How long for Hot Water?

[pm1stnau]

Greetings all: I am planning one more trip this year in the TT, and it occurred to me that up until now, we have only camped in summer months in CG's that had full, modern bathrooms and showers available. We haven't had to use hot water, and we haven't used our bathroom yet. The CG we are camping in next month will have closed their modern restrooms for the season, so hot showers and the toilet will be getting used for the first time. How long does it take to get the water hot--I plan on using the LP gas which is supposed to be quicker than using the electric. Should I expect the HWT to take an hour before it produces hot water? 2 hours? And is there anything special about the furnace/thermostat that I need to worry about? It usually gets a little chilly in northern Michigan in late November, and I don't want my bride to freeze. Thanks for any help/advice, and Happy Camping!!

[paflyfisher]

If I need hot water quickly or if we are taking showers, one after an other, I will turn both electric and gas on at the same time. First time start up on both sources is about 15 min. for hot water.

[pm1stnau]

Thank you, paflyfisher, for your quick reply. So you're saying that if I turn on both switches, LP gas and electric, it should take about 15 minutes to get hot water out of the faucets? I guess I was expecting it to take a couple of hours. Have you ever fly-fished our blue ribbon trout streams here in MI?

[TX_Arvee]

Turning on both will get you hot water rather quickly. Jayco rep gave me this tip. Just remember to turn one off after it catches up. The hot water tank is only between 5 and 8 gallons. (dont know for sure but they are small, like a bucket, not a big tank like at home)

[Grunge Grown Up]

I have a x17A. How do you know if you have both gas and electric hot water heaters? I was under the impression that mine only ran on gas.

[paflyfisher]

There will be two separate switches on the control panel, one for elect. and one for gas. The will light up red when turned on, at least mine do.

[tlhdoc]

Originally Posted by Grunge Grown Up

I have a x17A. How do you know if you have both gas and electric hot water heaters? I was under the impression that mine only ran on gas.

Normally on the 17s it is only a gas water heater.

[Jagiven]

If you open up your outside cover to your water heater, it will also tell you the amount of hot water you can expect in each of the three heating modes. I believe mine says on electric I can get about 6.X gal/hr, on gas 11.X gal/hr, and running both electric and gas it is about 17 gal/hr. I do not recall it telling how fast the system will recover, but it might.

[norty1]

A 6 gallon wh running on gas will not take over 30 minutes to cycle off. If you have not checked out the furnace and facilities before now, I recommended doing it before the trip.

[tnchuck100]

Let me add to what norty said. You should operate EVERY system in EVERY mode that your RV has at least once a month. The only exception would be the fire extinguisher. But check that anyway.

[pm1stnau]

Originally Posted by tnchuck100

Let me add to what norty said. You should operate EVERY system in EVERY mode that your RV has at least once a month. The only exception would be the fire extinguisher. But check that anyway.

As silly as that sounds, you're absolutely right. I should check out every system/function of my TT; sadly, I have not. I'm always leery of breaking something. Thanks for the advice. I know what I'll be doing this weekend!!

[BluJay]

Hi GGU,

I also don't believe there is a dual system water heater option on X17s. Added the following "hybrid" kit to my LP-only X17Z, which gives me the option of LP, electric, or both. Fairly easy to install, too.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/hott-rod-water-heater-conversion-kits/8089