Hot water not lasting

put fuel in the RV and drive to a warmer climate :B

NO. its not maint issue..its the cold water comming in from city inlet

fill your fresh tank, turn off the city inlet connection
once the fresh water tank warms up..(24hrs) the showers will last longer
as you will be mixing less hot water
also i would switch to LP
its cold you are going to need it
i would rather pay for LP and have hot showers, than worry about running out of hot water

x2. What MrWizard says about the very cold water coming in. Warm it up a little in the fresh tank first :)

This is in your 07 Coachman?
7 plus yrs old water heater......so have you been routinely clean/flushing tank?

Mineral build up inside tank and on electric heat element will reduce heat transfer capabilities.

Also......is water actually heating to full t-stat set point?
T-stat ever been changed?
Is it tight against tank wall....making contact with a clean surface?


Which Brand/Model Of water heater?

Does it provide adequate hot water on just propane?

With combo (electric & gas) both can be used at same time for faster recovery time>>>>>>not a cure just a work around until you check out element, t-stat and actual temp of water (at PRV----------CAUTION water should be hot like 130*F-140*F)

X2 on OldBiscuit's comments above. May very well be maintentance issues.

MrWizard wrote:
put fuel in the RV and drive to a warmer climate :B

NO. its not maint issue..its the cold water comming in from city inlet

fill your fresh tank, turn off the city inlet connection
once the fresh water tank warms up..(24hrs) the showers will last longer
as you will be mixing less hot water
also i would switch to LP
its cold you are going to need it
i would rather pay for LP and have hot showers, than worry about running out of hot water

This is the problem.

I am a plumber and every year as the service water gets colder and colder, we get more and more calls from people thinking their water heater is going bad. I could take advantage of this and sell a load of water heaters every fall and winter, but I am an honest plumber.

Bruce

Definitely the cold water temperature. It is in the 30s and 40s here and the difference in the length of hot showers is noticeable from last month in the 60s and 70s. And our rig is new - no time yet for build up...

OP I will fill the fresh water tank and let you know how that goes ... interesting. And yes I've had the hot water tank serviced annually but it is 7 years old.

Is it possible to use less water during a shower? For me, I turn the water off while soaping, then turn it back on again while rinsing. My wife does the same.

Back in the days when we tent-camped, we had a "sun shower" that held one (or was it two) quarts of water. An hour in the sun and it was nice and warm. If we could find an out-of-sight place in the bushes then we would BOTH shower (together of course) with that much water!

nomad297 wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
put fuel in the RV and drive to a warmer climate :B

NO. its not maint issue..its the cold water comming in from city inlet

fill your fresh tank, turn off the city inlet connection
once the fresh water tank warms up..(24hrs) the showers will last longer
as you will be mixing less hot water
also i would switch to LP
its cold you are going to need it
i would rather pay for LP and have hot showers, than worry about running out of hot water

This is the problem.

I am a plumber and every year as the service water gets colder and colder, we get more and more calls from people thinking their water heater is going bad. I could take advantage of this and sell a load of water heaters every fall and winter, but I am an honest plumber.

Bruce

I'm not buying this answer. Water lines are buried in the ground below the frost line, therefore the water temperature for city water will be the mean ground temperature for your area plus or minus a degree or two. Not enough to make a difference. Check your heating elements and or the temperature controller.

RoyF wrote:
Is it possible to use less water during a shower? For me, I turn the water off while soaping, then turn it back on again while rinsing. My wife does the same.

Back in the days when we tent-camped, we had a "sun shower" that held one (or was it two) quarts of water. An hour in the sun and it was nice and warm. If we could find an out-of-sight place in the bushes then we would BOTH shower (together of course) with that much water!

Back when we tent camped with the kids we did the same, now, especially as full-timers we do not want to give up any comforts of "home". The shower will last as long as I need it to, especially due to the fact that not a month ago it was fine!