johntelling Report post Posted February 8, 2016 What is the typical life expectancy of a propane/electric water heater? The Atwood in my 2005 Excursion works, but I wonder for how long. Do newer water propane/electric water heaters have any advantages over the old ones, other than age? Thanks! JT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted February 8, 2016 I have an Atwood that is 23 years old with 185,000 miles and still works. I added a hot rod about 15 years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted February 8, 2016 Just don't let it freeze and burst, this will shorten the life expectancy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickandlois Report post Posted February 8, 2016 John, You might want to file the water heater tank with a 50/50 mix of water and distilled vinegar,when it is covenant. Fill it using the safety valve opening - remove the valve, drain the tank, fill it with the mixture, replace the valve, start the water heater and let it come up to its shutoff temperature. Let the mix stand in the tank for 4 hrs. Remove the drain plug and the safety valve. Then flush the tank with clean water using a garden sprayer until all the white lime stops flowing out the drain and replace the plug and safety valve. you should see a difference in the water heater efficiency. Also you could see some lime deposits build up in the faucet screens, you have not had the issue all ready. Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lenp Report post Posted February 9, 2016 In addition to what Rich says, you can also pull the drain plug and get a "tank rinse wand" like this one at Camping World: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/water-heater-tank-rinser/49070 You have an Atwood that has an aluminum tank that is essentially rust proof. The other brand (Suburban) does not us aluminum, thus requires an Anode Rod in the drain plug hole to keep it from rusting through. These anode rods need to be checked and/or replaced at least yearly. Those who neglect to do this will soon find themselves with a leaking tank. Lenp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted February 10, 2016 JT, our last coach it made it to 10 years old (could have went longer), it was an Atwood 6 gallon. I replaced it with a tank less unit from Precision Temp, RV500 was the model. Reason; we had just bought the coach used, the hot water was good but didn't last, the DW told me the 1st cold shower she takes the coach goes! I ran a test with the Atwood before we ever took it out when I ran out of hot water in less then 10 minutes I knew I was in trouble (she likes hot long showers). So $980.00 later and about 1-2 hours of my labor I was good to go. That unit ran flawlessly for the next 6 years and I traded the coach in 2014, in fact the shower roof fan wasn't strong enough to pull the steam out, it looked like a nuclear power plant steam tower shooting up from the roof, I still laugh about that. People would ask me "what's wrong with your camper, what's all that smoke? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted February 10, 2016 Our ten gallon Suburban water heater is still going strong after 12 years and 150,000 miles. The electric side quit several years ago and I had the heating element and switch replaced with no success but the gas side continues to function just fine. Several years ago I decided to try a water softener and purchased a Travel Soft Water Softener. There are other companies that make similar units. Using a water softener will help your tank last longer as it takes the minerals out of the water before they are concentrated in the water heater tank. This applies to any kind of water heater and especially the type mentioned below. When the Suburban dies I have my sights set on an instant hot water heater from Girard. I just checked on the Precision Temp model that jleamont mentioned, it has a higher BTU rating which means it can heat incoming water to a higher temperature. I'll have to consider both. There may be others out there as well. It's an emerging market. This type unit has several advantages including endless hot water and no storage tank. Water is heated as it flows through the water heater. It is propane only, they don't have a propane/electric model. It uses a lot of propane while the hot water is running but it uses no propane when the hot water isn't running so the net result is that it saves propane. With no storage tank you are eliminating the weight of the tank and water it holds. The Girard tankless water heater weighs just 23 pounds (the Precison Temp model weighs 32 pounds) when the lines are filled with water. Both these water heaters are sized to drop in to the space left by the standard water heater with a cover that matches the size of the cover on the standard water heater cover. I've used tankless water heaters in hotels and homes before and found their performance to be comparable to a standard water heater. The endless hot water aspect means no waiting for the tank to heat up after the water heater has been shut off or after someone else has used all the hot water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johntelling Report post Posted February 12, 2016 Thanks, everyone, for the great suggestions and information! JT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
