Water Heater

[chris3403]

My wife loves lot water when she wakes up so I leave it on propane all night.
For the past 4 mornings there is no hot water when she runs the faucet, however as soon as she starts running it the heater kicks on so it works. The problem is there is no hot water when she wakes up. Anyone know whats going on? It is a Suburban water heater.
Thanks

[GordonThree]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

chris3403 wrote:
Current temperature is 57 going down to 50 tonight. Wife should have hot water in the morning but she wont.
weather

Did she?

Looks like Chris is done with us

[F350_RR]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Chris,

And yes, a HW circulating pump can save you a lot of water.

Matt

I thought that a pump might work well in conjunction with an insulated tank to add more hot water for my wife’s tub in the NL-RR

[Old-Biscuit]

chris3403 wrote:
Current temperature is 57 going down to 50 tonight. Wife should have hot water in the morning but she wont.
weather

Did she?

[Dick_B]

Our bathroom is the farthest from the WH and when we turn on the hot water faucet it takes somewhere around 10 seconds for the hot water to reach it. My wife frequently uses the kitchen faucet in the morning because it is right next to the WH and the water is hot almost instantly.

[chris3403]

Current temperature is 57 going down to 50 tonight. Wife should have hot water in the morning but she wont.
weather

[wa8yxm]

GordonThree wrote:
I'd wager there's nothing wrong aside from cold water in the lines due to very cold weather even in the deep South and Southwest.

Ditto: Where I am now (Oconee County, South Carolina, below 1,000 feet elevation (This county is kind of .. Mountain like) we have had more below freezing nights THIS MONTH than I normally see in an entire winter. and it's only the 14th. and I think we have dropped into the 20's at least every night save perhaps one or two .`1q

[GordonThree]

I'd wager there's nothing wrong aside from cold water in the lines due to very cold weather even in the deep South and Southwest.

[chris3403]

Thank you very much Old-Biscuit

[Old-Biscuit]

chris3403 wrote:
We are winter Texans and have stayed in this same rv for the past 7 years so the problem has only recently developed. I will see about getting the thermostat replaced.
Thanks for the replies.

Easy DIY project

Turn 120AC power OFF
Remove 'Push To Reset Cover'
Disconnect Black 120V AC wires....left set of t-stats
Remove hold down nut....center of t-stat mounting plate

Install new set /

[chris3403]

We are winter Texans and have stayed in this same rv for the past 7 years so the problem has only recently developed. I will see about getting the thermostat replaced.
Thanks for the replies.

[Old-Biscuit]

Standard Suburban Water Heater T-stat is set to OPEN (stop heating process) at 130*F.
It will NOT CLOSE (call for reheat cycle) until water temp drops below 100*F

No demand.......tank can take a while to loose enough heat and IF that Faucet DW is first using in AM is far from water heater it will take a quite a bit of cool water before the WARM water from heater reaches faucet. And then t-stat calls for heating.

Before any water is used...measure water temp from T&P Relief Valve after heater has sat overnight.
CAUTION: Water could be HOT

IF water is 'cool' (less than 100*F) then time for new t-stat
If water is above 100*F..changing t-stat is NOT going to change anything

[ScottG]

Not normal for a tank type WH to do that. Your thermostat has developed a lot of hysteresis as Mat above described.
Time to replace the stat.

[Matt_Colie]

Chris,

You say the WH is Suburban, but with no model...
If it is a demand heater, this is common. If it is not, then the heaters thermostat has developed a lot of hysteresis. This is not uncommon, but it usually takes a while. That control is not hard to replace.

And yes, a HW circulating pump can save you a lot of water.

Matt

[2oldman]

I don't know.. sounds like a thermostat problem. Just so you know, a gas wh is VERY loud at 3am, so be kind to your neighbors.