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Old 01-10-2018, 07:41 PM   #1
George Morey
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Propane or electric

Is it more economical to use propane or ac to run the refrigerator and heat water?
 
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Old 01-10-2018, 08:17 PM   #2
BuilderBob
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Electric is way more economical as far as money aspeshaly if it is included in the price of
site. but with most rv water heaters they work better on gas then electric as far as how
fast they recover the newer waters can run on gas and electric at the same time so you
really heat water fast.

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Old 01-10-2018, 08:21 PM   #3
1retired06
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Electric is cheaper. WH on electric has always been sufficient for us.
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Old 01-10-2018, 08:33 PM   #4
BB_TX
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I run the water on electric since we are only some timers, not full timers, and electric is always included in site fee. But if the weather is fairly cold I operate it on both electric and propane to get better recovery time since the incoming water will also be cold.

Fridge is always on auto so that it runs on electric when we are hooked up, and propane when not.
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Old 01-10-2018, 08:53 PM   #5
AZ Traveler
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Hate to run the generator to heat my water or run my fridge. Also limits what other electric things I can run at the same time without overloading the generator. Would rather use propane. Not sure which is cheaper gas or propane.
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Old 01-11-2018, 04:56 AM   #6
Eagleback
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Full timing for years now and electric is the way to go if you can, Propane is more expensive than electric and you don't have to fill the bottles, but i exercise the fridge one day every month on gas and the water heater is using both the electric and gas for quicker recovery
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Old 01-11-2018, 07:25 AM   #7
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It can cost as much as $30 to fill one bottle of gas. I went through a bottle every 3 days when cold out because of heater. On just water heater bottle lasts much longer. Fridge goes both ways gas / electric
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Old 01-11-2018, 07:28 AM   #8
richfaa
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We have always used Electric and we have no idea which is more cost effective. We will run everything on propane at least on day a month to insure everything works. Our total electric bill here at our Florida lot runs 70 to 100.00 per month depending on A/C usage and how often the furnace runs.
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Old 01-11-2018, 02:25 PM   #9
DQDick
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We use electric for the frig and water heater except when boon docking or during a power failure. I dislike dealing with the propane bottles anymore than necessary and the furnace will cause more of that activity than I need anyway.
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Old 01-11-2018, 04:20 PM   #10
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Like BB Tex we are part timers and usually run totally electric since short term stays almost always include the electric in the cost. In fact if it wasn't for the frequent situation where we have our 50amp monster sitting in a 30 amp site (while some bozo with a popup sits on the 50amp, do they need some rules about that or what). In that case we are running the HW on gas to reduce the electric load. Particularly important since we have a residential fridge....
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Old 01-11-2018, 05:35 PM   #11
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I'm in the don't know or care which is cheaper and we're in our Rig 9 to 10 months of the year.
I just know that while running on Electric I don't have to drag my 40 Lb propane tanks out to be refilled.
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Old 01-12-2018, 08:41 AM   #12
mazboy
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electric if it is included:-) and it is still cheaper than propane anyway
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Old 01-17-2018, 02:20 PM   #13
allmi01
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To me this is not a either or situation. When on shore power, fridge is electric and WH is always on gas. I've been doing this too long and remember when we didn't have the electric option for the WH.

YMMV.

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Old 01-23-2018, 02:39 PM   #14
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Just to throw another twist to this discussion, at Quartzsite a couple days ago, we had a presentation by Paul Unmack, the ARP guy, and during the discussion, he indicated that the use of electric is harder on the steel of the boiler assembly than is the use of gas. He said that when the fridge calls for cooling, the electric elements get hot right away, which stresses the boiler area quite a bit, even to the point of causing stress cracks, but when in gas mode, the heat comes on gradually which is easier on the steel. He says either mode works OK, but his recommendation is to use gas only, and also said the fridge doesn't use much gas compared to the water heater or the furnace, so the cost isn't very much.
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Old 01-23-2018, 05:31 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by George Morey View Post
Is it more economical to use propane or ac to run the refrigerator and heat water?
Boondocking or staying at camp grounds is what dictates the economics.
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Old 05-31-2018, 05:35 PM   #16
clutch
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If you are a long timer in a park it depends on the price of electricity which can be very high is some areas. We usually use electric because I don't like handling the tanks any more than necessary.
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Old 11-15-2018, 07:47 AM   #17
JamesD
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I can't speak to the costs in RV parks, I'm on my own lot...

In above freezing temps, electric is okay and more than anything, it's convenient. It's certainly cheaper if you are filling the small propane tanks that come with your RV.
Once my heater has to run because the electric can't keep up (around 15 degrees f) I use a large external bulk propane tank rented from a local propane place. 100 gallons of propane cost about the same as 3 40 lb tank refills and lasts around a month.
My electric bill goes up more than the cost of bulk propane, so consider that as an option if the place you are at allows it.
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Old 01-27-2019, 10:27 PM   #18
grampachet
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I always use electric for both fridge and water heater when connected to 50 amp. When on 30 I use gas on both. I think I save on propane by turning off WH at night or while gone for a few hours. Since it only takes a few minutes to heat it back up I see no need to keep it on all night.
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