Community Forums

Stan&Jacquie · 01-18-2017, 06:12 AM

I'm parked in SW Fla and hooked to shore power. Running the water heater on electric. My question is, once I turn it on is it best to just leave it on 24/7 or is it better for the heater to turn it on just before you need hot water and turn it off for overnight or when we leave the coach? I'm concerned that by leaving it on it would over tax the element and lead to premature failure. Am I over concerned???

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70ChevelleSS · 01-18-2017, 06:22 AM

It will only heat until the water gets to the right temp. Then it will cycle on and off to maintain that temp, it's not going to keep heating the whole time. It's kind of a toss up, how long does it take to heat a tank of water? Are you willing to wait that long when you want hot water? It takes a while to heat a tank of water but doesn't take much to maintain that temp, especially in a warmer climate like Fl.

funjnt · 01-18-2017, 06:23 AM

I would say over concerned yes but worthy to ask the question. The electric element in our water heaters is the same element off the shelf at lowes to a home unit. It is designed to stay on like your home unit. We leave ours on all the time when on electric or propane when away from electric. Read your owners manual if you have one or download it and take a read if you want.

jrwalkerpa1 · 01-18-2017, 06:43 AM

I leave ours on all the time when parked at a campground with one exception.

The exception is when we are overtaxing the electrical load. I.e., elec water heater, ac, microwave, coffee pot, is too much if they all cycle on at the same time and will trip a breaker. However, we only have 30amp service. If your unit has 50 amp service and or a load balancing device, your results may vary.

tbfirm · 01-18-2017, 06:48 AM

Turned mine on 4 years ago. Haven't turned it off yet.

2009 Safari Cheetah 42' PAQ
2009 Honda CRV

Stan&Jacquie · 01-18-2017, 06:49 AM

Thanks guys, I thought I might be over concerned about this. You.ve put my mind at ease!

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wa8yxm · 01-18-2017, 12:58 PM

The answer depends on who is paying for the electricity, or rather how you are paying.

Now in my case it is included in the flat monthly fee. So I leave mine on 24x7 usually (Was off last night but.. Well.. I goofed, fixed and it's back on now).

If you are paying by the KWH.. Well then you might want to turn it off till about an hour before you need it.

Old-Biscuit · 01-18-2017, 01:15 PM

Your Atwood WH electric element is a 120V AC 1400W element just like those used in residential WHs.

Your Atwood t-stat controls heating cycles for electric and propane......allows water to be heated to 140*F then OPENS to stop heating cycle. When water cools down to 110*F the t-stat CLOSES and allows heating to resume.
IF t-stat should fail to open then the ECO (Energy Cut Off---HI temp t-stat) will OPEN at 180*F and 'lock out' any further heating cycles ---until Fault Reset.

Electric recovery time is roughly 6 gallons per hour based on initial heating and water at 70*F

Turning it ON/OFF.......personal preferences.
I turn mine ON when hooked up to shore power and don't turn it back OFF until when disconnect from shore power.
I like HOT water when I want hot water....don't want to have to wait or remember to turn it on 20 mins before I want to use hot water.
I do the same when using propane....ON
For me it is all about convenience as cost for either electric/propane is minimal in over all costs of RVng

Others turn it ON/OFF as needed
Again personal preference.

FYI...we FTd for 7 yrs and electric element in water heater and fridge were ON all the time we were connected to shore power and BOTH are OEM ----now 10 yrs old

Using them doesn't 'wear' them out.

MisterT · 01-18-2017, 01:47 PM

yes, leave it on when on shore power

no need to worry, it's just like your home water heater

select55 · 01-19-2017, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

The answer depends on who is paying for the electricity, or rather how you are paying.

Now in my case it is included in the flat monthly fee. So I leave mine on 24x7 usually (Was off last night but.. Well.. I goofed, fixed and it's back on now).

If you are paying by the KWH.. Well then you might want to turn it off till about an hour before you need it.

just leave it on;; the amount of power you may or may not save is miniscule
unless u only use hot water once a day or less