Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprintergal
Our first time out in the Sprinter I turned only the electric hot water heater switch on and waited a while - the water went cold half way through my shower. I turned the gas switch on the next time and had no problems. I think the electric heating takes much longer to heat than the propane method. I will be checking again this weekend and if it occurs again I will mention it to the dealership. You should be able to use the electric method if you are plugged in to electricity, however, I am fine with using propane for it if it works better that way.
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Almost all of us turn on the propane when we take showers. The electric element is only about 1100 watts, enough to keep a 6 gallon tank hot enough to wash dishes, etc, but certainly not enough to take a 5 or 6 minute shower at 2.5gal/min. That's 12.5 gallons of hot water (well mixed with cold) from a 6 gallon heater. It ain't gonna happen <sigh>
The newer suburban water heaters advertise "quick recovery" and state they can provide 16 gallons per hour. That's not much when you shut the propane off and reduce that to 6 or 7 gallons.
What you experienced is normal for a 6 gallon HWH on electric. Pretty much, it's also normal for a 10 gallon heater on electric.