Water Heater - How Long?

[NorthernCACamper]

Hi there!
We are currently on our first trailer outing and have a question (luckily the park has wi-fi)......how long does it take to heat the water via the water heater?

We have a 2013 Coachman Clipper 16....we made sure the hot water tank was full by running the hot water for a few minutes (it was cold of course), turned on the propane, and flipped the water heater switch. But after a few minutes the water still was not hot (we could hear the click, the gas was on and heating).

My husband thought it should be hot right away...I'm thinking it will take 10-15 minutes to get hot water.

Which of us is right? HAHA.

 

[Just Lou]

Your tank is either 6 or 10 gallons.  It could take several minutes (20 to 30 as a guess) to heat above warm.

 

[Frizlefrak]

I have a 2012 Palomino with a 6 gallon.  I get full hot water in under 10 minutes on electric.  Never tried it on propane. 

 

[warsw]

After about 10 min you should be able to feel the water starting to get warm. I always figure 30 min to get hot. Probably doesn't really take that long but I usually give it that much time if I really want hot water (showers etc.) One thing to check is make sure the valve is not set to by-pass the hot water heater. If it is you will still get water out of the hot water faucet but you will only get cold water and if your hot water tank is really still empty it will have a melt down. Just a thought.

 

[Weewun]

If you dewinterized and forgot to change your Water Heater Bypass Valves you will get water out of the hot water tap but it is not going the Water Heater Tank.

 

[maverickbbd]

As previously mentioned, check the by pass.  Some heaters have a motor aid so that engine coolant can heat the tank that you have hot water when you stop.  Also, you might have a "quick recovery" mode and able to use both electric and propane.  You should feel a change in temperature in about twenty minutes. Hot in maybe 30.

 

[PancakeBill]

16' Coachmen trailer will have a 6 gallon water heater, just listen to the heater, when it stops firing it is hot, but have a coffee while waiting, 15 to 25 minutes, kind of depending on incoming temps.  In AZ in summer it is pretty much warm coming out of the spigot, in N. CA it might be pretty cold, so takes more time to  raise from 50 to 120 than 90 to 120.

Some folks will turn their water heater off at night and restart in morning to save gas.  This works, but based on temps of water and outside overnights will depend on how many coffees you have while waiting for your shower. 

 

[NorthernCACamper]

Thanks so much for all of the replys!
I am glad I wasn't crazy when I thought it took a while to get the water hot. We want to make sure everything is in working order.

 

[1275gtsport]

on our first motorhome the hot water tank was by the drivers door. so once we were parked (and level) I would step out of the cab light the 6 gallon tank walk to the back and pull out the water hose and hook that to the tap, then connect the electric walk around the side maybe chat to the neighbours for a minute then pull out the awning, set up the lawn chairs and by then the water would be hot.

on our current motorhome the hot water tank is heated by the engine while underway and just electric when we stop. so I don't even think about it anymore.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I would say the 15-20 minute figure is about right for my 6 gallon Atwood water heater. Bit quicker running both electric and propane together...

 

[godefroi]

The Atwood 6-gallon propane-only water heaters have a recovery rate of around 11 GPH. The gas+elec are around 17 GPH.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The heater pulls heated water off the top of the tank reservoir, so you get some warm water well before the entire tank reaches the full operating temperature (140 degrees in most  models). You should probably feel some warmth within 15 minutes (remember, it may take awhile for the water to travel from tank to faucet too), but a typical 6 gallon tank requires about 30 minutes to reach the set temperature. In the example godefroi gave, it would be 6/11 of an hour or 33 minutes on propane only but only 6/17 of an hour (21 minutes) if both propane and electric are used simultaneously.

 

[DeWat]

It's already been said a couple times, but still VERY IMPORTANT!  Since this is a 2013 and your first outing, make sure that the water heater is not in bypass (one quick and easy way to check is to open the pressure valve for a quick second when the water is NOT HOT).  If so, you're not heating anything and will quickly burn up your electric heating element.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

It's already been said a couple times, but still VERY IMPORTANT!  Since this is a 2013 and your first outing, make sure that the water heater is not in bypass (one quick and easy way to check is to open the pressure valve for a quick second when the water is NOT HOT).  If so, you're not heating anything and will quickly burn up your electric heating element.

Also make sure that both mode of the water heater are off when storing for the winter time. (D'Oh!) Typically I go through a priming the system day where I actually take the time to fill the water heater and get the air out of the system. Then the RV remain loaded for the rest of the summer.

 

[DearMissMermaid]

My propane 6 gallon hot water used to take about 20 minutes to heat the entire tank to super hot. Some factors will affect this including the temperature of the outside air and the incoming water.

Now I use electric, which is slower, but works fine  because I am able to leave it on all the time without worrying about running out of propane.

Maybe your husband thought you had a propane tankless hot water system that heats water instantly as you use it. I've had these on boats, but not in RV's, but they do build models specifically for the RV market.

http://www.precisiontemp.com/rv-500-tankless-water-heater/