Water heater - run continuously?

[JimD1]

This might sound like a stupid question, but here goes .....

We will be using our caravan for the 1st time over Easter - camping at a dog agility competition with no EHU, so will be relying on the battery & gas for all of our power needs. Do we leave the water heater turned on continuously, or only turn it on 1/2 an hour or so before we are going to need it? If only when we need it, do I need to get up early to turn it on so SWMBO has hot water for a shower 1st thing in the morning, or do I leave it on overnight?

What do you do?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Entwood]

Hi

When not on EHU ... which is normal for us !!! - we use the water heater this way ... when I put the kettle on for the morning cuppa the water heater goes on. After morning ablutions/breakfast dishes complete water heater off. It then stays off until the evening when it goes on for the evening round of ablutions/dishwashing. The water stays pretty hot for up to 6-8 hours and only takes 20 minutes to get to max temp. Obviously the more hot water you use during the day the faster it cools down, as you replace hot with cold in the tank...

HTH

 

[RogerL]

On gas, it should be more economical to switch it off at night and switch it on as soon as you wake.

 

[JimD1]

Thanks Nigel

It looks like I'm up a bit early, as at home SWMBO likes to have her shower whilst I make Breakfast.....Either that or the dogs get a longer walk & she gets a lie-in while the water heats up

Cheers,

Jim

 

[gary]

It draws about 1/4 amp holding the gas valve open while heating and all but nothing on standby, it is a drain then but I'm not sure it's enough you'll ever notice?!

Personally I would leave it on constant

 

[JimD1]

Thanks Gary & Roger for your replies.....

It's interesting hearing people's different approaches. I must admit that whilst we are actually on-site, I'm tempted to try leaving it on just for the convenience of always having hot water "on tap". I'm not sure that it will use that much extra gas & electrickery that way....

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jim,

For pure economy of gas 12v or mains it is always more economical to turn it off when it is not needed, But you need to balance the inconvenience of having to plan to turn on the heater on some time before you need to use hot water.

In practice as Gary points out, the amount of power and gas it uses to maintain the temperature is not unreasonable.