Water heater is slow to reheat

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Xatlatc
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Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Xatlatc »

I have a Suburban SW6D water heater. Electronic start. The anode rod is less than a year old. The owners manual states there is no way to adjust the water temperature. The tank won't reheat the water until the temperature drops to 100 degrees, and there lays the problem. If I use two gallons of hot water to wash dishes and then take a shower, the water gets cold pretty quickly. The only way I've figured out to have enough hot water is to run the tank down until the heater starts up to heat the new cold water in the tank which would be at 100 degrees. Give or take. It's a waste of water and gas.
Do you know of a work-around for this model?
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kdarling
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by kdarling »

Usually the complaint is that the water never gets hot enough. Which is often a partially open bypass valve letting cold water mix with the host. Or a thermostat that cuts out too soon.

But not cutting in soon enough? Hmm.

I wonder if adding an electric kit would help. ( I just saw one that adds 120v as an option along with the regular gas.)
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Xatlatc
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Xatlatc »

I may look into that. Thanks for the idea.
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kdarling
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by kdarling »

Hey, what about tankless water heaters?
  • - Doesnt use propane until you turn on the hot water tap.

    - Continuous hot water that's only limited by the amount of water supply coming in.
Anyone done a conversion like that yet? Examples:

http://www.amazon.com/Girard-Gswh-2-Tan ... ess+heater

http://www.amazon.com/Atwood-Demand-Wat ... 0JBCP55WPZ
Last edited by kdarling on May 24th, 2016, 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Manitou
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Manitou »

Haven't looked into this as a retrofit, but the Europeans (and leasure travel vans) are using a water heater/furnace combo unit. Seems like a good idea, but again.. Haven't done any real research.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Blue~Go »

I haven't used one, but one thing I have read is that they may not work well at the low flows that many RV-ers use in order to conserve water (or maybe it was the on-and-off behavior one uses when conserving water). I didn't look into it any more closely than just casually, so don't take this as gospel but maybe just something to specifically ask about:

1) How will the heater work if running a very low flow?
2) How will the heater work if turning the water on and off and on and off during the course of a shower (i.e. will it come on super hot, ice cold, or just where you left it)?

One combo unit that's popular in Europe and now available here is the Truma Combi. It's a water heater and furnace and looks to be a clever design. I didn't go so far as to make a mockup, but it looks like it would need a slightly larger recessed area (i.e. recessed down into the lower outside compartment) than the one that's already there for the Suburban water heater. Or maybe a higher couch. In other words, it looked like it was a height that would work with the sunken area's height, but that it would need to be wider. That said, I didn't actually build a mockup and I'd want to do that to be sure due to the Combi's irregular shape.
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Xatlatc
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Xatlatc »

Blue,
I can't answer about the low flow operation but during a regular shower I turn it off and on and the burner won't come on until it's almost cold/cool. I like having a controllable thermostat as I've had on past water heaters. When its time for a replacement I'm sure I'll look for one with an adjustable thermostat.
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Concourse »

I always had super hot water from the suburban SW6D. Had to mix the shower with a lot of cold water to be comfortable. My wife and I would do the breakfast dishes then take back to back showers. There might be a problem with your water heater if it is not automatically cycling properly to heat and then maintain the heat. As the hot water in the tank is drawn it backfills with cold and when the temp drops the thermostat should call for ignition of the gas burner and the water should be heated until it reaches the proper temperature.

NOTE: The Suburban SW6D is in LOT of RVs and is very popular. It works.

A little excerpt from the Suburban manual (attached) noting the temperature range extremes:

The model water heaters listed above are equipped with a high temperature
limit as a cut-off device. Temperature above 180/F will cause manual reset
button to trip shutting down the electric element.
To activate element, the water temperature must be below 110/F, push reset
button to re-activate the electric element.
Attachments
WaterHeater-SW6D-Installation.pdf
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Xatlatc
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Re: Water heater is slow to reheat

Post by Xatlatc »

I'll look around for the reset button. I may get lucky who knows?
Thanks for the thought.
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