Hot water in the fall (colder temperatures)

[Sandrar]

I am two years into owning my 2013 Flagstaff 27RLSS. We enjoy taking our coach out in the fall. Our last trip was this November in Maggie Valley NC.
Taking a hot shower turns into a cold shower toward the end. I seem to run out of hot water even if I conserve some what by turning the water stream off during soaping up.
This does not seem to happen as bad in the warmer months.
Are there better water heaters or how can I make mine better.
Love a hot shower

[youroo]

Good chance your (Bypass) for W/H has a Valve or Valves turned the wrong way. You and others should have ample H/W for Quick showers! Yes it would be More pronounced in the (Colder) times! Youroo!!

[another_newfie]

Check your bypass valves as youroo suggest. We use our water system when winter camping down to as low as minus 25C and it has no impact on the amount of hot water.

[Bryce]

If the HWH was bypassed, I don't think the OP would get any HW.

Try running it on Gas instead of electric... Should heat water faster that way.

[wmtire]

I would check the actual bypass valve (the one that ties the cold water into the hot water line) behind the water heater. It may be partially open or bad, allowing cold water to mix in with the hot water....thus the short period of hot water time.



Another often overlooked culprit (Herk7769 taught me this one) can be the outdoor shower. If you leave the faucets on out there, but turn the water off with the shower wands on/off button on the side of it.....it also allows cold water into the hot water line when using your indoor shower. I would check to see if the taps are on outside, but turned off at the wand there.

[B and B]

We run both propane and Electric and never run out of hot water.

[youroo]

Our Elec.must be (Hotter) in the USA we only use Elec.and don't run out of H/W! Youroo!!

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Sandrar

I seem to run out of hot water even if I conserve some what by turning the water stream off during soaping up.

Love a hot shower

You will need to conserve much more water than like at your home. A typical RV water heater is 6 gallons (some are larger). You know what a 5 gallon bucket looks like. You have that and one more gallon to start out with.......to mix in with the cold water to bathe. You just won't be able to take near as long as showers as you do at home.

After you learn how to conserve the hot water, you should be able to take a good shower......but not a long one.

Don't let the water run, when you don't need to. As in soaping up, etc. Different shower heads/wands can also help in the waste of water.

If you just crave a longer shower, like at home, then campground bath houses may be the answer.

[OldCoot]

We found changing both hi limits to 140° helps a lot also.

[donanddona]

We run a BIT of hotwater at the kitchen sink until the water kicks in and then wait until it shuts off. Or you could run a little bit of hot water in the sink for soaking dishes until you hear the pilot light on the water heater, wait until it shuts off. You won't get much more hot water than that. Or, replace the shower head for that misty thingy.

[JohnandPandra]

Replace the shower head with an oxygenics. It will be a water miser and save your hot water making a quicker recovery. I have a small hot water tank and have never ran out of hot water when taking a shower. Takes only a few minutes to replace and you will be glad you did. Your local camping supply store or Camping World will have them.

[jtrader]

In the winter the temp of the water supply is lower to begin with. I've measured 35 degrees out of the cold tap in January. I use a residential shower head and put up with a little less water pressure by not turning the hot on full blast and using only a trickle of cold to make it a comfortable temp. This makes my typical shower run 4-5 minutes in the dead of winter (10-20 degrees outside).