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H2O heater

Barry_J
Explorer
Explorer
I have an Atwood G6A-8E gas water heater, which is strictly gas.
Should I be running it all the time while spending time down at my camper?
Even if I am at the beach for the whole day?
Or should I just start it up 15 minutes before I want to take a shower, or when I am back in my camper for some time. Instead of running it while I am not there
24 REPLIES 24

hawkeye-08
Explorer III
Explorer III
On our previous trailer, we also had propane only hot water heater. We turned it on when we needed to, otherwise off. No reason to burn extra propane in case we might want hot water.

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
I leave mine running. I'm not in the habit of lighting it and waiting for hot water every time I need it.

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Explorer III
naturist wrote:
Fantastic way to waste propane. RV water heater is hardly insulated at all, so most of that heat is totally wasted. Turn the heat on 15-20 minutes before you need hot water, and turn it off as soon as possible. Immediately after a shower, or half-way through doing the dishes. Leave it off, otherwise.


Propane is dirt cheap today. Just filled a 20 pound bottle for 10 bucks today.
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB

rk911
Explorer
Explorer
we always turned it on as part of our setup and left it on while camped.
Rich
Ham Radio, Sport Pilot, Retired 9-1-1 Call Center Administrator
_________________________________
2016 Itasca Suncruiser 38Q
'46 Willys CJ2A
'23 Jeep Wrangler JL
'10 Jeep Liberty KK

& MaggieThe Wonder Beagle

donn0128
Explorer II
Explorer II
Jim@HiTek wrote:
A house water heater is in only equivalent to a RV water heater in that they both heat water. That's where the similarity ends.

You only have 6-10 gallons of water in your RV heater, and a gas burner that uses huge amounts of propane to get that water up to temp quickly. BUT, it only takes a few minutes to do so. Between 5 and 15 minutes. That water loses heat quickly too as the tank is small and somewhat exposed to ambient temps near the skin of the RV. And when that happens, the propane burner pops on and brings it back to temp whether you're using water or not. This is especially noticeable during cold weather.

It is basically a waste of propane to leave it on all the time. Just flip on the switch 5-15 minutes before you need hot water, and flip if off after.

Many owners have wired in an after market electric heater that goes into the drain hole for the tank in order to save on propane. Very handy, and gives you hot water whenever you need it when parked and plugged in. Hott Rod is one of those.


I wholeheartedly disagree with you there. My HW tanks have all been insulated. I leave them on all the time Im camping. It comes on maybe once a day for a few minutes when I have not used hot water. By your logic you should turn your homes HW heater off except when you want to use hot water. Gosh. What happens when you want to wash your hands, or do a few dishes? Turn it on, heat the water from 50 to 105 degrees or turn the water on and have hot water? Logic and common sense wins out every time.

naturist
Nomad
Nomad
Fantastic way to waste propane. RV water heater is hardly insulated at all, so most of that heat is totally wasted. Turn the heat on 15-20 minutes before you need hot water, and turn it off as soon as possible. Immediately after a shower, or half-way through doing the dishes. Leave it off, otherwise.

Jim
Explorer
Explorer
A house water heater is in only equivalent to a RV water heater in that they both heat water. That's where the similarity ends.

You only have 6-10 gallons of water in your RV heater, and a gas burner that uses huge amounts of propane to get that water up to temp quickly. BUT, it only takes a few minutes to do so. Between 5 and 15 minutes. That water loses heat quickly too as the tank is small and somewhat exposed to ambient temps near the skin of the RV. And when that happens, the propane burner pops on and brings it back to temp whether you're using water or not. This is especially noticeable during cold weather.

It is basically a waste of propane to leave it on all the time. Just flip on the switch 5-15 minutes before you need hot water, and flip if off after.

Many owners have wired in an after market electric heater that goes into the drain hole for the tank in order to save on propane. Very handy, and gives you hot water whenever you need it when parked and plugged in. Hott Rod is one of those.
Jim@HiTek
Have shop, will travel!
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Winnebago Journey, '02
Cat 330HP Diesel, 36.5', two slides.

Barry_J
Explorer
Explorer
That’s what I was thinking

justaboutretire
Explorer
Explorer
Would you do that on your house hot water heater?
Bill & Diane
3 Boys, 1 dog
1DIL, 3 Granddaughters
2002 Excursion Limited\w 7.3 PSD
2003 Citation 33M TT

agesilaus
Explorer III
Explorer III
Think about it this way,

"I have a truck, should I leave it running 24 hours a day in the driveway or should I start it when I want to go somewhere?"
Arctic Fox 25Y Travel Trailer
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