Water Heater Mod

[campersam9]

Has anyone ever installed a Hott Rod in there propane water heater? Wit the small propane tank I would like to not run out as fast a we do now. A single bottle is not much.

[RogerR]

I installed the Camco electric heat kit. Easiest part was installing the electric heater into the drain plug. Hardest was taking out the breaker/converter and adding a separate breaker and wiring. What a mess back there. But I did discover that Jayco forgot to tighten the 12 volt ground bar screws to hold the wires tight, which had been giving problems. Also, put in a lighted switch for on and off of the heater. Worth the $60 plus cost of breaker, skinned knuckles, minor abrasions, etc.

We arrive, fill water heater, click on and in couple hours have hot water.

Only 400 watts but we rarely light the heater any more, plenty for dishes and hand washing. Still light it for showers. Took several hours as I am not handy but am persistent.

[16WhiteColly]

I installed the same kit on my Starcraft and just plugged into a close outlet. No extra breaker involved. It works great, turn it on in the afternoon two hours before bath time and great hot water.

[campersam9]

I want to run a wire from the outlet and install the switch so it is easy to Tuen off and on.
How is the hot water holding the temperature when taking a shower? Do you have to run both propane and electric at the same time?

[16WhiteColly]

The Camco Heat Kit I bought came with a power cord and a switch, along with the thermostat that mounts on the water heater tank and the probe element. All in the kit, nothing extra needed. $60

[campersam9]

Will the electric heater element heat the water without propane?

[RogerR]

Mine does, (see my post above) in a couple of hours it is as hot as you would want it and maybe to hot for small children. I have taken short showers off my tank (wet, soap, rinse off) and had no drop but I was in max save mode as we were camping dry and far from water and dump station. I would not expect long showers would need LP to keep up as mine only draws 400 watts to heat the water.