Kathryn
See if this helps any.
My 2004 is set up this way and my dealer told me it was new to 2004 that Sunline was setting up the circuit breaker panels this way. Again, don’t know if all are set up this way or that it actually started in 2004 or not, but Sunline kept a fairly even design theme in the Solaris models so yours may be set up this way as well.
See this pic of the tank gages and the sticker on top. It is a fairly common problem that by accident some one can flip on the electric water heater rocker switch and there be no water in the heater. Well it only takes a few minutes and if the heating element if it is not covered with water, it will literally burn a small chuck out of the element apart. It basically over heats and melts the element apart. They call this “dry firing”. And on these type heating elements, dry firing is totally unforgiving. 1 mistake and it is gone.
They added that sticker above the tank gages to caution about this. That was step 1.
Then to help this even further, step 2, they put the circuit breaker for the HW heater electric element on the bottom of the circuit break row so it is easy to find quick. See over all pic.
Here is a close up. You can see the label to the left of it calling out which breaker is which.
Now how to use this “feature”. This is how we use it.
On the way home from camp:
1.When breaking camp to come home and running down the “check list” to remember what to do for road travel, we flip the HW circuit breaker “off”.
2.When I come home from camping, I always drain the water in the TT including the HWH.
Now with the breaker off there is no chance of an accident happening to burn out my element even if the rocker switch on the tank panel if flipped on by accident. You can flip the switch, the light will turn on, but power will not be sent to the element.
At camp after water fill up.
We start setting up camp. When we want HW, when then make sure the HW tank is filled and purged of air and flowing out the faucets.
Then we flip on the circuit breaker. Now when ever we want HW, we just flip on the rocker panel switch and we are good to go in 20 minutes.
Every now and then DW forgets to turn on the breaker when setting up camp and after 40 plus minutes later I get the , Honey I have no HW??
My first trip is to the breaker panel and wamo, all fixed….
I'm a hero!! Some times the safety T stat wire wiggles loose in the heater compartment but I always check the breaker first.
It seems maybe you have not been checking the circuit breaker, it could be that
A. Well it is not on and you have an easy fix. Just turn it on!
B. Someone did not realize it and dry fired your HWH and burnt out your element.
C. You heater has other issues, the element relay is not working, loose connections on the element or element relay, for some reason no power it going to the heating element.
Hopefully it is Item A.
Just try it on purely electric and wait 30 miuntes. It your HW is ice cold, well, you have element issues B or C.
Good luck
John
__________________