How to Choose the Right Gas Water Heater for Your Caravan

The same way your home has running hot water your caravan should have it too. It's becoming more of a need for hot water to be present in something mobile. While there are other home comforts you can bring in your caravan, having a hot water heater is one that makes a big difference.

By pumping water from your water tank, a heater is able to bring it to the temperature you need, by heating the tank that stores it before the water comes out of the shower head or faucet. When the water from the hot water tank runs out you need to wait for it to be filled with water and heated up once again. The heating of this tank happens thanks to two power sources with gas being the more tried and true solution.

Advantages of Gas Water Heaters

Reliability

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When compared to its more advanced competitor, the electric heater, an RV gas water heater is far more reliable. How so? When travelling, you may not have access to electricity or decide to go off-grid. This can shut down an electric heater. A gas hot water heater will run no matter if there is an electrical charge available or not.

Savings

Although you'll need to refill your caravan's gas tanks, in order to keep the heater running, it still isn't nearly as expensive to run as an electric one. Gas is more affordable than electricity and a gas hot water heater is also more efficient than an electric one. This will help you save a lot especially if you are going on longer trips around the country. 

Environmental Impact

While electric powered appliances are known not to impact our environment in a bad way the same can be said for gas-powered heaters too. While this is not the case with all types of gas heaters, there are some that do not pollute despite running on gas.

Types of Gas Water Heaters

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Natural Gas

The type of gas heater that is rising in popularity is one powered by natural gas. Natural gas is actually not bad for the environment and it doesn't need that much energy to create heat. Efficient and environmentally friendly, natural gas has only one downside and that is its availability. Usually, motorhome camping sites do not have natural gas hookups.

Propane

Propane is the more commonly found power source at caravan campsites but it is also one that isn't as efficient as natural gas. Propane hot water heaters are not environmentally friendly but they are easier to set up. You can connect a propane heater up to the existing plumbing in your caravan without much hassle.

What Matters in a Water Heater

Flow Rate

An important aspect of any caravan hot water heater is its water flow rate. This is expressed in LPM or litres per minute. If you're going to be the only one travelling with your caravan then a water heater with 8 LPM is going to be adequate.

But if you're bringing your mates on your caravanning trip then a hot water heater with at least 18 LPM is going to be needed. This way you will have a steady supply of water at a constant temperature.

Size

The size of an RV gas water heater is going to matter quite a bit especially if you don't have much space in your caravan. Before you get any type of gas heater you should first determine the location where your heater will go. Make sure that there is enough space for it to fit otherwise you'll need to either get a different one or do some modifications to the interior of your caravan.

Power Capacity

The capacity that determines how well your RV gas water heater is going to keep water warm is its power capacity. This is represented in either kW or BTU. BTU or British thermal units refer to the overall heating capability of a water heater. This number also tells you a lot about the power requirements of a heater which you can find out by converting BTU to kW.

Advantages of Tankless Heaters

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Savings

You won't be saving money when it comes to buying a tankless heater since it's not as affordable as most other ones. But when it comes to long term use, tankless hot water heaters are going to help you save quite a bit. With one component less than a regular caravan water heater, there's no need for water to be constantly kept warm and thus less gas is used.

Seamless

With a regular water heater, having hot water constantly available is something that just isn't the case. By adding a tankless water heater you can have one person shower without you having to wait for the heater to warm up some water for you afterwards. Just hop in and enjoy the hot water. You also won't ever get the chills with cold water before getting burned by the excruciating hot water that usually follows.

Durability

Although tankless heaters can be quite pricey they are going to last you a lot longer than a regular caravan water heaters. While more expensive tankless hot water heaters will last you even longer,  if you go for a more affordable one it will still have a long lifespan.