Need help with my water heater please! - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

DRGRIFFIN · 07-23-2012, 10:37 AM

Hi all,

Still very new to our HiLo TowLite 2401TD. Can someone please tell me how to work the water heater? We have an Atwood GC6AA-9E water heater. The only switch I have found for it is mounted on a metal box on the back of the water heater. I called Atwood and the tech help said there should be another switch somewhere. I've looked, but I can't find one. When I flip the switch on the water heater, nothing happens. Is someone out there familiar with how this is set up?

RichR · 07-23-2012, 11:16 AM

Does the heater have manual or electric start. If it is manual it has an off,pilot,on control knob, if electric start there is no knob. The switch may be for electric heating of the water, don't turn it on if there is no water in the tank because it will fry the heating element. If you have a manual it would be good to review it. If not, you should be able download one for it from the company's website. Or look here in the forum library:Water heater - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

I also found this:http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/atwoodwaterheater.pdf

RichR · 07-23-2012, 11:25 AM

Sorry, I didn't mention, there should be a switch inside beside the refrigerator, or nearby, that turns the water heater on. If it has both gas and electric modes there should be two switches together, one with a flame symbol to light the gas mode, and one with a lightning bolt to turn on the electric heat element.

Dabbler · 07-23-2012, 11:26 AM

drgriffon:

Am a fairly new HiLo owner, and I have much to learn about my own camper.

However... copy this caption (Atwood GC6AA-9E water heater) from your own post and paste it into your browser, then hit enter.

There is a good amount of information there that may answer your questions concerning firing up your heater. In the dialog between the bloggers you will fined indication leading to a service segment concerning the firing process of the heater and its elements.

I'd read it over very thoroughly, then follow their procedure. You may even want to print out the manual instructions given there, and start building a service manual for yourself. Every bit of information you can copy will be to your advantage in the future.

Best of luck to you...Dabbler

DebW · 07-23-2012, 11:31 AM

On our 96 there is a black rocker switch inside the trailer that you need to turn on and it glows red beneath the switch when the water heater is on and that water heater runs on propane only. In our 2004 the water heater rocker switch is on the control panel where the tank levels are at. We can either use propane or electricity for that one. Hope I didn't confuse you.

DRGRIFFIN · 07-23-2012, 12:33 PM

Thanks for the comments. I finally found the switch! It is on the driver's side near the furnace thermostat, but it is behind the seat cushion. The rocker was set to "on". I switched it to the "off" positon and it fired up and starting heating the water (with propane). Both the switch on the water heater and the remote switch were in the "off" position. I'm guessing that if the electric part is going to work, I will have to place both switches in the on position. We will see. Thanks again!

RichR · 07-23-2012, 02:25 PM

The switches should work independently of each other. You can use gas, or electric , or both at the same time. Gas will heat faster, both faster yet. I usually do the initial heat-up when on shore power with both turned on then turn the gas off. If you will be having high demand usage turn them both on. If there is a light next to the gas switch, that is to tell you that the heater didn't light after three tries. It could be just that the gas isn't into the lines yet. Light the range burners and let them go for a few seconds and then turn the switch on again. Try the electric mode when the water is cold and see if it works. There is probably a breaker for it on the electrical panel.

When you winterize and have the heater drained it is a good idea to turn the breaker off so you don't accidentally turn the electric mode on with an empty tank.

DebW · 07-23-2012, 11:57 PM

Our 1996 doesn't have the electric option for the water heater. Can only be run on propane which is the original water heater. Our 2004 has the electric/propane option. Don't really know when hi-lo started using the propane/electric water heaters. Rich that is so true the water heats much faster with the propane.

retiredcamper47 · 07-24-2012, 06:18 PM

Hi Deb,

My 2001 unit came with the electric/propane water heater. And yes, propane does provide a faster recovery rate than electric. That is also why gas water heaters for the home are usually 40 gallon units and the electric home water heaters are usually 80 gallon units (due to the recovery rate).

Bob

RichR · 07-24-2012, 06:34 PM

The electric/DSI propane WH was an option for a number of years.