How long to heat water?

[Beeswaxowl]

Just wondering about the hot water heater in my 1997 Airstream. I have only owned this Airstream for a few days and have turned on the hot water tank for the first time. It is making lots of hot water but it has been burning none stop. Over half an hour now. Does it normally take this long? Any ideas as to how long it cycles on and off while maintaining hot water? Should I be turning it off during the day and not heat the water all the time?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I haven't timed my water heater, but it depends on how cold the water is coming into it. Mine only runs for about 10 to 15 minutes.

[wingfoot321]

We never leave ours on all the time. Five minutes or so and the water is getting hot. Our unit is fairly new and gas only.

[dmac]

I am temporarily living in my trailer. I turn on the water heater when I wake up each morning. It stops burning in about 10-15 minutes. I take my shower, and turn it off until the next morning. LP gas is expensive - the local place charges $22 to fill a 30# tank.

[MaxAB]

I recently installed a new dual LPG/110vAC unit in my Soveriegn. It will heat the water on either or both energy sources. My procedure is to turn on the water heater about a coffee-mug worth's of time before I want to use the shower. Maybe 15 minutes max on LPG only, when I select both LGP/110vAC mode; its ready in 10min. I would suggest not running it continuously for a variety of reasons already covered in above posts, especially for fuel saving reasons.

PS: Being a former sea-going USN-type, we both are accustomed to Navy Showers, that is to say, save water by:
1. turn shower ON,
2. get wet,
3. turn shower OFF,
4. soap up,
5. turn shower ON,
6. rinse off,
7. turn shower OFF and towel-down.

You can have drills to see who can take the shortest "run through the rain locker." But we can be weird with some things "Airstream."

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Originally Posted by dmac

I am temporarily living in my trailer. I turn on the water heater when I wake up each morning. It stops burning in about 10-15 minutes. I take my shower, and turn it off until the next morning. LP gas is expensive - the local place charges $22 to fill a 30# tank.

Wow wish it was that cheap here.

[MaxAB]

A little off topic, apologies... But, anyone familiar with or have used the "see thru" LPG bottles from Lite Cylinder (see link below)? They certainly don't look as nice as polished aluminum... but they seem awfully convenient!

http://www.litecylinder.com/static/a...20_lb_spec.pdf

[Beeswaxowl]

Thanks for the pointers. Turning it on when needed seems to be the way to go. And on that last note. I have seen those see thru bottles. My local marine store had them, they seem to be popular with the sailboat crowd. I believe they are some sort of composite so in the salt water there is no corrosion. I'd probably look into them a little more when the time came to replace the tanks I have now.

[Kevin245]

The bottles have been a topic of recent conversation and certainly piqued my interest. It's hard to beat the appearance of those polished aluminum ones though.

Here's the latest thread.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f206...ere-65253.html

Originally Posted by MaxAB

A little off topic, apologies... But, anyone familiar with or have used the "see thru" LPG bottles from Lite Cylinder (see link below)? They certainly don't look as nice as polished aluminum... but they seem awfully convenient!

http://www.litecylinder.com/static/a...20_lb_spec.pdf

Originally Posted by Tagalong

Thanks for the pointers. Turning it on when needed seems to be the way to go. And on that last note. I have seen those see thru bottles. My local marine store had them, they seem to be popular with the sailboat crowd. I believe they are some sort of composite so in the salt water there is no corrosion. I'd probably look into them a little more when the time came to replace the tanks I have now.

As for water heater usage, were spot users as well only turning it on when needed. Re-heat time for us usually takes 15 minutes or so.

Kevin

[FreshAir]

I installed a new Atwood 6 gal. gas/electric water heater 3 years ago. After 10 - 15 minutes, summer temps, of heater operation I've discovered that between hot water usage the pilot light alone maintains the water temp without re-firing. If I turn off the w-heater it fires up again after turning the gas on and again burns 10 + munites. I'm wondering if leaving the pilot on uses less gas.
Neil

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I light it up when I set up and turn it off when I turn the water off to leave. I guess I am wasteful. When I turn the water heater off, I next unplug the trailer. As soon as that happens the burner on the fridge fires up. I guess as long as I am using the trailer, I have something burning propane.

[Minnie's Mate]

We turn ours on when we set up and turn it off when we bug out. I don't know that that is wasteful because the water heater runs less than 15 minutes between uses each day. We also want hot water on demand for doing dishes after each meal and our sons take their shower at night and my wife and I take ours in the morning. It does take about 15 minutes for the initial heating and we allow 10 minutes between showers for it to re-heat the water. If we were to turn it on every time we wanted hot water it would run more than it does just to keep the water hot between demand. Not to mention how inconvenient it would be to have to wait 15 minutes every time we wanted to wash dishes or jump in the shower. And yes, we do take Navy showers to conserve water and propane.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I used to turn on my water heater when I got into camp and turn it off when we left, but now I know that I don't need that blast furnace kicking on in the middle of the night. The water in the tank stays hot for a long time, so turning it back on in the morning works good for us.

[azflycaster]

Turn it on when we set up and turn it off when we pack up. It only turns on if we use hot water and does it quickly. Making coffee in the morning is much faster with hot water in the pot. It's all about priorities...

[sempi2]

Our first few trips out we turned on the heater and left it on until we left. But we have found since it is only two of us, we turn it on shortly before we want showers.We also do navy showers. Doesn't take very long for the water to heat. Plus we are camping and what is the hurry for a shower? We have turned to a lot of paper plates, cups ect - therefore generally we don't have a lot of dishes. I usually just set the dishes needing to be washed in a plastic tub that fits in the sink, and wash dishes at the end of the day. Works for us.

[Gene]

It depends which water heater you have, but it doesn't seem to me any water heater would run constantly. Eventually the water would be boiling. There should be a thermostat to turn the flame (or electricity) off when the water is up to temp. Maybe your thermostat is defective, or the flame is not properly adjusted to heat the water quickly. The burner may need cleaning. I'm sure there could other things to check too.

I find the water heater we have heats water very fast. We turn it off when not using it to heat water for a shower or washing dishes. The tank is very well insulated and water stays hot for many hours.

Even in Winnipeg the water temp should not be so cold at this time of year to cause the water heater to run so long.

Gene

[Jim Foster]

In our Excella, we turn the water heater on when we get up in the morning, turn it off after breakfast dishes. On again when we start dinner, off again at bed time.

Our Caravel has a Precision Temp RV 500. Works on demand and only heats water needed. Doesn't use much gas at all, but the unit, installed by the PO, is big bucks.