Attaching a Home Water Heater to an RV

Hot water in an RV can be an expensive luxury if your only energy source is propane. If parked in a location for an extended period of time, investing in a small home 120 volt water heater may be a solution. Here is an easy inexpensive way to connect a home water heater to your RV. Disconnecting the heater for travel s as easy as; disconnecting the garden hose and capping the inlet fitting. For a more temporary solution using an existing water heater see our post Tapping a Home Water Heater for RV Use.

Parts you will need:

1. Home water heater
2. Two ¾” pipe nipples with male hose adaptors.
3. Two washing machine hoses with female hose fittings.
4. Garden hose; Fresh water supply.
5. Rubber hose washer with a debris filter.
6. Pipe nipple ½” (½’ is standard yours may vary).
7. Hose adapter fitting to fit you pipe nipple (½” standard)
8. Garden faucet cap for travel setup. (optional)
9. Teflon pipe tape to prevent leaks.

The idea is to tap into the RV hot water OUTLET with a washing machine hose connected to a home water OUTLET. Here is how it is done.

Water Heater Connections
Using Teflon pipe tape, insert the ¾” pipe nipples into the water heater’s inlet and outlet orifices. Connect the two washing machine hoses to the pipe nipples. Connect the garden hose the water heater inlet hose and any fresh water supply.

RV Connections
RV water heaters have two readily accessed connections to the heater. These connections are usually found under the RV or in the water heater maintenance hatch. One at the bottom of the hot water heater is to drain the heater for winterization (ignore this one). The water connection exiting the top of the heater is the hot water outlet which we will connect to.

To connect the home water heater to your RV water heater, begin by turning off the water supply to the RV. Remove the ½” drain plug from the hot water outlet. Using Teflon pipe tape, insert a ½” pipe nipple into the fitting. Attach (using Teflon pipe tape) a garden hose adapter fitting to the ½” nipple. Connect the washing machine hose from the water heater outlet to your RV.

Fill the water heater with fresh water and plug the heater into an appropriate 120 volt power supply.

**WARNING: Always fill the water heater before connecting the heater to a power source to prevent damage to the water heater.

To disconnect the home water heater for travel; remove the washing machine hose and cap the connection with a garden faucet cap or remove the ½“ pipe nipple and replace the original drain plug. NOTE: DO NOT use this connection to winterize your RV; it will NOT drain your water heater.

OR_Maverick
Wintering in Tucson, AZ