TT Newbie has questions, help?

[Saltlick]

Hello,

Just got a skyline 2002 249LT and I am a little confused in regards to the water heater. So if im at home, and hook up the water hose to my trailer (in the city water connection) and turn the water hose on this will fill up my water heater correct? And once its full (you check by turning on the hot water faucet, if water comes out then its full) i can then hook up electricity and turn on the switch to ignite the water heater and all is right in the world.Correct?

I guess i am just checking to see if the above is the right way to do it, and my other question is once that is done, and i unhook the city water line does the 6 gallons of water remain in the water heater tank, so from that point on i can just leave the power cord hooked up to it at home and do what im going to do in the trailer and not worry about the hot water tank burning up? I guess im confused, ive heard you cant plug in your trailer to your house without the hot water heater being filled up, even if you dont plan on hitting the switch to ignite the gas and heat the water up. Is there a heating element in the tank that comes on the minute you plug in the power somewhere?

Oh and one more thing, when you guys go camping and hook up to the city water and electricity, do you just turn your propane on and leave it on the whole time your camping? Do you drain the 6 gallons of water out of the water heater before you leave for camping or just leave that water in there until your ready to winterize it? Sorry about the long post, i just want to get this right! So many questions so little time to camp in cold oregon.

[time2roll]

You have the fill part right.

Your water heater is most likely fired with propane and will need the propane tank on and some battery power for the igniter. No need to plug in except to keep the battery charged.

Some also have an optional electric element that draws a lot of power. About 12 amps. There will be a separate switch to control the electric element if you have this option. My switch is outside behind the access panel. Possible to have an inside switch. The 12 amps is a heavy load and will max out the typical 15a supply you might be plugged into. Especially if the converter is also charging the battery or the fridge kicks on electric. If you use an extension cord it should have minimum #12 wire. And of course if you plug in and it is already on be sure the heater is full of water.

If power is ever limited or marginal I recommend just using propane only.

[bob213]

Electric element and propane ignition are on separate switches. If you have a Suburban WH the switch may be outside in the WH compartment. A black on/off toggle switch. If you have electric hookups at the campground save your propane and heat with electric. You can run both for quicker recovery. If I know I'm going camping again within a few weeks, I leave the water in my tank when we're done. I always turn my electric switch for the WH off before I unhook the water when I break camp.
#2. I leave my propane on when we camp. If the 2002 models do not have a CO or propane detector I would install one. The only thing I turn off if we leave camp to go sightseeing is the water. And that's just an AR precaution.

[Saltlick]

owenssailor wrote:
As described above, the water heater must be full of water before any heating. When we pull into a campground and plug in we turn on the electric heater. It stays on all the time. Occasionally we'll also turn on the propane as well for showers to speed recovery times. Normally the propane heater is off.

We left the propane cylinders on all the time. When plugged in the fridge is on electricity. When travelling it runs on propane to keep temperature constant.

This worked well over the 4 months we travelled last winter. I hope this helps.

Our is gas, but has an an electronic ignition....so i suppose that means we turn on the city water, once the water heater is filled with water, plug in the electricity, then turn on the propane then flip the switch that activates the electronic ignitor. Jesus, i just want to go camping ha!

[Saltlick]

dtzackus wrote:
Rule #1, never turn on a water heater unless it is full of water, those heating elements will burn out very quickly if not water is there.

Once you connect to the city water part of your camper, I would turn on the hot water till all the air comes out of the line (the 6 gallons) then you are ok to turn on your heater. It typically takes 20 minutes on propane to heat the water up. The water heater will only turn on if you turn the switch on, plus you will have to turn on the propane, not sure how the electric ones work (never had one)

I always dump the water before I leave the camp site, why tug an extra 48 lbs (6 gallons at 8 lbs each). I typically drain all water before we leave.

When we 1st started camping, I would always turn on the gas when I needed it, then turn it off when I didn't. Anymore, I just simply leave it on anymore...

Dan

Okay, that about answers my questions. Thanks so much! you would think they would mention in the owners manual that very important part but i never saw it. Ha. If my friend wouldnt have mentioned that to me i would have just come home and hooked up the electricity and burned up the element inside. good lord. what else and i missing? ha ha. Thanks again.

[owenssailor]

As described above, the water heater must be full of water before any heating. When we pull into a campground and plug in we turn on the electric heater. It stays on all the time. Occasionally we'll also turn on the propane as well for showers to speed recovery times. Normally the propane heater is off.

We left the propane cylinders on all the time. When plugged in the fridge is on electricity. When travelling it runs on propane to keep temperature constant.

This worked well over the 4 months we travelled last winter. I hope this helps.

[dtzackus]

Rule #1, never turn on a water heater unless it is full of water, those heating elements will burn out very quickly if not water is there.

Once you connect to the city water part of your camper, I would turn on the hot water till all the air comes out of the line (the 6 gallons) then you are ok to turn on your heater. It typically takes 20 minutes on propane to heat the water up. The water heater will only turn on if you turn the switch on, plus you will have to turn on the propane, not sure how the electric ones work (never had one)

I always dump the water before I leave the camp site, why tug an extra 48 lbs (6 gallons at 8 lbs each). I typically drain all water before we leave.

When we 1st started camping, I would always turn on the gas when I needed it, then turn it off when I didn't. Anymore, I just simply leave it on anymore...

Dan