How long a shower with a 6 gal water heater?

[SilvrSausage]

I'm getting ready to install a new water heater, and I wanted to know how long of a shower you can get with a 6 gallon heater? Not that you have limitless water or anything, but it is lame to be "almost done" when the thing runs cold. I'm trying to decide if I should go with a 10 gallon instead. Tankless would be lovely, but I'm not doing that this time around.
Thanks,
-Silversausage

[soldiermedic]

If you have the resources I would go 10 gallon if it were me.

My 6 gallon works just fine for me, but I take quick showers with the water saver feature while at camp.

Steve

[Kevbo10]

mr sausage,

are you boondocking or are you planning full hookups?

smell right

[SilvrSausage]

Boondocking mostly, which obviously limits the overall quantity of water. That limitation acknowleged, I'm still interested in longer rather than shorter. After a long day of quadding or prospecting, it sounds very good for the muscles. Also, a worthwhile shower might convince my girlfriend to go camping too once in awhile. I'm working with a smaller trailer, so every cubic inch is precious, which is why I'm asking about the 6 gallon ones.
Thanks again,
-SilverSausage

[Kevbo10]

Originally Posted by SilvrSausage

Boondocking mostly,

\\ MASSIVE SNIP //

I'm working with a smaller trailer, so every cubic inch is precious, which is why I'm asking about the 6 gallon ones.
Thanks again,
-SilverSausage

mr sausage,

6 gallon.

yours,

in heat

[CaddyGrn]

With six gallons you have time to get wet, soap up, rinse off. Maybe wash your hair if very quick about it. To conserve turn the water on/off inbetween the soaping, rinsing, etc. Then, if any hot water is left you can enjoy it on a sore muscle for a minute. No luxury showers while boondocking it will use your fresh water up quickly!

I have often taken a camping shower, the kind that has a solarized plastic cover you hang in a tree and it gets warm in the summer and fall during the day while the sun hits it. It can be used to wash hair, etc. and then you can use your real shower for more "therapy". Or, if you are really saving water, you can wash your hair in a bucket of water and rinse... save the water and use it for the toilet. Sounds a bit icky, but the soapy water won't hurt your black tank, and it will save water when times are tight!

Good luck. If longer showers are most important, I would bite the bullet and go with an on-demand system.

Mrs. NorCal Bambi (traveling in S Tardis)

[FreshAir]

Our new 6 gallon Atwood is just fine for me. I don't like long showers anyway so our shower in our home is a hand-held one like in the Trade Wind so I am used to 'Navy' showers. Lynn hasn't found it problematic either, at least she hasn't complained. Plenty of hot water to wash hair too. I almost bought a 10 gal. but the old Bowen 6 gal. had a good heat recovery time so I figured the Atwood would be at least that good. It is even better. I bought the gas/electric so when we have hookups the water is heated electrically.

[Sean Michael]

I think our Airstream has the 6-gallon hot water tank. If we have full hook-ups I indulge in some lengthly hot showers. No problems whatsoever.

Plus, I suspect the 6-gallon tank might get hot a little faster than the 10-gallon?

Of course if you are boondocking, that's a different story altogether. "Navy showers" are a must, mainly due to grey water capacity.

[Ganglin]

Silversausage,

What size is in it now. We just put a 10 gallon in - had a 10 gallon before. If you have a 10 you'll have to skin the trailer to go to a 6. Conversely, you'll need to cut the body out to go up from a 6.

[jcanavera]

A lot depends on the temperature of the incoming water. Spring and late season showers using campground water supplies tend to run the tank out faster due to the colder water coming into the heater. Another way to lengthen the hot water supply is to have a dual moded tank. One that works on both electric and gas. I have one of those tanks and when at a site with electric, I use electric only to heat the water. At shower time I flip on the gas switch and we are now running both sources of heat, thus elongating the amount of hot water available and recovering the tank much faster.

Jack

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

Our new 6 gallon Atwood is just fine for me. I don't like long showers anyway so our shower in our home is a hand-held one like in the Trade Wind so I am used to 'Navy' showers. Lynn hasn't found it problematic either, at least she hasn't complained. Plenty of hot water to wash hair too. I almost bought a 10 gal. but the old Bowen 6 gal. had a good heat recovery time so I figured the Atwood would be at least that good. It is even better. I bought the gas/electric so when we have hookups the water is heated electrically.

Was switching out the old Bowen for the new Atwood an easy thing to do? I want to replace my old Bowen with an Atwood with electronic ignition so that I can turn it on off from inside the trailer. Have you tried using the electric heating with yours? How well does it work? Thanks!

[guy99]

We've never run out of hot water with our six gallon even when we have full hookups and are not trying to conserve.

Of course we're not TRYING to run it out of hot water either.

[moosetags]

We have a 6 gallon water heater, and have found that you can shower pretty much as long as you want because the unit recycles really fast. The only times that we have found this not to be true is when we have camped very easly or very late in the season up north, and the water coming out of the ground was near freezing.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Was switching out the old Bowen for the new Atwood an easy thing to do? I want to replace my old Bowen with an Atwood with electronic ignition so that I can turn it on off from inside the trailer. Have you tried using the electric heating with yours? How well does it work? Thanks!

We like our 6 gal. Switching it out was not too bad. Yes you can switch it on from in the bathroom and it heats up pronto. I will post that photo with the photos of the project which I planned to create a thread with. So I better get to it. Right at this mnute our grand sons are here and my daughter and I are about to go out the door to retrieve the Chinese dinner we ordered. I will post that thread ASAP. Promise. I will PM an alert to you.

[hamradio]

I would go for a tankless on demand hot water heater ....that way you have endless hot water on demand
check out this url
Tankless Water Heater - On Demand Tankless Hot Water Heater


Bosch makes one so do a few other companies here is another url with a few choices...............
Tankless Water Heaters - Propane, Natural Gas, Oil and Electric from Bosch AquaStar, Takagi, Powerstar, Stiebel Eltron, Ariston, Toyotomi

regards... Peter

[urbanfood]

Originally Posted by hamradio

I would go for a tankless on demand hot water heater ....that way you have endless hot water on demand
check out this url
Tankless Water Heater - On Demand Tankless Hot Water Heater


Bosch makes one so do a few other companies here is another url with a few choices...............
Tankless Water Heaters - Propane, Natural Gas, Oil and Electric from Bosch AquaStar, Takagi, Powerstar, Stiebel Eltron, Ariston, Toyotomi

regards... Peter

there is only one tankless hot water heater manufacturer that is approved for rv installation PrecisionTemp.com: For Recreational Vehicles and Boats.

[jkcru]

Be careful, the new Atwoods with DSI are deeper than the old Bowden. I had a furnace duct clearence problem in my 23' 1976 Safari.