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hot water heater

Hello my friends,
I have a 2026 Paradigm with a tank hot water heater. I can not find anyway to turn down the temperature. I would guess it must have a built in thermostat.
Has anyone looked into this and can a manual one be installed?
Rick
 

BryanValRox

Elite Member
Hello my friends,
I have a 2026 Paradigm with a tank hot water heater. I can not find anyway to turn down the temperature. I would guess it must have a built in thermostat.
Has anyone looked into this and can a manual one be installed?
Rick
Unfortunately, the water heater temperature on the Paradigm isn’t adjustable. I agree that the temperature is a little hotter then it needs to be and an adjustable stat would be a nice addition.
 

Oregon_Camper

Forum Admin
Staff member
You can get many many more showers if the tanks heats water to 180 (BTW..I am making up the numbers) vs 110. The concept is you mix in cold water to get the perfect mix for a shower. If the temp from tank was lower, you would use more of the hot water tank water.
 

BryanValRox

Elite Member
Certainly understand the logic and concept.

My take was that the OP was rooted in the fact that the water is way too hot and a burn hazard is at risk.

IMHO, and given that it is just the two of us, I would certainly think the sticks and bricks norm of 120 degrees would still work out just fine for us.

Personally, I would love to see it equipped with an adjustable stat. After all, tankless heaters are fully adjustable and to your point ,the same mixing strategy could be used if they were not. Obviously, I would think most with tankless users leverage the adjustable stat to dial in their optimal temperature and have no need to mix with cold.

I guess at the end of the day, I would consider the stat on a tank style a safety improvement and a nice upgrade .
 

George

Well-known member
From research last night...
1️⃣ The t'stat cutoff is 135º (propane) and 130º (electric). Suburban says the proper operating temp is 130º ±5º. Then says "Water temperatures over 130ºF (54ºC) can cause severe burns instantly or death from scalds". 🤷🏼‍♂️
2️⃣ Ensure that the t'stats are in good contact with the tank wall or they may allow overheating.
3️⃣ One person commented that he had good results using heatsink paste between the tank and t'stat for quicker operation.
4️⃣ Not a solution for you but there are 140º t'stats available. I could not find lower set points though. 🤔Maybe that'd be a good product idea for aftermarket sales.
 

Lantley

Prominent Member
My last RV at a 12 gallon tank heater as well. But it was the other brand maybe dometic? Anyway I never ran out of hot water with that unit, however my current 12 gallon heater is barely adequate for me to take a shower in terms of running out of our water it gets the job done but I have run out of a hot water maybe a minute or two too soon.
I have always wondered why my last unit never ran out and my current unit will run out every time if I let it. Maybe the dramatic had 140° thermostat? It definitely provided more hot water than my current unit.
I will add the shower is bigger and my paradigm versus my prior RV so maybe I'm just taking longer showers because they're more enjoyable than the cramped shower am I old unit.
 

George

Well-known member
I don't think I would consider a lower set point unless we had children in the camper. In that case I would have made sure to get a tankless. Our Winnebago at first had an Atwood tankless that would scald you or freeze you, no in between. We put up with it a few years before installing a normal DSI/Electric water heater. So when we considered a new fifth wheel we did NOT want a tankless.
.
We never have a problem running out of hot water with our Suburban 12 gal unless some hot water has been used just before the shower. I have been scalded a bit when my better half forgets and flushes or turns on the cold too much.
.
The old tip about turning on both propane and electric is a good 'un.
 

George

Well-known member
I did see another tip that may help you.
Use the red water heater bypass valve (Nautilus Panel) to pre-mix in some cold water.
With the new manifold system you'll have a different bypass valve hidden behind the water heater.
The idea is that your hot water shower valve will pull some hot and some cold.
 
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