Water heater woes!

[Ted Couch]

   We have to replace our water heater in our 1989 Beaver Marquis. It is still the original and the brand is no longer manufactured. We have a 10-gallon tank and are wondering if anyone else has had to replace one of these in their coach. It has a DSI and only propane powered. It looks like Suburban took over the company but the 10-gallon tanks we find from them are all smaller than ours. Ours measures 18 x 18 inches. If you have gone through this let us know what you did. Thanks for the help and opinions once again. Ted and Val

[Ted Couch]

We have gone ahead and ordered a new Suburban water heater to be replaced Thursday at Bob's RV here in Hemet. Fingers crossed it lasts as long as our last one!

[Joel Ashley]

Not that many here have water heaters, and even fewer have probably ever replaced them, Ted.  Thus the lack of responses so far.  26 years is a long life.  Draining properly and caring for the burner and any sacrificial rod on a regular basis is paramount to longevity.  If we still had the old Pace Arrow and needed to replace the water heater (Atwood as I recall), I'd likely go with one with an electric option so my park fees would be paying for its use, rather than use additional propane I have to buy.  From what I've read, today's water heaters are somewhat improved over those from the 80's.

Joel