Three Questions

[washtubman]

We are at a snowbird park in Florida for the first time and since we are not moving the motorhome for a couple months, I was wondering: (1).  Should I leave the 2000 watt inverter in the charge mode all the time, or just charge before we get ready to leave the park?  (2).  Do you leave your water heater on all the time or shut it off at nite, etc?  (3).  Since we pay extra for electric, do you think its cheaper to run the refrigerator (12 CF) and water heater (10 Gal) on propane or electric?  I don't usually wonder about these things because we're not normally in one place this long at a time.  Chime in on any or all.  Thanks. 

 

[KodiakRV]

We normally turn our propane water heater off when we are done using hot water in the evening and then turn it on first thing out-of-bed in the morning.  It heats up pretty fast so we don't have to wait very long to use it.

My opinion would be that the fridge is best on electricity and the water heater is best on propane, but that's just my opinion without any numbers to back it up.

 

[Tom]

Should I leave the 2000 watt inverter in the charge mode all the time, or just charge before we get ready to leave the park?

I don't turn ours off. Assuming it's relatively new and has a 3-stage charging function, there shouldn't be a problem.

Do you leave your water heater on all the time or shut it off at nite

Ours is left on while we're hooked up.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You need to leave the charger on - it is supplying the substantial amounts of 12v power your coach uses, even when connected to shore power. If you don't leave it on (or turn it on regularly), you will exhaust the batteries in a couple of days.

Put your fridge and water heater in electric mode and leave it on, unless you are trying to reduce your use of shore power. The cost of operation in gas vs electric mode is probably a toss-up, so I would opt for the convenience of electric. If you want to conserve, you could try tuning the water heater off once it heats up in the morning, but you will use nearly as much energy re-heating cool water as you will simply keeping it warm in the first place.  And the fridge doesn't consume much power over the course of a winter day anyway, even in Florida.

 

[John From Detroit]

Re: inverter/converter: What Tom said, Leave it on all the time
Fridge: I think Electric will be less expensive Same for water heater but to be sure you are going to have to do the math

Re: Turning water heater off when not needed: That will save enegry and thus cost, It will heat faster on gas but again you need to do the math to decide what is the lowest cost pattern.

 

[Ron]

Like Tom we have always left the inverter on except when we are boondocking and we are not using any ac items. We never turn the charger off.  Better to leave it on than to forget to turn it on.

If we are on shore power the electric switch for the water heater is left on unless we have to pay for electric and the cost is high.  If not on electric we usually just use LP to heat the water before we shower and turn it off when done.

 

[Phil Hendrix]

We are at a snowbird park in Florida for the first time and since we are not moving the motorhome for a couple months, I was wondering: (1).  Should I leave the 2000 watt inverter in the charge mode all the time, or just charge before we get ready to leave the park?  (2).  Do you leave your water heater on all the time or shut it off at nite, etc?  (3).  Since we pay extra for electric, do you think its cheaper to run the refrigerator (12 CF) and water heater (10 Gal) on propane or electric?  I don't usually wonder about these things because we're not normally in one place this long at a time.  Chime in on any or all.  Thanks. 

(1) Great question....I was wanting that info also. I was not sure if I should leave the charger on all the time. I was afraid I was doing damage to the batteries.

(2) I would think it is better to leave it on unless you were not going to use it for a full day or so. Like others have said, cheaper to keep the water warm than to heat cold water.

(3) I think the ref. on elec. and the water on propane would be best. But I also agree with what was said.....if the elec. is there use it.

 

[Ron]

(1) Great question....I was wanting that info also. I was not sure if I should leave the charger on all the time. I was afraid I was doing damage to the batteries.

No problem IF you have a quality 3 stage charger.  However if the charger is not a good 3 stage then your concerns would be valid.