RV How-To Guide | Water Heater

  • Most hot water heaters run on propane but some trailers are equipped with combination hot water heaters which will run on gas and/or electric.
  • Once all the water is used up, the recovery time is 18-22 minutes
  • The shower should remain hot for a good amount of time, however, if you are camping at a site without a sewage connection, showers should be very short so the grey water tank does not fill up too soon. Showers should be turned on to get wet, then turned off for soaping, then turned on for rinsing. This will minimize the chance of the grey water tank filling up.
  • Most hot water heaters will have a direct spark ignition which means they will will light the starter by itself automatically. Keep in mind that if the trailer hasn’t been used recently and if the hot water heater is located towards the rear of the trailer far from the propane tanks, appliances closer to the propane tanks might need to be turned on first to get propane flowing effectively to the hot water tank.
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