Water Heater

[PowellsMonty]

When on electric, it heats the water enough for dishes and general use, but not as hot as it heats with propane, which we use when showering in addition to electric. Shouldn't the electric heat to the same temperature as propane? I replaced the electric element last month. Didn't solve the issue.
Thanks!

[jimcol]

I didn't test with a thermometer but mine seems to heat to the same temperature on electric or gas. It recovers much slower on electric then gas. Jim

[richfaa]

Seems the same to us,

[bigmurf]

Ours has done this since 2004. Learned to live with it.

[awaywego]

My 01 would not get hot like it would on gas. I ask the dealer about it and he said he adjusted the thermostat and it did feel warmer. After years of putting up with it I decided to see if I could adjust the thermostat, SUPRIZE, it is not adjustable so the dealer lied.
I took the thermostat (1 is for gas and 1 is for elect) out and it was 130 degrees. I bought another higher temp (140) and it got just as hot then as gas. Did not need to use the gas for water after that. Change your thermostat and save gas. They make two different thermostats and the temp is printed on them.

[Art-n-Marge]

One thing I've heard is that the heating element should always be replaced with an equal or lesser rated element. Are you the original owner? Are you sure the element is the proper one? Is there a way to confirm that when you replaced the existing element, that you replaced it with the proper element in case it was replaced in the past with a lesser rating?

If the answers are all yes, it just seems to me it's the way it is. Only one time in our trailering the propane ran out overnight, but the electric was on and the showers were still hot so I think we're fortunate that the heating element heats satisfactorily. But most times I run both or turn off the heating element. So my rig seems to work like JimCol's.

Sounds like Bigmurf confirms that in his case, it's the way it is. If the element is brand new I don't think wires have anything to do with it. However, someone with more electrical knowledge might be able to tell how to test that the wires are at the proper rating to ensure the heating element is getting all the juice it needs.

[lasater]

Like Mike, my electric does not heat as hot as the gas burner. It is still plenty hot enough to scald if you turn off the cold water. The only time we use the propane heater is when we boondock or when we each take showers right after each other (or when someone else is paying for our propane like during Camp Hosting).

Using both gas and electric cuts our recovery time in half.

[Cyrus]

Our hot water on electric is too hot unless I mix some cold in it, not much. I have not used it on gas in awhile but I think it was a little hotter.

[sgtpp214]

Believe you think it is hotter on gas when you take a shower is that water seems hotter on your body in contrast to only on hands as you do dishes. Try it. Put your hand under water in shower that is comfortable on electric then on whole body on electric only.

[scductman]

The element that comes in the heater is 1440w the one you will find at the local store is 1500w which is what suburban told me to replace it with. I would ck the t-stat mine will burn you on electric I hardly ever use the gas even if we take 2 showers in a row it keeps up fine. JMHO.
Bobby

[BB_TX]

Mine seems to run hotter on electric. If I have propane only turned on, on cool nights I can hear the propane kick on a few times during the night. But when I have both propane and electric on, I don't ever remember hearing the propane come on at night.

[CORattler]

I never thought to run propane and electric at the same time. My water heater does fine on either. The temp seems to be hotter on electric.

[PowellsMonty]

Where are the thermostats?

[BB_TX]

quote:Originally posted by CORattler

I never thought to run propane and electric at the same time. My water heater does fine on either. The temp seems to be hotter on electric.

If the weather is hot or if I am only staying a park for a day or 2, I will usually only run mine on propane since I have to go outside behind the WH grill to get to the electric switch. But if we are in an area where the temps are quite cool, I will run it on both. With cold water coming in, running on both gives a better recovery rate and less likelyhood of running out of hot water in the middle of a shower, especially if the DW is also running the washer.