leaving water heater on

[BeansinBean]

Hello, I am just getting used to my XLR toy hauler. Sorry if this question has already been answered, but it is something I am curious about and do not want to waste any excess energy in my trailer.

My question:

I am in and out of my trailer for a few days on and off. I am curious, do you leave your water heater on if you are going for a couple days or turn it off and then back on every time?

[flymhi]

Depends a lot on whether you are on battery power or shore power. Regardless of supply, we turn ours on when we anticipate taking showers, washing dishes, etc.; then shut it off again. Just conserving where we can.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by BeansinBean

Hello, I am just getting used to my XLR toy hauler. Sorry if this question has already been answered, but it is something I am curious about and do not want to waste any excess energy in my trailer.

My question:

I am in and out of my trailer for a few days on and off. I am curious, do you leave your water heater on if you are going for a couple days or turn it off and then back on every time?

If I was gone for a few days I would probably shut it down, but it uses very little propane when on propane, If your on CG electric I would leave it on and not worry. But shutting it off is probably the safest....

[FRRVR]

If I am gone for a length of time I turn it off and turn off water if connected. I am a little more cautious.

[KingFisher]

If I'm leaving my trailer for over 2 hours I turn off the water heater and turn off the water also.
If I'm working out of town and living in my trailer I turn off the water heater when I go to bed also. It's only 6 gallons and heats up very fast.

[dahagen]

Like FRRVR, I always turn off the water heater (both gas and electric) and the water at the outside spigot if I am going to be out of the RV for longer than just the day. If a water pipe breaks you will not flood the RV and ruin the water heater by heating it when it is empty.

[MacDR]

X2 I turn off the water at spigot and turn off water heater..

[B and B]

I leave my water turned on when hooked up and leave heater on as well. No different than my house... we are camping right now and I left my water on at home. If there is a fire the plastic pex pipe melts and puts the fire out.

[MilCop4523]

we are at a seasonal and also hit the road.
i turn mine on when we first get there after checking the water levels and turn it off if leaving but not hauling. if we are there and going to haul I put it on propane so we have hot water along the way (never know when nature strikes DW).
if we are not going to be around for 3 or more days, we shut the hot water off. we also turn the water off in case we spring a leak while we are gone.

[hotzfamily]

I turn mine on before I plan on using hot water. Then turn it off when I'm done. Turn water pump off if we're leaving the trailer (we're almost always NOT on city water) for a while. Turn pump off when we go to bed.

I left the WH on when we first got the TT and the "firing up" noise woke me (it's right near our bed on my side) up. Prefer to know nothing will be "firing up" while I'm sleeping!

[dnjsellars]

I have always just turned the water heater off since it doesn't take too long to heat up anyways. There is no safety reason that you couldn't just keep the thing running if you wanted to, it is personal preference.

David & Janet
2015, GMC 1500, Z71, 5.3L, 3:42
2016 Vibe 268RKS

[Bluepill]

I have a 10 gallon propane and electric WH. I can get enough hot water for a shower in about 10 minutes by using both power sources. I just turn them on when I first wake up, then start my coffee maker, then prep breakfast. In 10 minutes, I take my shower, then shut off the WH. There is enough hot water left for any dish washing chores.

Keep in mind that water heaters are poorly insulated, and add heat to the inside of your RV as long as they are running. In A/C weather, it's like turning on both your A/C and heater and letting them fight it out.

[Blackhat6mike]

Originally Posted by flymhi

Depends a lot on whether you are on battery power or shore power. Regardless of supply, we turn ours on when we anticipate taking showers, washing dishes, etc.; then shut it off again. Just conserving where we can.

X2 We always turn it off until about a half hour before needing hot water. If you need it faster, turn on the gas heat also. Much faster heat up!
Why leave it on if you don't need it? Never had a water heater go out on me in all my years of RVing. They only run for so long.

[Blackhat6mike]

Originally Posted by Bluepill

I have a 10 gallon propane and electric WH. I can get enough hot water for a shower in about 10 minutes by using both power sources. I just turn them on when I first wake up, then start my coffee maker, then prep breakfast. In 10 minutes, I take my shower, then shut off the WH. There is enough hot water left for any dish washing chores.

Keep in mind that water heaters are poorly insulated, and add heat to the inside of your RV as long as they are running. In A/C weather, it's like turning on both your A/C and heater and letting them fight it out.

I opened my cabinet that contains both my water heater and converter last week for the first time I can remember. I was amazed at just how hot it was in there. Scary Hot!

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by BeansinBean

Hello, I am just getting used to my XLR toy hauler. Sorry if this question has already been answered, but it is something I am curious about and do not want to waste any excess energy in my trailer.

My question:

I am in and out of my trailer for a few days on and off. I am curious, do you leave your water heater on if you are going for a couple days or turn it off and then back on every time?

Does it really matter well yes and no who is paying the bill . whenever I leave the camper for more then a few hours I always turn off the water heater and water supply I don't want a leak to pop up

[Wolverine 1945]

Off would be my suggestion,,, but then we never leave home for more than a day or two that I turn Well Pump off, put the W/H on vacation, unplug the W/S, coffee pot and so on !!! Even the garage door opener is unplugged !!!
IF YOU DON'T NEED,,, WHY LEAVE IT ON ???