New member; need Water heater help

[RandyMan]

Hi All and Happy New Year:

Wife and I have been full timing in our 35' Carriage Cameo 5th Wheel for almost 2 years now and love it. The past two showers my wife has mentioned the hot water doesn't last until the end of the shower. I haven't changed anything that I can think of... switches on the wall are set for electric hot water then gas backup.

We are wintering in Florida and it has recently been cold (a few nights in the upper 20's). HOWEVER, the comments of the hot water not lasting have been once it warmed back up? So I'm not sure it's the cold water temp.

Any ideas?

Randy

[TXiceman]

I bet she is just not aware of how long she is running the water. We can take back to back showers with a 6 gallon propane only water heater.

A suggestion is to get on of the flat disk stoppers and plug the drain while showering. Let the warm water stand around your feet and see just how much water you are using. The warm water at your feet also keeps you warmer when showering.

Also make sure the outside shower valves are not open.

And welcome to iRV2

Ken

[RV Wizard]

Check to be sure the outside shower faucet is completely turned off at the knobs and not just the head. What mode of heating (electric or gas) have you used resulting in this problem? Do you have a means to test the water temperature at the water heater pop off valve? What year is your coach?

[Wanabee FTer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandyMan The past two showers my wife has mentioned the hot water doesn't last until the end of the shower. I haven't changed anything that I can think of... switches on the wall are set for electric hot water then gas backup. Randy

I just had the same exact issue with my wife. I scratched my head for quite some time because I was not having an issue with the hot water myself. I told her when I take a shower I turn the hot water down so it doesn't run out so fast, but still she said same problem. I got to thinking and the only thing I did different at this CG is that I did not put the water pressure regulator on the FW line. I trusted this CG as they maintain a constant 55 PSI in the park.

I put the regulator back in line and now she says problem solved.
I guess she was not turning down the hot water enough to keep it from running out of our 6 gallon HWT.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

You may want to flush the water heater. Calcium and mineral deposits can take up a fair amount of space in the tank. I clean ours out about twice a year. I bought one of those devices that attach to the hose to help flush the crud out through the drain hole. Give that a try and see if that helps.

[Clay L]

One thing to check is the temperature of the water in the tank. It should be 140 plus or minus a few degrees. If it is that hot, then I would look for a water cross feed somewhere. The external shower has been mentioned. Some types of single lever faucets can leak across.
When it happened to me it was the winterizing diverter valve that had a very small leak when it was closed.

[Steve N Sal]

Welcome to the forum. I can't really help on the water heater problem but I'm sure you will get plenty of comments of what to look for regarding the problem. Hope everything turns out OK. Enjoy your travels and Happy Motoring!!!

[Graniteman]

I camp with the wife and daughter so we up graded to a 15 gallon. I still think I am going to look into a valve to shut the head off between soaping up and rinsing off. The oxygenics has a similar interesting setup.