Fuzion Chrome 403

[CECarey]

I'm NEW to RV'ing and bought a 2016 5th wheel to trap the kids with me and the wife. So, 2 teenagers have wiped out my propane for hot showers. Can my hot-water run on the shore power? (See Photo) Also I have a water heater "by-pass" switch / what position should it be in? (What does it do?) Thank's Chris

[LewisB]

The spec sheet says you should have a Suburban water heater. Yes, these are typically set up with an electric heating element that should heat water with shore power, either in addition to or in lieu of the gas system.

Your picture came through the system as a small thumbnail - can you attach a full sized picture? The thumbnail does not look like the water heater.

General guidance on the water heater:

• Make sure the water system is fully filled (tank) or connected to city water and pressurized PRIOR to attempting to use the electric element. Run all the faucets and get the air out of the system on the hot water side. Starting the electric element in a dry or less than full tank condition willl burn out the element.
• There are likely two control points for your water heater.
• Outside the coach on the heater itself, you will find a small black rocker switch. It may be hard to find behind the pipes. Make sure this switch is ON.
• Does your trailer have one of the iN.Command systems? If so, then the iN.Command system should have the ability to select Gas/Elect/Both heating elements.
• If your trailer was built without iN.Command, there will likely be a wall switch for the electric water heater element - it may look like an ordinary home wall switch.

Hopefully, someone with your specific unit can provide a more focused response. Good luck.

[AbHDToyHauler]

Typically there is a switch inside the water heater cabinet (Outside under cover) that has to be on to use the electric element. If it was ever used even for a few seconds without water in the water heater it will be ruined and need to be replaced. I learned this when the unit i bought used wouldn't work on Shore power only gas. Only issue i had with this RV so I'm okay with that.

[JRTJH]

CECarey,

The OEM water heater in your trailer was a Suburban brand "tank type water heater". It was a "dual source water heater" that could operate on either/both LP gas or 110 VAC. There was a 36K BTU LP burner and a 1100 watt electric element.

THE OEM WATER HEATER IS NOT WHAT YOU POSTED...…

The photo you posted is a "LPG ONLY" demand water heater. Apparently the previous owner replaced his OEM water heater with the Girard-GSWH-2. It will only operate on LP gas and does not have any 110 VAC capability. Even if you find an electric switch inside your RV, it was wired to the OEM water heater, not to the Girard-GSWH-2.

You can read about your water heater at this manufacturer's link:
https://www.girardgroupcompanies.com...ater-heater-47

As a note, the Girard-GSWH-2 has a 42,000 BTU burner input, so you're correct when you say that it "burns through some propane"... It's "energy efficient" in that it only heats water when there is a demand for hot water, but "my goodness" it uses a LOT OF PROPANE while it's producing hot water !!!!!

[Bob R]

^^^^^

Holy cow, 42K BTU.

Looks like you need more propane capacity, less kids or teach them how to do a Navy shower.


bob

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Bob R

^^^^^

Holy cow, 42K BTU.

Looks like you need more propane capacity, less kids or teach them how to do a Navy shower.


bob

You got that right !!! There's roughly 90,000 BTU's in a gallon of propane, so that's about a gallon an hour for water heater operation. It "seems OK" until you consider that two 15 minute showers use half a gallon. Get a couple of "teenagers that like to shower with the water running" or "mom" that runs hot water (to rinse) while washing the dishes, and that's "a gallon an hour"... It doesn't take many events like that to empty a 30 pound propane tank. Add the furnace and, well, that's "a tank of propane a day" before you know what happened !!!!!

[flybouy]

So the choice is running out of propane or running out of hot water.
I prefer the running out of hot water as that limits the possibility of prematurely running out of propane and by default retrains the user to conserve hot water.
But that's just me. YMMV

[ctbruce]

Remind the kiddos you are camping, not staying in the Sheraton. Also, do you have your grey tanks open and draining constantly? Have them be in charge of draining and they'll become more cognizant of water usage.