Hot water heater question

[Rdh605]

I have tried using my hot water heater on the electric setting. It throws my main breaker in the camper and the power cord heats up....I mean really HOT. Am I missing something? Dealer said to hook up water, bleed the line, flip switch inside the camper. Water starts getting warm them the breaker throws.

[hankpage]

First thing I would test for is a shorted element ... if it is heating somewhat it is not burned out but could be damaged. If you are handy with a multi-meter disconnect form shore power ...... remove the two wires from the element ... and check resistance ( Ω ) across the two screws. If the element is good it should read around 12-13 ohms. Before doing any of this .... Are you trying to use your A/C and electric water heater at the same time??????? That will do it also. ...... At my age the thinking process sometimes run backwards. ... Welcome to the forum, Hank

[Rdh605]

Yes the AC was on at the time. This is my first rodeo with a camper this nice. The one before this that I am about to sell was an old 16' unit with no air and a gas only water heater. Maybe I should try it without the AC, but what if it's heating when the AC kicks on in the camper? This could be a little irritating having to shut one off to use the other.

[Shoey]

If using electric how water with AC make sure you are plugged into a 30 AMP outlet and not using an adapter to plug into a normal 15 amp outlet.

[Rdh605]

I was plugged into the 30 amp at the campsite.

[jq1031]

Sounds to me like Hank might be on to something regarding a short or defective element. I've thrown the braker on occasion when using both air & hot water heater but thats the exception not the rule.

[Rdh605]

I will get that checked out tomorrow. We are planning on camping this weekend and I don't want to burn propane to heat the water!

[hankpage]

Using gas to heat water is the most efficient way and uses very little propane. It also has a faster recovery rate so you don't run out of hot water. In my Cougar and my previous Layton I can NOT use A/C and electric water heater at the same time. 30 amps just don't cut it. Those that get away with it are lucky. When not using A/C I use electric to maintain water temp and just turn on gas for showers. Most of the time the gas will only fire when water is used and then shut off anyway. If your cord is over heating use the propane and be safe and enjoy your shower, Hank

[SteveC7010]

On our last TT, we had the 13.5K A/C and the typical Atwood 6 gallon electric/propane water heater. Our energy plan always keeps the WH on propane. It is more efficient and hotter than electric. And it helps make sure that the A/C, microwave, and DW's hair dryer don't conflict. 30 amps only goes so far - the A/C and electric WH use up most of it - so it is no surprise that power cords get hot and breakers trip.

In summer, we also keep the fridge on gas for much the same reason as the WH. The flame make the fridge's compressor work much better than the electric and actually consumes less energy to operate the fridge.

About half of our RV use up until now has been in NYS DEC parks that have no hookups so we're a bit more used to using propane and a generator than some. With the new fiver, I expect we'll be in full hookup or partial hookup CG's a lot more.

[Festus2]

I wouldn't be too concerned about using propane to heat your HW tank. We use it often without any problem. Since we do dry camp often, we have learned that you can do the following to extend the amount of propane you are using:
1) Don't heat up water when you really don't need it --- between washing dishes/meals.
2) During the night and sleeping hours....... no need for hot water then.
3) If you are going to be away from the RV for a long period of time,---- turn it off.

Once heated, the water will remain warm in the tank for quite a long time. We have found that when we wake up in the morning, we can still get some warm water from the tank even tho it has been unheated for a long stretch of time.
There are other benefits to using propane which have already been mentioned in the above posts.

[Txoutback]

I do as Festus said above but when the showers start I turn on both propane and electric for the quickest recovery. But I honestly do not know if both vs just propane helps.

[Mike and Dawn]

As a licensed electrician I'm concerned first with the cord heating up. It's easy to troubleshoot the symptom (water heater) and not the cause. There are several things to check. The purpose of the main breaker is to protect the cord, not the RV. The individual (branch circuit) breakers protect the wires in each circuit from drawing more amps than the wiring is rated for. A lot of amps through a small wire is how a toaster works. These breakers prevent you from creating a toaster in your walls.
Without getting into all the theory, here's what we know:
1. Main breaker is correct for the cord size
2. If the water heater was the culprit it would trip a branch circuit breaker,not the main.
3. Water starts heating - no heater problems. Main doesn't stay on long enough to heat to temp.
4. cord gets REALLY HOT
It seems to me there is a voltage problem. As voltage goes down amperage goes up. This will cause cord heating. Possible causes:
1.Cord too long
2. Low voltage in the CG hookup
3. A loose connection somewhere between the main and the CG service
You are correct you need to get it checked out.




2.Reduced voltage in the CG

[DEW]

I have to agree with you Mike. (or Dawn)
If the power to the RV is low from the campground this will cause excessive current draw on the wiring.
To constantly watch this I have added a voltage monitor to see when the voltage drops below 110VAC.
Parks are hit and miss with good voltage; hence the reason I also have a voltage regulator/booster.

Running appliances with too low of voltage will seriously hurt your appliances.

I was at a park this summer that was running in the 94-97 VAC range....that would draw a lot of current.
LP gas I'd cheap....use it for the HW heater....

JMHO

[Rdh605]

I have not tried to use it anymore, nor had time to trouble shoot it. I hope to have time in the next week or two to get into it. I do wonder about the campground's power connection, it was a state park with REALLY old power hookups.