One-way

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

I really like my propane 6gal hot water tank, works great , just light it up with a match then hot water, nice and simple for me
gbstewart

Well... I really like my 10 gallon 120vAC electric water heater that we put on a switch. We turn it on about 15-20 minutes before we need hot water and turn it off once the water is hot. The tank is so well insulated (factory insulation) that the next morning (and well into the day) the water is still warm. The only time the water heater gets turned on is in the evenings. Once the heating element kicks off (I can hear the element heating the water) the power is turned off. Having a tank that just sits heating water all day bugs me. That's wasteful. I think it might be a good idea to buy a timer for the water heater. What sticks-&-staples RV would do that? Gotta love "custom"!

[nat_ster]

Both electric, and gas have there pro's and con's. To me everything should be electric, as electricity is the "Perfect Fuel".

Con's of electric storage water heaters.

Can cost more to heat water than gas.
Slower recovery time. ( This can be easily fixed )

Pro's of electric storage water heaters.

Half the cost of gas units.
All parts are a standard, replacement parts are readily available, and inexpensive.
No venting needed.
No explosive gas.
No fresh air needed.
Sediment buildup in the tank will not affect heating performance like in a gas heater.
Far less parts.

Pro's of gas storage water heaters.

Fast recovery time.
Can be operated in remote locations without power.
?

Con's of gas storage water heaters.

Use explosive Gas.
Need fresh air.
Need to be vented outside with heat proof vent.
Must have minimum clearance from combustibles.
More parts to go bad.
Parts are not a standard. Some are model specific.
Higher cost. Twice that of a electric unit.
Most are inefficient. They only use around 80% of the energy they burn.
Three time the installation cost of electric unit.


There is good and bad to both.

To me as a installer, water is a way to store heat. Not only using for cleaning, but also for heating. So keeping the combustion outside of the living space, where it's safe is better. The plus is you can recharge you battery's while heating your water ect. That and ALL electric appliances are half the cost of gas units. Installation cost is also far lower.

Eagerly waiting on more pics from Part Time

Nat

Posted for educational purposes only.

[Tango]

Another set of options involves "tankless" water heaters. They are available both in gas & electrical and the electric units hold the advantage of requiring no venting while providing an endless supply of hot water. Not all that practical for boondocking since most generators would have to run at peak to keep up but great if you are always plugged in to a box. The gas (propane or natural) do need to be vented but are much more efficient than the standard issue RV tank models and weigh a fraction of the same. They are pricey at this time but have been coming down slowly over the past couple of years.

Like everything else we carry on board, there are a fairly wide range of options and prices. Only the individual builder can assess what is best for their particular needs...and wants.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Tango

Another set of options involves "tankless" water heaters...

....Like everything else we carry on board, there are a fairly wide range of options and prices. Only the individual builder can assess what is best for their particular needs...and wants.

We have an EccoTemp L5 tankless LP water heater sitting on the former food cart/soon-to-be-mobile greenhouse. There are bot good and bad things about it. I really don't know what we will do with it. I guess we will most likely hang on to it and sometime during the summer flush it out with a mild vinegar solution to get the lime scale cleaned out of it and put it in storage. This is the vented "hang on a wall for an outside shower" unit. Who knows, we may just drag it to TX with us and once we find a plot of land, make an outside shower to use it with.

So many choices are out there.

[gbstewart]

yup, winter is hanging on we are getting another 3-4inchs this week end, just keep the snowblower full of fuel and ready at least I did get a few things done on my bus
gbstewart

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

... just keep the snowblower full of fuel and ready ...
gbstewart

So what's a snow blower? My hubby makes mention of them periodically. I do know what a snow shovel is... a pooper scooper for a really big dog!

We don't care for any more snow. Had enough in TN & NC. I'm looking for milder winters than here. year round flip-flop weather sounds good

[LuckyChow]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

Well... I really like my 10 gallon 120vAC electric water heater that we put on a switch. We turn it on about 15-20 minutes before we need hot water and turn it off once the water is hot. The tank is so well insulated (factory insulation) that the next morning (and well into the day) the water is still warm. The only time the water heater gets turned on is in the evenings. Once the heating element kicks off (I can hear the element heating the water) the power is turned off. Having a tank that just sits heating water all day bugs me. That's wasteful. I think it might be a good idea to buy a timer for the water heater. What sticks-&-staples RV would do that? Gotta love "custom"!

Lorna, what brand water heater do you have? This sounds like what I'm looking for.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by LuckyChow

...
Lorna, what brand water heater do you have? This sounds like what I'm looking for.

Which one?
GE 10 gallon electric water heater this thing has a single 2000 watt heating element. It heats up the water in 20 minutes if the water is very cold (like having below freezing nighttime lows with an uninsulated 30 gallon water tank... water temps were between 40 & 50F). During the summer, it will probably take less time to heat the water. We experienced a very high power bill the first month we put it in and ran it all the time. After we started turning the tank on only when we were going to use the hot water, our power use dropped over half of the one month high. But that said, I like popping the heater on for a few minutes prior to a shower, etc. It took about one month to get used to turning the heater on/off. Sometimes I forget but David always remembers.

The Eccotemp L5 is the tankless one.

[nat_ster]

I'm not a fan of tank-less water heaters. I will let this pic, and the following web site explain.


http://waterheatertimer.org/pro-n-con-f ... eater.html

That site is a massive resource of info on water heaters. I fully recommend all home owners \ fellow skoolie's check it out.

Originally Posted by Part-time

I don't think I'm going to get much done this week... mother nature is not being very cooperative,
It looks a though I might wake up to another 8" to 10" of snow again tomorrow

Lol, they aired that on the news this morning. Not much different out here in western Canada. I'm framing walls right now on a house. Freezing rain, snow, ect, we still try to press on. I framed the floor over Christmas in the -30 C.

Nat

[Accordion]

Good score on the tires, especially with them being on the wheels.

[bansil]

Oohhh...shiney
What did you use on the floor?

[bansil]

Mmm...so that must be different than the minwax regular gloss poly
I will grab some "floor" over "normal"
We both thought the crap we have been useng was way to dang thin.....
Not like old skool....lay on top and dry hard as.....welll......

[pipopak]

Originally Posted by Part-time

You guys running spring on Windows 8?. No wonder then...

[Accordion]

Sweet paint job.

[JakeC]

Nice work, man!! Makes me want to hurry up and get at mine.

[eyedeal.ink]

Looks great! Are you rollin it on? Diggin those lenses too, I think we're gonna do the same. Lookin forward to seeing how you guys do the the inside.

[gbstewart]

Looks great , nice job, glad the weather held up for you, we have snow in the forecast this weekend
as long as its nice for the long weekend, heading out camping
keep the good work
gbstewart

[JakeC]

Originally Posted by Part-time

...and yes, the paint is all brush and roller.
I was supposed to get it sprayed in a buddies shop but he's just swamped for the next few months and we were running out of time.
Spraying outside was out of the question, it's always windy out here and it probably would have taken me 15 or 20 gallons instead of 5

Yeah, I'm planning on spraying mine, but worried about it. Finding a calm day may be difficult!

[TourTech]

Nice job, it seems to be a popular model here in Ontario.

Just getting back to mine after the winter, and I'm still looking for someplace to buy rub rails. Mine are really rusted for some reason and I've been considering replacing them with hockey plastic as it's available locally. We're yours the same, or am I just lucky?

[TourTech]

I'm in Stoney Creek, I believe mine is a Carlisle.