MitchF150
Washington, the State
Senior Member
Joined: 07/13/2002
View Profile
 Offline
|
I turn it off at night because of the one posters description of a jet airplane taking off with full afterburners going! Sound seems to be amplified 100 times in the middle of the night...
The other reason is I don't need hot water after I go to bed...
Unless you have to take a shower the second you wake up, there is really no need to leave it on all night.. It'll come on several times during the night, depending on your ambient temps of course...
I turn mine on when I wake up and hit the head for the first time.. By the time I'm awake and have had a cup or two of coffee, the heater has turned off and it's ready for the morning clean up and breakfast dishes..
Since we usually leave camp for the day and explore the area or do whatever, I turn it off.
When we return, I'll turn it back on again if I think about it... I'll definately turn it back on while making dinner so it's ready for the dinner dishes and the evening clean up before bed.
You just gotta do what works best for you to get the hot water you like when you need it and accept less than hot water for other times in between...
Good luck!
Mitch
*Anything I post is for entertainment purposes only and what usually works for me.. Your Mileage May Vary.. 
|
shenandoahvalley
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Senior Member
Joined: 02/09/2007
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Fabguy wrote:We turn ours on when we get to the campsite and don't turn it off until we leave.
It goes hand in hand with our slide... If the slide room is out, the water heater is on. Slide in, water heater off.
Yep...do the same thing.
|
wmoses
Houston, Texas, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/17/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
earnesttee wrote:Good afternoon to all,have question on hot waterheaters?I have just moved up to traveltrailer was wondering do I need to flip hotwater heater off at night after all showers and hot water uses are over are just leave it on.
We just leave it on for the whole duration of the trip -- on at arrival off at departure. Once the water has reached temperature, the burner shuts off and propane use in keeping the pilot light going is negligible. The tank is usually well insulated so the hot water stays hot when not in use, and I have never had it cycle on when not in use (e.g. in the middle of the night). We use hot water only for washing dishes (a little) and showers, otherwise it is cold water. That way the hot water usage (and hence its propane) is minimized.
Regards,
Wayne
2010 Jayco Jayfeather EX-Port 17Z | Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller
2010 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 5.3L Vortec V8 6-speed with Power Pack Plus Package | Hypertech Max Energy tune
_
|
beemerphile1
I'm 57, I'm not a
Senior Member
Joined: 04/20/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
We have ours off unless we want hot water. If we had the electric option we might just leave it on.
We've found that it only takes maybe 20 minutes to heat water for a shower, meanwhile we have that first cup of coffee.
During the day it says warm enough for washing hands and light use. Maybe turn it on again at dinner time for washing dishes.
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
- Soren Kierkegaard
2006 Weekend Warrior FK1900/1998 Ford E150 4.6L = 8MPG
2009 Aliner Sport/2009 Pontiac Vibe 1.8L = 22MPG
.jpg)
|
Huntindog
phoenix arizona USA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/08/2002
View Profile
|
The ONLY reason there is a switch is so it can be turned off easily when under tow. Same as the water pump.
If for some reason while under tow a water faucet was to get bumped and turned on, then the fresh water system could empty causing a HUGE exspensive mess. Water could flood the TT and the water heater could go dry, and the burner would then destroy it.
But since those switches exist....People come up with all kinds of other reasons to use them.
The amount of propane saved by turning it off is so small that amounts to pennies.
Think of it this way...Do you turn off the HWH and water at your house when it's not being used?
Bottom line: If turning these things off makes you feel good, then do it. It won't hurt a thing other than being inconveinient.
I leave mine on. When I want hot water, I want it NOW, and I really can't be bothered with trivial stuff like planning in advance when I'm gonna want it.
Huntindog
2010 Palomino Sabre 30BHDS
TWO bathrooms...No waiting!
MICHELIN XPS RIBS LRE
2011 Silverado Big Dually 3500 4x4 CC D/A
EQUALIZER Hitch
100% BOONDOCKING
Check out Rusty and her pups at www.bluecollarbrittanys.com
|
|
|
gijoecam
Midwest
Senior Member
Joined: 07/22/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I'm cheap. If I don't need to burn propane, I don't. I'll fire up the electric element for general use as I figure it cycles on and off as necessary. If I know we're going to be using it quickly (like bath-time for the peanuts), I might fire up the burner. When we're gone during the day, I turn the gas off just because I'm cheap and don't need gas firing while I'm gone (not to mention the potential that there could be some freak malfunction that might burn down the camper, however remote it might be).
The only other time I run the propane is if we're camping without electric hookups. Only happened once so far with this rig, since DW is pretty spoiled. 
-Joe
|
aftermath
Washington State
Senior Member
Joined: 09/18/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
I turn ours off when we retire for the night. The HW tank is directly below our bed and I don't like waking up during the night as it cycles.
Each morning I get out of bed, turn on the coffee, switch on the hot water and climb back into bed until I hear the coffee perking. If it is really cold, I also turn on the furnace before getting back into bed. I like our little system, works for us.
2008 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch
Prodigy Controler
|
JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 10/06/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Used to leave mine on all the time but now I only turn it on when I need hot water… usually in 5 to 10 min it is hot enough for a shower and gets even hotter by showers end and stays hot in the tank for hours…
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
|
AtomicChicken
Central Louisiana
Full Member
Joined: 10/23/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
When camping for the weekend the electric element in the tank is turned on when we set up and it stays on until we leave at the end of the weekend. We'll occasionally turn on the propane for the tank in addition to the electric when we'd like the tank to recover faster (such as back to back showers) but it normally won't be used.
Having hot water available at all times is nice - not to mention not having to remember to flip on the tank a certain amount of time before you need access to hot water.
YMMV and at the end of the day you need to do whatever works best for your situation.
2007 F-150
2006 Sun Valley RoadRunner 240BH
Prodigy P2 / EAZ-Lift WDH
|
nitrohorse
pa
Senior Member
Joined: 02/13/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
And old timer told me to just let the pilot burn during the night. He said that would help keep the water warm and it would heat up much quicker in the morning. I have used this method and it works well in warmer temperatures. Just my humble 2 cents.....
|
|
|
