Water heater operation

[Oldflyboy]

Installed in the camper is a Suburban SW6DE water heater.

I have a switch on the master control panel that ways water heater and when turned on beside that is a red light that comes on for a little while. I think that is for the operations of the gas side of the heater. I can hear the sparking to light the gas.
On the outside on the front of the heater, is a small switch that just says on/off.
Am I correct to assume that all I need to do if connected to shore power is turn this switch on the outside on and the heater would heat electrically?
Would I have to turn the inside switch on at all?
The owners manual and the one dowloaded is not clear.
I guess the ga would probably heat it up faster then the electric would just keep it hot unless there is high demand then the gas would kick on.
Am I correct in my assumptions?
I yield to those in the know........

[Bogdan]

no outside take off the cover to your vent and you will see a little on/off switch. that is for electric.

[FredF]

Yes the outside switch is for electric operation of the water heater. It will heat the water up to the setpoint and will attempt to keep it there with water usage. If you have shore power ( or generator ) you can save you propane and only run on electric. On the other hand if you have no electric connection and want hot water you need to use the switch on the control panel to turn the propane burner on. If this switch is off, the burner will not come on regardless of the water temperature. You can also use both if you want lots of hot water (relatively) fast. Remember to turn the electric switch ( outside ) to off before you empty the water tank - something you need to do to winterize. If you leave the switch on with ne water in the tank, as I have done, and plug the unit in over the winter to keep the battery charged it will destroy the electric element.