2022 Basecamp 20X water heater struggles

[djbreslin]

I need guidance on the hot water heater (and perhaps water pump) in a 2022 Basecamp 20X. This is the Airxcel IW60 water heater. I’m not getting hot water.

With a water faucet on full hot, I can sense an extremely brief, slight warmness to the water every few seconds (so something is happening), but nothing that would be considered hot or even consistently warm. It’s fully cold 99% of the time. This is true out of sink faucet or shower head. The Suburban water heater control panel is on and at max 130°F.

Factors: fresh water tank 80%, pulling from tank with pump (not city water), on shore power, have propane, propane open, furnace works fine, outside temp 50°F, trailer level, never winterized.

Based on reading notes here, I will experiment with city water (factoring out pump) and with turning water heater temp down from 130°F. But in the meantime, I was hoping to get a second set of eyes on all the valves to make sure things look correct. (See attached pic.)

Secondary comment about pump: It does pump water, but when calling for all hot or all cold, the pump pulses. The flow of water pulses too. If I call for a mix of hot/cold, the groan of the pump is consistent and the flow of water is consistent. It sounds better and functions better. This is also true when using the pedal to flush the toilet… consistent pump groan and consistent flow of water. I mention this to a) ask if this is normal and b) to offer it as a potential factor affecting the water heater.

[djbreslin]

I have hot water.

I experimented with city water instead of pump + fresh water tank. I also experimented with changing the hot water temp at the control panel from 95 to 110 to 120. None of that helped.

Then the control panel misbehaved and was stuck in a lighted on state with 880°C showing, a fire symbol, and a graduated graph showing. So, I pulled the fuse, put the fuse back in, and it reset. Then I went to sleep.

Woke up in the morning and I magically have hot water. As though it just needed a reboot. It is still hooked up to city water. I will experiment with pump and tank later to see if that recreates the issue.

[randsfl]

Having same problems - it seemed to work once and then no go

[randsfl]

Also, having problems with gas heater -could be connected - used stove burners so gas is getting into system

[Dianainyuma]

Possible sail switch malfunction. The way I understand it, it's a simple switch that senses the exhaust fan is running and tells igniters it's OK to light. If it fails, the fan may blow cold for a few seconds, but igniters won't fire, and the fan will go back off after a few seconds. Result: No hot water. Check your external exhaust port for the hot water heater and see if it's acting this way.

[Boxite]

The pump “pulsing” when less than full-delivery is requested is normal… the pump is designed to provide full pressure when full demand is make…and when less than full demand is requested then the pump doesn’t need to run continuously.
If you dislike the frequency or “rhythm” …then you can install an “accumulator” which will store pressure and prevent rapid cycling of the pump.

[Mdoherty23]

Hi all. Having a similar problem here. We are new Basecamp 20 owners and had hot water for about a week while hooked up to city water, then all of a sudden it stopped. Only thing we did differently is we emptied the tanks and so disconnected the water source briefly to do so. Now when we turn faucets to hot, we do not hear the heater click on anymore. Any advice?

[ErickfromMI]

Originally Posted by Mdoherty23

Hi all. Having a similar problem here. We are new Basecamp 20 owners and had hot water for about a week while hooked up to city water, then all of a sudden it stopped. Only thing we did differently is we emptied the tanks and so disconnected the water source briefly to do so. Now when we turn faucets to hot, we do not hear the heater click on anymore. Any advice?

We are having the same problem and I found that if I remove the fuse (the 5th one down from the top (or the 3rd blue one) it resets and works for a couple days and then I have to repeat. I have several calls into the dealer and the last time, they said I will need to contact Suburban directly to get some answers. So frustrating. I suspect a bad control board that I have read is common but trying to get them to replace it has been difficult. Good luck.