Suburban water heater.
- Thread starter jgbagwell
- Start date
BigJim45
Luv'n Life
Your hot water heater only holds so much water, probably 10 or 12 gals and it does take time to reheat that water.
Check out the tools tab above and look for the section on water heaters.
danemayer
Well-known member
Put a 5 gallon bucket in the shower and see how long it takes the shower to fill it. If it takes 2 minutes, that would mean the water flow is 2.5 gallons/minute. Assume 1/2 of that is from the water heater, or 1.5 gallons/minute. If you have a 12 gallon water heater, that would give you about 8 minutes of shower time before you've exhausted the hot water and are depending on the recovery time.
If the hot/cold water mix is tilted toward the hot side, the time would be less.
If the water flow is 5 gallons/minute, you'd get 4 minutes of shower time.
If the hot/cold water mix is tilted toward the hot side, the time would be less.
If the water flow is 5 gallons/minute, you'd get 4 minutes of shower time.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
With most RV's we have to get used to taking 'Navy Showers' . . .
Can't stand there and bask in the wonderfulness of the flow of hot water like we can in our homes.
I just installed an Oxygenics Fury shower head in our Prowler last week:
These shower heads are supposed to increase the force of the water flow while using less water.
Won't get a chance to try it out until the New Mexico HOC Rally in May . . .
I'll let 'ya know!
Can't stand there and bask in the wonderfulness of the flow of hot water like we can in our homes.
I just installed an Oxygenics Fury shower head in our Prowler last week:
These shower heads are supposed to increase the force of the water flow while using less water.
Won't get a chance to try it out until the New Mexico HOC Rally in May . . .
I'll let 'ya know!
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
We replaced the standard with an Oxygenics shower head. Rated 1.75 gal/min. 12g HW heater. Neither of us have ever run out of hot water but then again neither of us spend much time in the shower in the camper or at home.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
Been using our 12 gallon water heater primarily on electric only and never run out of hot water. But then, I use the valves to mix the cold/hot water to a comfortable temperature, not just running hot. About the only time I turn on the propane burner is to recover quicker if we both want to shower.
How long the hot water lasts could depend on how much "real estate" you're trying to cleanse, too.
How long the hot water lasts could depend on how much "real estate" you're trying to cleanse, too.
2psnapod2
Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
We have a 12 gallon and can take a 15 minute shower with no issues. But you have to remember the hotter the water the less time you will have. Also how hot is the water at the beginning? It should be really hot if it is on full hot. Also have you flushed your water heater? It could be full of crud.
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
Our HW heater is really really HOT on electric. So hot that neither of us can put our hands in under wide open hot but for seconds. Regardless of our use we always mix it with ample cold so realistically we can use much more than the 12 gallons in the heater before we'd completely run out of hot water. Our HW doesn't seem quite as hot on propane only. Never used a thermometer to compare.
If your heater 's element is caked in calcium deposits it won't heat efficiently.
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If your heater 's element is caked in calcium deposits it won't heat efficiently.
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Lou_and_Bette
Well-known member
Just an off beat thought and probably not relevant in your situation but have you checked the outside shower valves to make sure they are completely closed. If, the valves are opened at all, this will cause mixing of hot and cold water so you never get completely hot water at your shower making you increase the amount of hot water used.
2psnapod2
Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Piperflyer
Well-known member
My suburban water heater was working fine on the 120v side of the heater. One day the hot water started coming out very hot. A few days later it started coming out only luke warm and has stayed that way.
The heater has never been turned on with an empty water tank and I just replaced the electric heat element along with the anode. I have tried resetting the thermostat, but water still is luke warm.
I get normal hot water only if I use the 12v propane side of the heater.
Has anyone experienced the same problem and what was the remedy?
The heater has never been turned on with an empty water tank and I just replaced the electric heat element along with the anode. I have tried resetting the thermostat, but water still is luke warm.
I get normal hot water only if I use the 12v propane side of the heater.
Has anyone experienced the same problem and what was the remedy?
I believe I am having the same issue. Kinda. On 12V, nice hot water. I turn 12V off and let it sit overnight. Turn on the hot water spigot in the kitchen and bathroom. Cold. I then turn on he 110V, wait for an hour or so. Nada. do not hear the gas fire up to heat the water. The breaker, from what I can see is fine. I reset it anyway. Still not warm. Book didn't help me much. It is the Suburban10DW I believe.
Thanks in advance. Book didn't really address the issue.
C&J
danemayer
Well-known member
If you're getting some heating, that would suggest that power is getting to the heating element. You should verify the voltage getting to the heating element, and also verify that the neutral return connection is good. Our owner-written Water Heater Troubleshooting Guide identifies how to check these.
There could be a problem with the 120V AC thermostat/ECO assembly being in a state of partial failure.
- - - Updated - - -
If the 12V/propane side is turned OFF, you'll never hear the gas fire up to heat the water. To troubleshoot the 120V operation, follow the instructions in our owner-written Water Heater Troubleshooting Guide.
That's exactly what I was thinking, you would be surprised how much crud accumulates in the tank, I try to flush mine out every couple months, and lots of crud comes out.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
I'm trying to wrap my head around this . . .
It makes more sense to me that the hotter the water, the more cold water you would add to your shower, thus giving you a longer shower run.
danemayer
Well-known member
I'm trying to wrap my head around this . . .
It makes more sense to me that the hotter the water, the more cold water you would add to your shower, thus giving you a longer shower run.
John,
Think of it this way. The water is 130 (F) coming out of the hot water line. Let's assume the cold water is 60 (F).
Depending on how you mix the hot and cold water, the temperature coming out of the shower could be 130 (F), or it could be 60 (F). If you mix the hot and cold equally, the temp of the shower will be 95. That's just a bit cooler than your body temp of 98.6.
If you want a hotter shower, you change the mix to 60% hot / 40% cold and the temp of the shower might go up to 100. If you want it really hot, maybe you mix 75% hot / 25% cold and it goes to 108.
Now if you start this exercise with hot and cold faucets wide open, and change the mix by reducing the cold, the run time won't be affected, but water flow will decrease. But if you start with the faucets 60% wide open and change the mix by increasing the hot and decreasing the cold, you'll use more hot water for any given period of time while maintaining water flow.
If you have good water flow, you may be starting with the faucets less than wide open. If you have poor water flow, they'll probably be wide open.
So there are several factors involved, but what we're talking about is the volume of hot water from the tank that comes out of the shower head for a given length of time. Hotter showers often take more hot water.
