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Old 08-30-2017, 04:57 PM   #1
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Water heater question for dry camping.

Hi. I am about to go off grid in my trailer for a month and propane conservation is important.
Question: will I use more propane leaving water heater on 24/7 to maintain hot water vs only turning water heater on two or three times a day when I want hot water and heating the tank from cold each time?
Different people have given me different opinions. Any experienced off grid campers who can weigh in on this?
Thanks in advance! [emoji3]
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Old 08-30-2017, 04:59 PM   #2
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Keep it on
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Old 08-30-2017, 05:01 PM   #3
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Keep er on

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Old 08-30-2017, 05:06 PM   #4
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I'd keep it off when hot water is not required. Manage the times you will actually need hot water. Wash dishes in batches near shower time(s) and then just turn it off. Small tank will heat back up quick enough and you won't have the burner running frequently during the day just to keep the tank hot.

Old tanks with a standing pilot actually got some heat from the pilot so they held hot water longer than the electronic spark units of today.
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Old 08-30-2017, 05:08 PM   #5
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If your goal is to minimize propane usage, make hot water only when you need it.
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Old 08-30-2017, 05:23 PM   #6
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You won't save turning it off and on ! I will run very few times after the initial heat up and only for a very short time .

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Old 08-30-2017, 06:39 PM   #7
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Thank you for your responses everyone. Looks like a pretty even split on which is the more efficient option. I think I'll try a week using each method and see if there is a noticeable difference one way or the other. Cheers! 😃
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Old 08-30-2017, 07:37 PM   #8
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This question was asked here a few months ago and I can't find it now but someone did the scientific calculations on thermal loss vs BTU's needed to reheat comparing keeping it on and only on when needed.

The results were only on when needed was a more efficient way of using propane.
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Old 08-30-2017, 08:12 PM   #9
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Awesome! Thank you, 5picker! I'm a science person.......I'll go with that. 😁
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Old 08-30-2017, 08:13 PM   #10
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Quote:
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This question was asked here a few months ago and I can't find it now but someone did the scientific calculations on thermal loss vs BTU's needed to reheat comparing keeping it on and only on when needed.

The results were only on when needed was a more efficient way of using propane.
Thanks! I appreciate that.
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Old 08-30-2017, 08:17 PM   #11
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Either way, I can't believe that amount of propane saved will be substantial. Extra propane is easy to carry
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Old 08-30-2017, 08:22 PM   #12
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I don't go off grid but I turn my water heater off when I go to bed. I still have hotter than warm water in the morning when I wake up.
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Old 08-31-2017, 12:59 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 5picker View Post
This question was asked here a few months ago and I can't find it now but someone did the scientific calculations on thermal loss vs BTU's needed to reheat comparing keeping it on and only on when needed.

The results were only on when needed was a more efficient way of using propane.
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Old 08-31-2017, 01:16 PM   #14
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Unless you are going to run a generator to keep your food cold your frig is going to use propane also. I would suggest taking at least an extra propane tank and good battery if you are going far enough off grid that you can't refill the propane tank.
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Old 08-31-2017, 01:20 PM   #15
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We didn't dry camp on our last 3-month trip to Florida. But, we only ran the water heater when necessary. And, we only used the shower in the coach a couple of times-the rest was at the resort showers. We never had need to run the furnace. Most of our main meals were cooked outdoors on a propane grill with a separate bottle. The coach has a 10 gallon/42 lbs tank and can only be filled to 80%. The tank gauge showed that we had used less than a third of that tank. The 20 lb bottle for the grill was more than half full.

If you are dry camping, you will be having to conserve water as much as propane. There are a lot of variable aside from the water heater that dictate propane usage. We noticed a lot of units on the grounds that had their gas bottles to the curb for refill or serviced if the tanks are on-board. The one time we filled was prior to leaving on the trip.

We have done a considerable amount of boon docking in past years and carried two 20 lb tanks. In some areas of Canada, there was not a place in 40 miles to refill. We never ran out of propane on those two week jaunts.
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Old 08-31-2017, 01:31 PM   #16
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We didn't dry camp on our last 3-month trip to Florida. But, we only ran the water heater when necessary. And, we only used the shower in the coach a couple of times-the rest was at the resort showers. We never had need to run the furnace. Most of our main meals were cooked outdoors on a propane grill with a separate bottle. The coach has a 10 gallon/42 lbs tank and can only be filled to 80%. The tank gauge showed that we had used less than a third of that tank. The 20 lb bottle for the grill was more than half full.

If you are dry camping, you will be having to conserve water as much as propane. There are a lot of variable aside from the water heater that dictate propane usage. We noticed a lot of units on the grounds that had their gas bottles to the curb for refill or serviced if the tanks are on-board. The one time we filled was prior to leaving on the trip.

We have done a considerable amount of boon docking in past years and carried two 20 lb tanks. In some areas of Canada, there was not a place in 40 miles to refill. We never ran out of propane on those two week jaunts.
Thanks for the detailed information PenJoe. I appreciate the time you took to reply. This info will be helpful for me. 😃
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Old 08-31-2017, 02:00 PM   #17
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You should turn it on only when needed. That is fact, not opinion. For proof, based on the laws of thermodynamics, scroll down to post #12 in this thread.
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Old 08-31-2017, 02:15 PM   #18
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I'm still a bit skeptical on how much propane would actually be saved. I would assume that you would have to take into consideration how well the water heater is insulated/how much heat loss there actually is. I'm no expert, but I would think you would actually have to track how often the water heater kicks on and how long it runs, vs how long it runs in order to heat the water up after turning it off for a period of time. My novice opinion would be that you would have some savings, but I would wager to say it's probably not significant enough to make that big of a difference. I know mine hardly kicks on if I'm not using hot water.
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Old 08-31-2017, 02:39 PM   #19
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People are having long discussions on propane savings with the whether or not you should leave the water heater on.

When it comes to dry camping, I think most people who ask these questions are more concerned with running out of propane rather than saving money.

When it comes to how much propane you will use here are some real world results for you. We have a ROO 233s. Dry camped for 4 nights. Left the water heater on the entire trip. Used the stove 3-4 times and used the oven once to bake 2 batches of cinnamon rolls so the oven was burning for about 40 minutes. We camped in the mountains of Colorado in July where the temperatures dipped to upper 30's low 40's overnight. We had the furnace running every night. We did not have the furnace set very high, like the low 50's (53-54) just to keep it from being real cold inside the camper. The last night we splurged and I turned the heat up to 63-64 just to see how much energy we would use. Lastly, the fridge was on propane the entire trip. During this trip, 2 people took one shower each, we regularly washed hands and faces with warm water and did some dishes now and then.

We have two 20 lb bottles on the camper. With this propane usage, we might have used half of one 20 lb bottle.

So, based on this, I could calculate that we might be able to get 16 nights on 2 bottles. If I was dry camping that long, I would run to town and get a refill.

So, to the OP, if you are concerned with running out, don't worry about it. The propane lasts a surprisingly long time. Now, the batteries... that is another story entirely. They are your limiting factor that you have to be judicious.
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Old 08-31-2017, 03:27 PM   #20
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If you plan to turn it off, do so prior to ending hot water use. If you have 6 gallons of hot water, and if those 6 gallons will do the job, turn off the heater PRIOR to drawing that hot water. Otherwise, your heater will fire and heat new, incoming cold water up to the roughly 140 degrees the thermostat calls for.

Ideally, you'd heat it, turn off the heater, then use it. If you need more than 6 gallons...say for doing dishes then taking a shower...do the dishes, let the tank recover, turn it off, then take your shower.
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