Water Heater fixed (should have been warranty)

[Sweendk]

It’s the second water heater failure since we bought our 25fb last October. Since we’re traveling, and the local A-S wouldn’t work on it till June, I made a stab at it. Since the ECO sensor had no resistance cold, but the t-stat sensor was shorted, it was obvious (ok, in hindsight ha).
Here’s an ‘attaboy!’ to Jonathan at Central RV Parts in Albuquerque. Thanks!👊
The attached picture tells this story. A bullet connector was soldered to the sensor from the factory.
Anyway, we have hot water again! Time for a shower now. Ha

[moosetags]

We had the same issue several years ago on our 2012 23FB. We also fixed it ourselves parts from Atwood. These Airstream dealers who cannot do a quick fix for a traveling Airstreamer need to lose their franchise. Congratulations on your success.

Brian

[fran&frank]

"Since the ECO sensor had no resistance cold, but the t-stat sensor was shorted, it was obvious (ok, in hindsight ha)."

I'm overlooking something, what was obvious?

[n2916s]

For future reference, any Atwood dealer can repair the unit under warranty as the appliance is warranteed by Atwood. Same with Dometic, we had a capacitor unhorse while our A/C was still under warranty and a Dometic dealer repaired it no questions asked.

[rmkrum]

Fran & Frank, here's the skinny on these gadgets:

The main thermostat (T-stat) when cold, is supposed to indicate zero resistance (shorted). This tells the electronics that the water needs heating. It shuts off the heat when the water is 'hot enough', usually about 140 degrees Fahrenheit or so...usually the operating temperature is marked on the device somehow.

The Emergency Cut Off (ECO) sensor is an emergency overheat shutoff device, and it should work the same as the regular thermostat, i.e. closed/shorted when the water is cold...it typically opens at a higher temperature than the regular T-stat, usually around 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sometimes the ECO is designed to operate as a 'thermal fuse' where they open, and stay open forever if the design temperature is exceeded. Many small electric appliances fail this way--the ECO gets 'fried' and the whole thing stops working...until the part is replaced, or you toss the appliance and buy a new one...
.

Typically, the regular thermostat and the ECO are wired in series, so if either one opens the circuit, the heat is cut off...

[Sweendk]

I think I picked up the idea on line that the ECO and thermostat sitch should both have no resistance when cold. When temps exceed their limit, either should open, or interrupt the circuit, thus telling the controller module to shut the heater down. I don’t know if those circuits are controlled grounds or just in-series circuit elements.
They are nothing more than thermal fuses at any rate.
It was obvious when I tested the new parts, and one of mine was not the same.

[Sweendk]

I couldn’t agree more. When I was an auto service advisor (decades ago) we always tried to work travellors in. What really burned me was hearing that the mechanic only worked four days a week.

[rmkrum]

Yup. You got it. As a side note, the T-stat is usually a switch that clicks on and off as temperature changes. They are used in various forms in darn near anything that has to control heating or cooling.

[Sweendk]

Re an Atwood dealer should fix under warranty: On the first failure, the service department of a large non-A-S dealer refused to work on it. I guess these are small businesses that do what they want. Oh well

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Sweendk

Here’s an ‘attaboy!’ to Jonathan at Central RV Parts in Albuquerque. Thanks!👊

There are a few RV retailers on Central Ave. Do you mean "Central Trailer Supply"?