outdoordb
Maryland
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Should I leave my propane hot water heater on all the time when camping or turn it on as needed. We have always turned it on about 1/2 hour before showers and than turned it off after.But sometimes we forget and have to wait. It seems to run a long time to come up to temp. Is it more efficient to just leavce it on all day and kick on and off as needed to keep up to temp? I am talking full hookup summer camping. Part 2 I see where you can buy an after market electric heating element ( Hot Rod ) anyone ever use these ? Good, Bad ? Thanks
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Mandalay Parr
Phoenix, AZ
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Mine is ON all the time.
Jerry Parr
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gbopp
The Keystone State
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I don't know if it's more efficient to leave it on all the time or only when it's needed.
I only turn mine on when I'll be using hot water, showers, washing dishes, etc..
The water stays warm enough for hand washing.
JMO
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mbopp
Henrietta, NY, USA
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Ours is on during the day but off at night.
If you have a Suburban water heater, using a Hot Rod requires that you remove the anode rod. This will lead to accelerated corrosion and failure of the water tank.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
It is definitely cheaper to turn on as needed rather than letting it run. The heat loss is such that they will cycle about every four hours even if no water has been used.
Regards, Don
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Lantley
Ellicott City, Maryland
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Hot water heater has a thermostat. It will turn itself on and off so you don't have to.....just like at home! Turn it on and forget about it!
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drenjoey
Gray, Maine
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Lantley wrote:Hot water heater has a thermostat. It will turn itself on and off so you don't have to.....just like at home! Turn it on and forget about it!
X2............Do you turn it on and off at home! Same in your HTT.
Mine is always on and hot water is available at all time.
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C.B.
APPLETON WI USA
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drenjoey wrote:Lantley wrote:Hot water heater has a thermostat. It will turn itself on and off so you don't have to.....just like at home! Turn it on and forget about it!
X2............Do you turn it on and off at home! Same in your HTT.
Mine is always on and hot water is available at all time.
X3..........
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wmoses
Houston, Texas, USA
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outdoordb wrote:Should I leave my propane hot water heater on all the time when camping or turn it on as needed.
I leave ours on from the time I hook up and the hot water tank is filled to the time we leave. It uses very little propane and I could not be bothered turning it on every time I need hot water. False economy in my opinion.
I am interested in hearing what actual users of Hott Rod systems say about their actual experiences as I considered installing one of these at one point, but seem to recall that it could somehow be harmful (don't recall why).
Regards,
Wayne
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wmoses
Houston, Texas, USA
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mbopp wrote:Ours is on during the day but off at night.
If you have a Suburban water heater, using a Hot Rod requires that you remove the anode rod. This will lead to accelerated corrosion and failure of the water tank.
Ahhhhh .... That is what I had read before as the downside of using the Hott Rod. Thanks.
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