A Propane Use Question

USMC46 wrote:
..... this question assumes we are dry-docking with no electric water heater.

Ok, all you folks that have told how you save propane by using electric, go back and reread the original question. The assumption was NO ELECTRIC as an option.

When traveling, my water heater is heated by the engine coolant so if just an overnight stop, I don't turn the unit on as the water is still warm in the morning. If staying longer, I generally turn it on and leave it on as mine is older and is a manual light vs the more modern electric (12 volt) ignition units.

I turn on the water heater. I don't turn on the hotwater heater as it is already hot! :S

Jack H

I've only turned my LPG water heater on about 2 times in 6 years. My electric water
heater is super, it provides all the hot water my DW and I need. It stays on when we are hooked up to shore power and we have plenty of hot water. Maybe I'm just lucky.

We turn ours on in the mornings when we shower and then shut it off. The water will stay hot all day enough to wash your hands or dishes. If you need more you can always turn it on again.

We put ours on electric mode during the day and night and the gas when we shower or need extra hot water.

They make an electric element that replaces your anode rod on some water heaters that will allow you to use RV park electric to heat your water. This would save your propane. Electric WH adapter

I usually leave our water heater on. It seems to retain heat pretty well. Awhile ago our neighbors at a campground had a water heater that seemed to turn on multiple times an hour, whether or not they were using it. I almost walked over to ask if there was something wrong with it, but I guess it was just a poorly insulated heater.

I think the phrase is: Your Mileage May Vary!

For those of you that turn it off except when you're going to need it...do you also turn off your home hot water heater in your sticksNbricks home? That has a lot more impact on your yearly energy spend than saving a gallon of propane over the course of a season.

Just sayin :)

And you can probably argue until the cows come home about whether anyone saves anything given that it takes more energy to heat it back up than to keep it hot to begin with. That pesky "energy" thing :)
Think of your car going from a dead stop to 65mph. It can take a lot of horsepower to get your car up to 65mph, but once there, assuming flat ground, it only takes minimal horsepower to maintain that speed.

When we camp, I could care less whether someone shuts off the propane hot water or not. It's such a minimal expense that I refuse to even think about it.

The only reason I can see to turn it off is so it doesn’t disturb you or your neighbor during the night. Those things can be noisy, especially atwoods.

I run the heater for 15 to 25 minutes depending on ambient temp but just enough for a warm shower without mixing with cold. For all other uses I use a tea kettle. When boondocking conserving water and propane is important. Good luck.
Jack H