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HappyTrails2U2

Tennessee is home but being held hostage in GA.

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Posted: 07/02/12 11:43am

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Will it damage a breaker to be used as an on/off switch?
For some reason they put the electrical on/off switch to the hot water heater in the box on the outside of the trailer and the propane on/off switch on the electrical panel inside of the trailer. I'd like to be able to use electric to heat water with sometimes without having to go outside to turn it on or off. If I could just leave the switch on outside I could then use the breaker in the electric panel inside the trailer as the switch to turn it on and off with. But I don't want to do that if it will damage anything.

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beemerphile1

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Posted: 07/02/12 11:55am

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It will shorten the life of the breaker a little but won't do any real damage. The typical breaker isn't rated to be used that way but it will probably still outlast your RV.

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boosTT

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Posted: 07/02/12 11:57am

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I repair coin operated arcade games and the arcade's ONLY use the circuit breakers (they have no real switches). I haven't seen a broken breaker yet.

Weazletoe

Idaho

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Posted: 07/02/12 04:09pm

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Yeah, they're not really made to be a on / off switch. It will shorten their life. That being said, at my sheet metal shop, several of our shop lights are operated by the breaker.

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KD4UPL

Swoope, VA

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Posted: 07/02/12 06:07pm

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It will be fine.
Many breakers are rated to be used as switches. Look for a SWB rating on the breaker. Even if it's not it's no big deal.

Chuck&Gail

In the Colorado Mountains

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Posted: 07/02/12 11:08pm

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IMO it is so simple to just cut the AC wire going to the water heater, and put a switch in series, that I see no reason to risk breaker. I've done it on two TT's. I was a one beer job.

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bartlettj

Forest Grove, OR

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Posted: 07/03/12 12:34am

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Chuck&Gail wrote:

IMO it is so simple to just cut the AC wire going to the water heater, and put a switch in series, that I see no reason to risk breaker. I've done it on two TT's. I was a one beer job.

Make sure if you do this that you use a switch that is rated for a bit more than the rating of the water heater. Most basic light switches aren't rated for more than 600W resistive load. A good hardware store will have a heavier duty switch.