is even further below the outlet, so rerouting outlet only solves a small part of the water problem. The big one is when you pull element out which is the lowest (and largest) hole on the whole darned heater. If you have a way to take the element out without getting water all over I am all ears. Best I could figure is to use a shop vac hooked up to a bent hose, stuck it in drain and worked it around until most the water was out.
Talks the hole video does nothing
Purpose was to show where the element was...and I like to talk.
This video isn't all that helpful you show where the black box is, that's good but largely digress from there. The black box appears to have a relay of some sort inset into the cover which is not discussed and barely noticeable, as well, you never actually show the heating element which is obscured from view