Water Heater Switches

[arcdeland]

Good morning and hope everyone is doing well. I just found out about this amazing forum! We have a new 2022 Prowler 303BH and have a few questions about the hot water heater...
1. There are two power switches, one outside on the water heater itself and one inside the bathroom. Do I need to have them both on when connected to 50 amp shore power? I currently only have the one outside on the water heater on and I have hot water.
2. What is the capacity of the hot water tank?
3. How long does it take to reheat the hot water? There are 4 of us on our 1st 2 week trip.
Thank you in advance for all your help!!

 

[danemayer]

Hi arcdeland,

The switch on the water heater is considered a secondary switch that protects the water heater element when there's no water in the tank. For example, when on a dealer lot or at an RV show where people walk through, it's not unusual for people to flip switches inside the trailer. If the secondary switch is on and no water in the tank, the element will burn out very quickly.

To use the electric 120V side of the water heater, you need both switches ON. There's also a propane/12V DC operation which is what's heating your water now. You can have both turned on for faster recovery.

To find the capacity of the tank, you'll need to look at the manufacturer's label on the outside of the water heater. Water heaters typically come in 3 sizes, 6, 10, and 12 gallons. The model # will include one of those numbers. Without looking, I'd guess you might have a 10 gallon tank.

If you have 10 gallons of heated water, mixed with cold water, you could get perhaps 20 gallons of shower. At 3 gallons per minute, that would come to about 6 or 7 minutes of shower time. If the campground is in a cold climate and the water is very cold, you'll get less. If you've got water flow in excess of 3 gallons per minute, you'll have to use more heated water in the mix, reducing shower time. One way to reduce the effect of colder campground water or higher water flow would be to fill the fresh tank and use the pump, turning off the campground water spigot for shower time. The water in the fresh tank, if filled the prior day, will not be as cold as the campground water. Of course, if you're in Florida or Texas, the campground water won't be cold.

Reheating time will depend on the temperature of incoming water. In my experience, you might have a 30-45 minute wait time. However, that time will be reduced by turning on both the 120V electric side, and the propane/12V DC side together. Since that will provide twice the heat, you may cut the recovery time in half.

 

[arcdeland]

Hi arcdeland,

The switch on the water heater is considered a secondary switch that protects the water heater element when there's no water in the tank. For example, when on a dealer lot or at an RV show where people walk through, it's not unusual for people to flip switches inside the trailer. If the secondary switch is on and no water in the tank, the element will burn out very quickly.

To use the electric 120V side of the water heater, you need both switches ON. There's also a propane/12V DC operation which is what's heating your water now. You can have both turned on for faster recovery.

To find the capacity of the tank, you'll need to look at the manufacturer's label on the outside of the water heater. Water heaters typically come in 3 sizes, 6, 10, and 12 gallons. The model # will include one of those numbers. Without looking, I'd guess you might have a 10 gallon tank.

If you have 10 gallons of heated water, mixed with cold water, you could get perhaps 20 gallons of shower. At 3 gallons per minute, that would come to about 6 or 7 minutes of shower time. If the campground is in a cold climate and the water is very cold, you'll get less. If you've got water flow in excess of 3 gallons per minute, you'll have to use more heated water in the mix, reducing shower time. One way to reduce the effect of colder campground water or higher water flow would be to fill the fresh tank and use the pump, turning off the campground water spigot for shower time. The water in the fresh tank, if filled the prior day, will not be as cold as the campground water. Of course, if you're in Florida or Texas, the campground water won't be cold.

Reheating time will depend on the temperature of incoming water. In my experience, you might have a 30-45 minute wait time. However, that time will be reduced by turning on both the 120V electric side, and the propane/12V DC side together. Since that will provide twice the heat, you may cut the recovery time in half.

Thank you so much for the detailed info. It is greatly appreciated not only by me, but also the gals in our group! I definitely look forward to the quicker recovery time.

We are looking forward to many new adventures ahead.