Water Heater, How long do they last?
The Atwood hot water heater in our 2004 National Coach no longer heats with the electrical element. The propane system heats the water fine. Access to replace the heater element will require first rem...
Forum Discussion
My RV is 17 years old. The water heater still works, but has cracks in the aluminum tank, that cause it to drip a bit. So I would say you can get 16 years out of them.
What savings will you get by replacing the heating element? Propane is about $3 per gallon where I live and electric to run the heating element about $0.10 per KW. It takes 22 KW to make the same amount of heat as 1 gallon of propane, so you would save about 80 cents compared to burning a gallon of propane in my area. Since my 11 gallon propane tank will last 4 weeks full timing in the summer, my guess is the refrigerator used 1/2 that propane, and then the water heater 4-6 gallons in 4 weeks, or about $5 per week. Either way, it is not worth it to say "I will save $40 a year in propane by replacing the electric element."
But buy and have a $465 water heater installed if you are happy with that decision. The heating element is about $45, and as you said will take a bit of time to install. You are not sure that it will be leak free once completed, however most of the time it all installs quickly without problems.
I would just leave it alone, and burn propane for the next 6 years, replace it then, if you have not already traded it in on a newer model.
Fred.
What savings will you get by replacing the heating element? Propane is about $3 per gallon where I live and electric to run the heating element about $0.10 per KW. It takes 22 KW to make the same amount of heat as 1 gallon of propane, so you would save about 80 cents compared to burning a gallon of propane in my area. Since my 11 gallon propane tank will last 4 weeks full timing in the summer, my guess is the refrigerator used 1/2 that propane, and then the water heater 4-6 gallons in 4 weeks, or about $5 per week. Either way, it is not worth it to say "I will save $40 a year in propane by replacing the electric element."
But buy and have a $465 water heater installed if you are happy with that decision. The heating element is about $45, and as you said will take a bit of time to install. You are not sure that it will be leak free once completed, however most of the time it all installs quickly without problems.
I would just leave it alone, and burn propane for the next 6 years, replace it then, if you have not already traded it in on a newer model.
Fred.
