Propane Usage

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PancakeBill

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Posts
6,712
Location
Benson , AZ.
I have heard of many fulltimers that turn off their water heater (gas only) at night and during the day when not around, but...  We are in Yellowstone, and it gets down to about 20 at night right now.  In the morning it takes 30 minutes to heat the water, any ideas on whether leaving it running and turning on occasionally or reheating twicw a day, which saves propane? 

My best bet I suppose would be to install a heating rod, but something inside tells me not to.  Will take a lot of propane savings to make that money back.

 
This has been debated endlessly in previous threads and there is no conclusive evidence either way. I only turn my water heater on about 15 to 30 minutes before I take a shower and then turn it off right before I get in the shower. I don't think the difference in propane consumption is much different either way.
 
We only turn ours on when we want hot water. Has more to do with not listening to the heater flame than any savings....the water heater is next to the bed. If I flip it on when I get up in the morning, by the time I have a cup of tea and am ready to need hot water from the water heater, it's ready. Then I flip it off. When I start fixing dinner, I flip it on and after we eat, dang if we don't have hot water again. I think it's more a personal choice than a money saving device. Although I do have to say THANK YOU to people parked next to me who don't leave their hot waters on all night.

Wendy
 
Thanks, but one thing to consider is the outside temp.  At 20 deg it is a good 30+ minutes to reheat.  At a 60 and above ambient, the 15 minutes can heat the water. 

 
Bill:
Take another look at the heat rod.  Camping World has them for right at $100.  The convenience of hot water any time is nice.  Letting the campground pay to heat the water is especially sweet when you are already paying for an electrical connection. 
 
Are you sure your coach doesn't have a gas/electric heater? We owned a Southwind of similar size & vintage and it did.

We used aftermarket rod heaters in two trailers with Atwood gas heaters and it was fine. I would do it again.  And it had its own plug, so did not draw from the coach 30A supply. I bought ours from a no-name company that had an ad in the back of the FMCA magazine. Price was 40% less than Hott Rod and kit had everything  needed and was high quality.

Kit is under $90 at PPL:
http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-water-heaters/hott-rod-water-heater.htm
 
There is no electric option, yours may have been optioned that way.  I suppose that the $100 for the electric heat might be well spent, but we pay electric as well.  I would like it just for the quiet.

Having it's own plug, did you run an extension cord to the outside? 
 
PancakeBill said:
Having it's own plug, did you run an extension cord to the outside?

My 5thW had a gas only heater -- so I added a rod. That one had it's own plug so I drilled a small hole in the kitchen counter top just above the heater location, very close to the bulkhead, and just under a 110 outlet. I then temporarily disconnected the cord and plug from the heater and dropped the cord down the hole - then reconnected to the heater.

The plug kept the cord from dropping down thru the hole and I could plug it into  the 110 when needed. It also made a nice conversation piece when someone asked why there was a plug sitting on my countertop.  :)

The rod I have installed now in my Class A I connected to a breaker. That is one of the breakers I turn off when on inverter power while boondocking. When on Genset to recharge the batteries, I turn those breakers back on -- and that keeps me in hot water for an AM shower or Sailor Bath, and warm water the rest of the day.
 
No electric? You must have bought a "stripper", Bill.  ::)

On mine the power cord exited from the gap at the bottom of the exterior access door with no need to make a hole. It had a 6 foot, flat, 3 wire appliance cord of 16 gauge, plenty for the heating element. I plugged it to a suitable extension cord to the site power pole. When traveling, the cord stored nicely behind the heater access door and it was out of the way for gas operation too..
 
Maybe I did get a stripper, someone said do you want a stripper, I said sure, but nobody ever showed up.  Guess I misunderstood.  I figure when I have to replace my WH I'll get the G/E model.  (Not GE, I read that thread) 

I have an idea.  To turn on the water heater, it is just a simple switch.  How about something like a programmable thermostat that simply switches it on at certain times of day, this way it is hot when you get up and for dinner dishes. 

Now to find a source.
 
http://www.reuk.co.uk/Use-Thermostat-as-12-Volt-Timer.htm

No, this article makes it easy, confirms what I was thinking, use a programmable thermostat and set the temp very low.  This way it will always call when the time is right.

What I want is for the water to be hot when I get out of bed.  Not kkeep it hot all night, not have to get up 30 minutes early to turn the wh on.  Don't forget, I am still sort of working and when I need to be in early, I would rather have an extra 1/2 hour sleep, so the benefit is real. 

My concern was the current draw. 
 
I know I'm going to regret this, but.........

Getting up 30 minutes early to turn on the water heater is a Pink Job............ 8) ;D

Don
 
gmsboss1 said:
I know I'm going to regret this, but.........

Getting up 30 minutes early to turn on the water heater is a Pink Job............ 8) ;D

Don

No, no.  Definitely a blue job.  Pinks unite and protest!  ;) ;) ;)  It's Tom that is bothered by wh noise, therefore ....  ::)

Margi
 
Sorry, I get up first so pink job in our coach.....but the WH firing up does wake up the blue boy :)

Wendy
 
Hey all,

As the original designator of PINK and BLUE  jobs, may I announce loudly that any job that needs to be performed before I get up..... is a blue job!  So setting the alarm,  making the coffee, turning on the hot water  and  what ever else is a BLUE job.

So yes Margi I  hope to have  united the PINK jobbers here that turning on hot water in mornings is not a pink job.  If he wants me to be  happy in morning I need
1.  a late start
2.  Coffee
3.  Internet
4.  hot water for  shower (however short it may have to be.)

Ladies , PLease state your pink job requirements clearly so we know what to fight for!!!!

Betty
 
When did we all become pink and blue?

What color is my cat?

Who is going to volunteer to come over to my RV to do the pink jobs?
 
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