Who wants to take a cold shower in the middle of nowhere? Unless you’re a survivalist enthusiast, you’d rather much prefer a hot shower. The biggest benefit of RV travel is that you can take a hot shower as long as you have your geyser working. Who doesn’t love hot showers, which is why you must have been hit with the question of, Should I leave my RV hot water heater on all the time? The answer might surprise you.
Should I Leave My RV Water Heater on All the Time?
You can keep your RV boiler on all the time, provided that there’s water within the tank of the trailer. Just like in your household, you can become worry-free about letting your water heater run in the background. If you want to keep your hot showers constant throughout your travels, then you’ll just have to take care of a few things. Hot showers are a blessing when you’re on the road, but making sure to keep the water heater on all at times won’t damage your RV in the long run.
Trailers aren’t built like your homes, and always have a catch if you want more from them. Running the boiler all carefree will result in different consequences for the tanker. Misuse and carelessness can spell disaster for the water tank and can result in some costly repairs. Taking care of a few things while running the heater will help you gain the advantages of having constant hot showers while avoiding any damage to your tanker.
Leaving the Water Tanker on All Day Doesn’t Equate to a Long Shower
Even though the thought of long showers seems appealing, there’s so much your tank can do. Not all water heaters are created equally. Depending on the model, efficiency, and the type of heater, it can take varying times to heat the whole tank up. When you’re faced with the decision of, can I leave my RV water heater on all the time, or only run it when I need to? then you’ll have to refer to how long it will take your heater to make the whole tank warm enough.
You can expect shorter hot showers as your geyser might not have enough time to heat the whole thing up. You’ll have to be patient, and a little mindful of your resources because leaving the boiler on all day does not equate to an endless supply of hot showers
Don’t Run the Tank on Empty Water
Running the water heater on an empty tank spells disaster all over. You can be sure that if the tank is empty, you’re going to have to replace your tank after it’s damaged heavily. Hot water tanks are made to heat water, and when it’s empty, there’s no other place that the heat will transfer to, damaging your water tank. Make sure to keep checking on the water level within the tank so you can avoid any heavy damage, and keep the hot water flowing.
Related: How to make sure your RV hot water tank is full.
When to Turn the Geyser Off
Whether it’s electric or propane hot water tanks, you have to turn them off before you go traveling. There are mainly two types of water tank heaters, propane, and electric. Propane heaters have the risk of igniting any flammable area which is why it’s advised to turn them off near places of flammability. Places such as gas stations, or marshes have flammable gasses and can become dangerous which is why turning the propane gas heater there is advisable.
The electric water heater follows a different principle. If you keep the electric heater turned on constantly, then it will take a toll on the battery. Other than that, you just have to make sure to turn the electric heater off when the tank is empty. Electric geysers are a much safer choice if you want the option of leaving the RV water heater on 24/7.
Advantages to Having It Turned on 24/7
Warm Showers on the Go
The main appeal of the RV heater is that you can have warm water whenever you please. On the road, you never know when you’d get a hot shower, and hence taking a geyser with you has all the convenience with it (RVShare, 2021). Turning on the boiler all the time will ensure that whenever you go into the shower, you’ll come out content, and squeaky clean as you can be.
Won’t Have to Wait Long
When you have the boiler running consistently, you can be sure that you won’t have to wait too long for the hot shower to come pouring in. Now, the time to wait for hot water is subjective to various factors, such as the type of water heater, the size of the water tank, and much more. You can rest assured that if you turn the boiler on when you actually need it, you’ll have to wait a while so that you can enjoy the hot shower.
Keeping the boiler all the time helps cut down the waiting time marginally, hence you won’t have to time your showers comparatively, and who doesn’t want that option.
Disadvantages
Takes a Lot of Resources
When you want to have hot showers whenever you want, you’ll have to pay the price for it too. Depending on the type of heater, your electric batteries or your propane will take a heavy hit of resources. Make sure to either install another propane tank or have hefty amounts of electricity stored in your electric sources. The more often you keep the heater turned on, the faster your resources will drain. Just make sure you have enough propane and electricity for your other appliances.
Conclusion
When it comes to it, the benefits of leaving the geyser for extended periods of time outweigh using it when you need to. The only thing you have to look out for is if the water tank is empty and whether you have enough resources to sustain the constant warming up of water. Make use of all the facilities found in your RV so that you can experience what it means to really enjoy the trailer experience. Nothing beats the feeling of a hot shower, so make sure to not miss out on the opportunity.
