Water Heater Switches??

[clockmanjim]

The wife and I were having a discussion about the water heater switches in our 2019 Passport 219 BH.Both the electric and gas switch are located on the control panel inside. I always turn both switches on when setting up, the wife only turns on the electric switch. She maintains that only 1 switch needs to be used , the electric one when power is available and the gas when no power. I maintain that they work in conjunction with each other. Can anyone shed some light as to the proper use of these switches.
Thanks,
Jim

[Dlscott]

You both are correct. They will both work at the same time. I use that to bring temp up quickly. But generally find one is good enough once up to temp.

[{tpc}]

Of course if your propane is not turned on, the unit isn't going to care if the propane switch is on.

Both should heat up faster and I have heard that it helps the water to stay hot longer (like when taking a shower). On mine, I have determined that electric alone is scalding hot enough, that I typically use just electric. But my switch is outside on the unit itself which is kinda a bummer. Then I realized I had to open the propane anyways so its the same amount of steps, just a different one.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Unless you are in a hurry to have hot water just turn on the electric and save your propane.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by {tpc}

Of course if your propane is not turned on, the unit isn't going to care if the propane switch is on.

Both should heat up faster and I have heard that it helps the water to stay hot longer (like when taking a shower). On mine, I have determined that electric alone is scalding hot enough, that I typically use just electric. But my switch is outside on the unit itself which is kinda a bummer. Then I realized I had to open the propane anyways so its the same amount of steps, just a different one.

I leave both the propane bottles open for 2 reasons;
#1 when traveling the fridge will automatically switch to gas, if set on "auto", to keep it cool.
Yea! There's those that WILL NOT operate the any gas appliance while traveling, but I've ran the fridge, & on several occasions the furnace during travel, for 40+ years & hundreds of thousands of miles with no issues.
#2 if/when one bottle goes empty I'm not going out at 3am to switch over so the heat will come back on.
Yea! There's plenty that will disagree with this plan also, but as I said I've been doing this a long time & have NEVER ran out of propane. You do have to check the changeover valve occasionally to know when it switches & take the one empty bottle to get refilled.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

I leave both the propane bottles open for 2 reasons;
#1 when traveling the fridge will automatically switch to gas, if set on "auto", to keep it cool.
Yea! There's those that WILL NOT operate the any gas appliance while traveling, but I've ran the fridge, & on several occasions the furnace during travel, for 40+ years & hundreds of thousands of miles with no issues.
#2 if/when one bottle goes empty I'm not going out at 3am to switch over so the heat will come back on.
Yea! There's plenty that will disagree with this plan also, but as I said I've been doing this a long time & have NEVER ran out of propane. You do have to check the changeover valve occasionally to know when it switches & take the one empty bottle to get refilled.

I'm one of the "tow with gas turned on" and also one of the "use electric to save money on heating water, but come shower time, turn on both to get the full 17 gallons per hour maximum hot water output capacity.

I also use the "automatic changeover regulator" to do my 3AM propane tank switch.... To me, having that kind of regulator and only turning on one propane tank at a time is very much like driving a truck and setting the cruise control at 50MPH and then using the accelerator to maintain 70MPH. I ask myself, why have it and not use it???

[wiredgeorge]

We generally use only the propane except in the winter when water seems to take longer to heat. The reason is that the electric heating element draws fairly high amperage and when the A/C and other big draw items are pulling amps in a 30A camper, the main will sometimes pop. We have made sure we have mitigated this issue by installing a Marinco outdoor receptacle on the rear of our camper that is connect directly to the microwave and don't use the microwave breaker. We plug directly into a 15A or 20A receptacle on the pole via a 10 ga extension cord. Before this modification, the main breaker would pop if the A/C, microwave and electric heating element were on all at the same time.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by clockmanjim

The wife and I were having a discussion about the water heater switches in our 2019 Passport 219 BH.Both the electric and gas switch are located on the control panel inside. I always turn both switches on when setting up, the wife only turns on the electric switch. She maintains that only 1 switch needs to be used , the electric one when power is available and the gas when no power. I maintain that they work in conjunction with each other. Can anyone shed some light as to the proper use of these switches.
Thanks,
Jim

There is no "proper way ". How I use it depends on what else is being powered by the shore power. If I need hot water quickly then I'll use the gas and the electric heating element simultaneously. Before showering I'll turnbon hoth for a faster recovery time.

[{tpc}]

A-Ha! Well for me, I have only a 12 volt fridge, so leaving the tanks open for that purpose is useless, I don't have it. For the heat thing, I also have an "electric fireplace", so before we go to bed, that goes on and the propane goes off. Once the coach is warm, the electric guy can maintain that temp without a problem. Typically through the night. There are those rare occasions though where I may get up and turn on the furnace again.

But I do understand all the concerns. I will say most of the time I find out I am out of gas because the grill stops working lol...usually after my burger is barely cooked haha.