Camaco Hybrid Heat (Hot Water)installation

[kuba122]

Recycle is very slow, indeed. I flip on gas heat, take a shower, then turn off the gas. Having both gas and electric while bathing is a maked improvement over gas alone

[GaryG]

Kuba,

Thanks for the post. "It isn't really for showers". What do you really mean by this? Does this mean it has a slow recycle heat up after using the electric hot water element? Thanks again for your post.

[kuba122]

I did the mod ... it isn't really meant to replace the gas heat for showers. We've been out, this time for just over two weeks and it has been chilly, at times, and we are on shore power all the time. The only time we ever turn on the gas is for showers, we leave the electric on all the time. Love having hot water, on demand, for washing hands and dishes without waiting for gas to heat it up. Leaving gas on all the time worries me. It fits my wants well!

[pawpaw]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, but a phone call to the manufacturer would probably be in order just to verify.

[GaryG]

I was wondering about the wattage of it. I see the 10 gal element is 625 watts and 8' long instead of a little over 6" for the 6 gallon element. Would it be possible to install the heating element for the 10gallon water heater on a 6 gallon water heater? Is the only difference the length of the element? If so, it would heat up the water a bit faster. I'm curious before I purchase the kit.

[pawpaw]

I've thought about doing this also, but from what I've read, the heating element is only rated at 400 watts, not the 1400 watts you would get if the heater had a factory installed heating element. This would mean very long heat up time if using only the electric element, but I guess you could run both the electric element and LP system at the same time to speed up the process, then turn off the LP once the water is hot. I'm still on the fence about doing this. If you decide to install it, let us know your thoughts.
Happy New Year everyone!

[GaryG]

I will be very anxious to hear about your results. I keep thinking what an excellent idea.

[kuba122]

I just did this mod, but, I used the Hott Rod system. Switch I used was a home depot purchase for 7 bucks and a cover plate/backbox. For the entire thing about 105 dollars. I have tested, but, I'll reserve my comments until I have had a chance to actually use it. We head out to south TX in a couple weeks, it will get a lot of use at that time. So far, though, I do like it!

[GaryG]

I finally had a chance to stop in at the storage where my TT is stored. I wanted to see how close the nearest 120v plug would be to my hot water heater. That's what has kept me from buying the Camco electrical hot water heater kit for my LP only hot water heater. I checked under the dinette (where I knew one was located) and it would be a very simple to tie into the backside of the 120v plug (from inside the storage under the dinette seat) and run the power cord to the rear of my trailer where the hot water heater is located. The wire would be hidden running from under the dinette just on top of the wheel well (visible from inside the TT) through the inside of the other dinette seat and then through the wall and under the bottom bunk right to the hot water heater. It would be about 10ft by the looks of it. I can see very well under the bunk, besides there is an external cargo door as well that all of this can be viewed. The worst part would be drilling a small hole in the metal sheathing of the hot water heater (for the switch) and attaching the thermostat to the hot water heater, which requires cutting a small amount of the Styrofoam away from the metal tank.

I've added this project to my spring 'do list' for my TT. Can't wait to tackle it. I'll pull the trailer to my house, park it in front of my 3rd garage and plug the power in and tackle the project. This will save me from using the LP for hot water. Well I might use it to get the hot water heated up at first (you can use both and electric to do this) and then turn off the gas and just leave on the electric. I'll probably set the thermostat to 130 degrees, as one guy did that installed this. He said there was tons of hot water!

I'll post my results when I get it up and running. Just wanted to let you all know because some of you were wondering what kind of a job it would be. Please let me know if any of you tackle this before I do! LOL

[kuba122]

I really, really like that idea!! I had no clue there was a kit available. Propane is rather inexpensive and I haven't had any issues keeping propane perched up front .... the thing I don't like is the heat running up the side of the trailer and the noise from the burner. I love the idea of an electric hot water heater, I hate open flames ..... they worry me (I work in the fire prevention industry). I was planning to order an electric/gas water heater .... this seems like it might be a much less expensive option. I want my next fridge to have the 12V option, as well .....