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Old 12-08-2022, 04:57 AM   #1
K2 Camper
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12 Gallon Water Heater Capabilities

We have our new fifth wheel and it has a 12 gallon water heater. Is this enough hot water for living full time? Does the 12 gallons provide enough hot water to live like in our stick home or do we have to still take camper showers by turning off the flow so we can both get ready in the morning. If we shower like “regular” I am thinking the hot water won’t last for two of us to get ready. We have had a bumper pull for years and it only had a 6 gallon and we could not live long term with such a small hot water supply.

Should I consider changing it out and upgrade to a tankless for long term living?
 
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Old 12-08-2022, 05:39 AM   #2
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Like everything else it depends on your habits. Won't last for two thirty-minute showers back-to-back. Average shower uses about 2 gallons per minute but remember that is a mix of hot and cold water. We get by fine with back-to-back showers using a trick we learned on this forum. We set the water heater to run on both propane and electric at the same time. Think someone on the forum termed it "turbo heating". When we are finished showering, we set it back to just electric. I don't think it will be as big an issue as you think.
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Old 12-08-2022, 06:14 AM   #3
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We get by fine with back-to-back showers using a trick we learned on this forum. We set the water heater to run on both propane and electric at the same time. Think someone on the forum termed it "turbo heating". When we are finished showering, we set it back to just electric.
Interesting. Curious if water heater running on both propane and electric at same time is harmful if propane is forgotten to be turned off for an extended time frame? Anyone have experience here?
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Old 12-08-2022, 06:58 AM   #4
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Interesting. Curious if water heater running on both propane and electric at same time is harmful if propane is forgotten to be turned off for an extended time frame? Anyone have experience here?
been running our Suburban SW12DEL in both electric and gas mode at the same time for the last ten years on this fifth wheel..

Once the setpoint is reached on the thermostats both modes of heating will shut off.

I DO remove the burner tube and clean that area out once a year as well as clean and check gap on the ignitor.. Still running all original parts in this now 10 year old WH
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Old 12-08-2022, 07:22 AM   #5
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We have a 12 gallon and take showers back-to-back. (2 of us). Granted, we do not take 30 minute showers. They are quick, in and out. And we (primarily) live in our camper all year round, even when parked at home.

We've never run out of hot water in our Montana (5 years now?) If you are on a full hook-up site you won't have this problem.... BUT, if you are not on a full hook up site, don't forget, your grey tanks can hold only so much water too! If you are not connected to dump line, then you won't want to take 30 minute showers anyway. Your grey water holding tank will fill up first. (something to consider...)

FYI, after tent camping and RVing since we've been married (37 years now), and both of us coming from camping families as kids, the idea of taking short showers is just a way of life for us. Even at home, we are in-and-out, just that quick. At home, if we want to experience a "long hot one", we'll take a bath or jump in the hot tub. Navy / RV / short / quick showers just becomes a way of life... especially if you live in an RV.

FYI, hot water on demand systems have their negatives. In order for the heat to fire (yes, propane), water has to start moving. Then the initial heat has to build up. Even in home systems, this is still true. Depending on how efficient the on-demand heater is, you could run a lot of water before getting "hot". Not to mention, that with either a conventional water heater OR an on-demand ... the pipes between the heater and the faucet are still initially filled with cold water. Unless your on-demand system is located within a foot of the water faucet outlet, it still takes time for the cold water that's been sitting will be displaced with hot water, and it will still take several or (depending on how cold it is), minute(s) before the water at the faucet actually gets hot!

Before investing your $$$ into switching, give the 12 gallon a try, adjust your lifestyle, see if it works. You've adapted to living in a "tiny home" now, why not adjust to "tiny home" living. With a "tiny home" everything becomes minimized, even one's water usage.
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Old 12-08-2022, 07:22 AM   #6
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been running our Suburban SW12DEL in both electric and gas mode at the same time for the last ten years on this fifth wheel..

Once the setpoint is reached on the thermostats both modes of heating will shut off.

I DO remove the burner tube and clean that area out once a year as well as clean and check gap on the ignitor.. Still running all original parts in this now 10 year old WH
Thank you, was wanting to hear from someone that has real world experience with both methods of heating a WH.
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Old 12-08-2022, 09:18 AM   #7
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We've full timed for over 12 years now and it's never been a problem for us.
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Old 12-08-2022, 10:08 AM   #8
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We've full timed for over 12 years now and it's never been a problem for us.
Very good to hear. Thank you.
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Old 12-08-2022, 10:41 AM   #9
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This is from the Suburban site Q&A page. Not sure why they don't publish this in their manual, but on the box of a new water heater it does say that the rated recovery rate is with both the electric and gas modes turned on.
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Old 12-08-2022, 12:55 PM   #10
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In all the years I've had an RV with a gas/electric water heater I never thought it was OK to use both. Never too old to learn something it seems.
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Old 12-08-2022, 01:34 PM   #11
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All my fifth wheel trailers have had a 12 gallon LPG/electic water heater..........no problem taking a regular shower. We run it on electric to avoid LPG consumption. On demand LPG water heaters work well but consume propane and tend to cycle, resulting in periodic loss of hot water.
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Old 12-08-2022, 03:08 PM   #12
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We have been using the electric for the water heater for some time. It has a surprising recovery time on its own. We rarely take back to back showers but have never run out of hot water.
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Old 12-08-2022, 04:13 PM   #13
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If the weather is warm to hot, and therefore the incoming water is somewhat warm, we typically used the WH on electric only and still take back to back showers without running out of water. If the weather is cold and the incoming water is cold we used gas and electric at the same time to get faster recovery rate and again no problem running out of hot after.
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Old 12-08-2022, 04:55 PM   #14
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So I had to look cause I didn't know how big my tank was. Never even thought about it. I always take a camping shower just to conserve water. It turns out I have a 16 gallon tank. Well now I know
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Old 12-08-2022, 06:00 PM   #15
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Thanks for the input everyone!! I am glad I found this forum I am new here but I will learn a lot from everyone who has done this longer and differently than I learned. Thanks again!! K2
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Old 12-08-2022, 06:30 PM   #16
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DW has thick l-o-n-g hair. When she goes to shower I make sure our 12 gallon WH is on both propane and electric. Otherwise the WH is on electric only all other times, especially since I still take Navy showers to this day.


Edit: Just installed a Oxygenics shower head for the DW. Someone convinced her she would get even better results for her long hair. Happy wife - happy life...
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Old 12-09-2022, 08:46 AM   #17
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DW has thick l-o-n-g hair. When she goes to shower I make sure our 12 gallon WH is on both propane and electric. Otherwise the WH is on electric only all other times, especially since I still take Navy showers to this day.


Edit: Just installed a Oxygenics shower head for the DW. Someone convinced her she would get even better results for her long hair. Happy wife - happy life...
HWHL true story. What shower head did you install?
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Old 12-13-2022, 02:25 PM   #18
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I just went and looked. I have 12 Gallon. Have had no issues to date and when on 50 AMP power I only use electric. We basically shower back to back; maybe 10-20 minutes between showers. I would say we take average showers.
In my toy hauler we turn water on and off and take navy showers since we need to conserve water and not fill gray tanks. But in Montana its just like showering at home for us.
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Old 12-14-2022, 01:29 PM   #19
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Plenty for 2 people to take showers back to back
More than that Iffy
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Old 12-14-2022, 01:33 PM   #20
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I have had 6,10 and 12 gallon and tankless water heaters. The incoming water temp makes a huge difference in the length of shower you can take and the recovery time and is the biggest determiner in water heater performance. When you turn on the hot water it will always take 4 or 5 seconds for hot water to arrive at the shower. When you have a tankless it will take about 2 seconds more. You will never notice the difference. But the difference the tankless makes is amazing. You really can take as long as you want to shower. If you are not on a sewer hookup you will have to watch that you don’t fill your grey while enjoying the shower. We use the 12 gallon and are happy. By the time I can get control of the bathroom the water heater is recovered. And since it is just the two of us I don’t think I will switch to a tankless but who knows maybe one day…
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