6gal/10 gal h20 heater? and what model?

[tschat]

I have an '77 excella 500. The old water heater is beyond dead (it froze so bad, I can place my hand in the crack in it). I have looked at ppl's website and the price difference between the 6 gal and the 10 gal water heater is negligible. I would like to get a bigger tank for longer showers, but this would require cutting 2-3" of the skin of the trailer and a bigger problem. My kitchen/water heater are streetside. To make the water heater hole larger, I would have to move the kitchen drainline 1-2" up. This would make it be a different drop/distance than the original design. Should I be as worried as I am? I am looking at the surburban model SW6PE. This unit is 110/LP. I wish it had direct-spark, but since I have 110 at my disposal, I can live with the $220 price tag, or is it worth the extra $90 for the direct spark unit? Thanks.

-thomas

[lewster]

Hi Thomas,

DSI is well worth the money, especially if you have to go outside just before a shower to ignite a pilot. Plus, you will not be wasting propane while he pilot is lit.

If you want the best (IMHO)water heater, look at the Precision Temp RV-500. It has no tank to keep hot and heats the water instantly. It will give you as much hot water as you want, limited only by the amount of propane available.

I replaced the 6 gal. that came with my 19CCD and had to do a little 'surgery' to the skins as well. It is not a problem if you are careful and precise in your measuring.

[tschat]

Lewster,

Would moving the water drain 1" up to accomodate the 10 gallon unit mess up the drains up in the kitchen?

-thomas

[lewster]

Thomas,

It's a little hard to tell but generally, it should be no problem to raise the plumbing. An inch ins't that much, and as long as you are not changing the pitch of the drain line, you should be OK.

[bhayden]

One thing I've noticed with our 6 gal is the recovery time is super fast. I wonder how much that is affected when you go to the 10 gal tank. Do they increase the BTU rating for the burner? Ours certainly isn't endless hot water on demand but does a more than adaquate job of keeping up. Of course we haven't used the shower but given the design of the shower "stall" you'd be hard pressed to do much more than a navy shower anyway. Redoing the bathroom/shower will be something on our "to do" list before making any mods to the H2O heater.

-Bernie