Hot water heater question

csamayfield55 wrote:
I don't have any exact numbers here but from someone who works around commercial AC and heating systems here is my thoughts. You can either take it or leave it.

It takes WAY more BTU's (British thermal unit's) to heat water from ambient temperature to say 120 deg. than it does to maintain that temperature for a period of time. The water heater may cycle 4 or 5 times a day for short periods but it is not nearly as much heat energy than letting it cool and then reheat even 2 times a day.

Same for your AC unit's. If you let your rig heat soak till it is too hot to bear inside then turn on your AC it will take much more energy to remove that heat than if you set your stat at a comfortable level and maintain that level.

Chris

Sounds good on the surface, but I ain't buying it.

The heat loss from the hot water tank is to the atmosphere through the insulation on the tank. Heat loss is a function of the temperature difference so the colder the water is the less btu's per hour are being lost. Keeping it hot 24 hrs/day means you are radiating the most heat to the atmosphere and that has to be replenished with propane or electricity. Allowing it to cool between uses radiates less heat and uses less energy in the long run. (Even if it seems like it's firing longer).

csamayfield55 wrote:
I don't have any exact numbers here but from someone who works around commercial AC and heating systems here is my thoughts. You can either take it or leave it.

It takes WAY more BTU's (British thermal unit's) to heat water from ambient temperature to say 120 deg. than it does to maintain that temperature for a period of time. The water heater may cycle 4 or 5 times a day for short periods but it is not nearly as much heat energy than letting it cool and then reheat even 2 times a day.

Same for your AC unit's. If you let your rig heat soak till it is too hot to bear inside then turn on your AC it will take much more energy to remove that heat than if you set your stat at a comfortable level and maintain that level.




Chris

Yep, 100% agree!

I tried calculating whether gas or electric was more expensive. In money terms, it worked out about the same.
But - I don't have to carry the watts. I do have to carry the propane bottles. I am old and tired. 'Lectric wins.

I don't have any exact numbers here but from someone who works around commercial AC and heating systems here is my thoughts. You can either take it or leave it.

It takes WAY more BTU's (British thermal unit's) to heat water from ambient temperature to say 120 deg. than it does to maintain that temperature for a period of time. The water heater may cycle 4 or 5 times a day for short periods but it is not nearly as much heat energy than letting it cool and then reheat even 2 times a day.

Same for your AC unit's. If you let your rig heat soak till it is too hot to bear inside then turn on your AC it will take much more energy to remove that heat than if you set your stat at a comfortable level and maintain that level.

Chris

If I'm not boondocking, I turn both gas and AC on to heat up first, then just use the propane for showering, for quicker recovery. When boondocking, we turn it on in the AM for morning wash-ups, then off. Turn it back on if needed for lunch, then off. Back on again after dinner. Gas is cheap enough and it's not like we need to save it for the furnace, since we only boondock in the summer. :-) FWIW, I've never been in a CG that metered power, but then, I've only been in a very few campgrounds with full hookups. :-)

Lyle

Old-Biscuit wrote:
WHO is paying for the electric :H

Personally I don't really care..........it costs pennies and when I want HOT water I don't want to have to plan ahead.

Water heater, just like fridge is ON
IF it's hot weather A/C is ON and if it's cold weather furnace is ON.

Just like home.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Finally, the voice of reason, a pea from my own pod!

Cheers!

Mike

Food for thought. What do you do with your home S7B's water heater when you are home? To me same difference.

We tried it one winter and couldn't really tell any difference, unless we forgot to turn it back on and got a cold shower.
We look at it this way: Once Hot it doesn't take much to keep it hot, if it's not on and you slowly use up most of the hot water, you now have to heat up a entire tank of cold water.
Which actually if cheaper, don't really know or care. When we want hot water we want it now, not 30 or 40 minutes later. My story and I'm sticking to it.

jfkmk wrote:
Why heat hot water? Just kidding, it probably doesn't matter

That is what I was wondering, why heat hot water?

rockhillmanor wrote:
And why heat up water only to let it get cold and then heat it up again over and over and over again all day for nothing?.

I'm guessing my CG neighbors don't like to smell the exhaust either. :W

Ok, but it doesn't get cold if you leave it on.

It's not the exhaust, it the **** noise!!!