Recommended Replacement For A Suburban SW6DE Water Heater

Question:

We currently have a 6 gallon water heater Suburban SW6DE and we’d like to change it out for an on demand heater. I’m not sure what dimension I need to measure, the current door itself or the opening on the side of the camper. If you happen to know which on demand water heater others have used to replace the SW6DE, I would appreciate that info. Thank you!

asked by: Jarrod P

Expert Reply:

Hey Jarrod,

The dimensions I'm seeing for the Suburban SW6DE are showing as 12.69"h x 12.69"w x 19.19"d for the body. The access door will be a bit larger so you'll want to take a quick measurement to see which new size you'll need to fully cover any gaps and make the overall finish nice looking. You'll want to go with a Furrion water heater since they're the best performance-wise and have the least amount of troubleshooting issues. The SW6DE can produce about 10 gallons of hot water per hour whereas Furrion units can produce up to 144 gallons. These units can be purchased with the following door sizes:

16" x 16" # FR98SR
16" x 18" # FR48SR
18" x 18" # FR68SR

During the installation you'll find that your SW6DE has both 12v DC power ran to the ignition and 120v AC power ran for a heating element. The 120v AC line could be spliced into your wiring or come with a standard wall plug and be plugged into an outlet. The Furrion unit will only require a 12v DC power so you can disconnect the 120v wiring and cap it off for use with something else later if needed.

When installing the new unit you'll want to use butyl tape # AL28FJ on the inside of the mounting flanges of both the unit and the access door to form a seal and prevent any water from leaking in through the mounting screws. When the access door is installed you'll want to run a bead of non-sag sealant # 344270341437-1 around the outer edge of the door to prevent water from getting in behind it. I've attached a video below where Jake will walk you through the installation process.