We started full-time RVing about 16 months ago and love it very much!! Wondering about our water heater it's propane and electric. When we're plugged in it's nice to just leave it on the whole time but this past winter we actually stayed put for a couple of months and was wondering what is better for the water heater leaving it on constantly when plugged in or just turn it on when needed and then shut it off. I just want to get the longest life out of it possible. So what do the more experienced one's think? Thanks in advance for the input.
2007 Ford F550 Chassis 6.0 PSD 4x4 Crew Cab
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2007 Okanagan 116ULT
2007 20 Ft. Interstate Supercoach cargo trailer
I would leave the electric turned on while plugged into electric (well except for low voltage hot days when you need more voltage for the A/C unit).
I would also turn on the DSI for a little while every once in a while to keep the spiders out of it. Like when taking a shower, the water temp should get low enough to start the gas heater for a few minutes. That is all it needs.
Now the big question. While the RV refrigerator and electric water heater are much less expensive while the landlord is paying for the electric, is is less expensive when you are paying for the electric?
If you can buy 22 KW of electric for less than the cost of a gallon of propane, then it is less expensive to run on electric. Even running your furnace is more expensive than running a portable electric heater - that is also much quietier and keeps the temperatures even.
Even if propane is slightly less expensive, I think that using electric is much easier, no tanks to fill ect.
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Fred.
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I would use electric. I found our biggest user of propane was the water heater.
2003 Jayco 308fbs eagle 33' tt, towed by a 2003 Ram 3500 slt, quad cab dually, cummins diesel ho, trailer towing package, with 6 speed manual. Hauls better 1/2, 3 kids, myself, and a 2003 ez go clays car.. I have added so far, neon lights, clearance lights, back up lights, black light, lift kit, mud tires, and everything necessary to make the golf cart street legal. It's now ready to spend the winter in the garage for more mods. More neon, strobe lights, alarm, a pa system, maintance, and whatever else that comes along. This golf cart does wheelies and travels thru 7 inches of mud when need be. Two honda eu2000i gens twinned to supply the electrical power. Latest addition an 04 Honda Goldwing. [url]http://www.hometown.aol.com/rvnagain/myhomepage/profile.html[url]
Our water heater is propane, we turn it off except when actually needing hot water. Most of the time, my wife heats water for small things on the stove, it is faster, and uses less propane.
Heating a few cups of water to boiling, and adding it to water in the sink for dishes, is faster than heating the entire tank of water. We run the reefer on electric, it means we can go longer between fill ups. Many times propane is also cheaper in Flying J, than in other places.
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Thanks for the relpys so far. I'm not really worried about cost of running it on electric since we paid for wherever we are at. I am wondering what is better for the water heater if we are plugged in for a month leave it on thirty days straight or turn it off and on as needed. I guess the real question is what puts more wear and tear on the unit turning it off and on or just leaving it on for a month?
Thanks Fred we love the new the new solar panels, what a difference in comfort it's making for us!AM Solar in Eugene,Oregon did the work and could not have done a better job! I Highly recommend them. Wish we did it a long time ago.
We are full timers and we always use the electric side of the hot water heater. For six months we stay at a campground in Cape Cod and leave it turned on the entire time we are there. The only time I use gas is when we are using a lot of hot water at one time. Never had a problem with it after 3 years. Turn it on and forget about it.
We have been full-time now for eight years. The only time we turn off the water heater is when I service it or when we are to be gone over night. The design is that you leave both electric and propane on. Electric will keep the water hot with no propane use but when you take a shower or some other high demand they will both come on to try and keep the hot water supply and make it last much longer.
As to what is better for the water heater, there is no difference unless you drain the tank when you turn it off. Draining will extend the life of the tank. I suppose that in theory there is some effect on the power to the circuit board, but that would be so slight as to be undetectable.
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