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Irlpguy, it depends on the Water Heater. Do you know what make and model you have?
I have a 10 gallon Suburban model that uses both electrical and propane to heat the water. The outside switch is for electrical heating and only works if connected to 110v as an additional means to heat the water. It is not a safety switch. The inside switch turns on the water heater for propane, hence has an extra indicator that is unlit when the propane is working. If the propane supply is off or empty and the inside switch is on and the outside switch is on, I get hot water via the electric element only. I never have left outside switch on, if the inside switch is off so I don't know if the electrical is on with the outside switch, but I don't want to risk burning out the element when I empty the tank for storage. For me Both switches are off or both switches are on. Those are the only ways I do things just to limit risk.
The only safety device I have for the water heater is the pressure relief valve if there's too much heat and pressure, but that's it. Otherwise there are no safety devices for when it's not working correctly.
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