Hot rod

Forzatm · 12-03-2016, 12:45 PM

We have a 2014 Winnebago no electric hot water element we are using a hot rod to heat the water how many of you are using the hot rod and have you ever experience a failure by using the hot Rod there is a hot debate on A Nother form about the hot Rod causing damage to the hot water tank if so can you give a description of the problems you have had by using this device

Jim_HiTek · 12-03-2016, 02:07 PM

I installed the Hot Rod in my RV in 2005, and it was still working fine in 2016 when I sold the rig. Never had any problems with it but I did do yearly tank maintenance and flush it out.

I lurk around 3 RV forums, have since 2003, and don't recall seeing an excess of issues with the brand, or the other, more expensive brand. I'd be interested in seeing a link to that other thread.

Old-Biscuit · 12-03-2016, 02:54 PM

Hott Rod and Lightning Rod have been around for many years

Both Suburban and Atwood have disclaimers about using them because they have no control over the design/safety features/installation or owners maintenance.
Don't blame them....it isn't OEM so why should they be 'liable'

Suburban also has the issue of anode rod requirement.

Hott Rod & Lightning Rod brands do come with a reducer with anode rod for the Suburban but that rod is less then half of the OEM anode rod....IF that long

Both have normal/High temp set of t-stats and on/off switches

Other then the anode rod issue both use existing drain holes for installation.
There-in lies another concern for WH MFG.
Folks have a tendency to NOT drain/flush WH Tank routinely due to having to disconnect wiring and remove the heater rod in order to drain and then flush tank
Human nature...IF it is a PITA then it doesn't get done as often as it should be

Other than the above I have NOT heard of issues USING either brand.
They are much smaller heating elements (325/450/625W vs 1400W OEM) so they are much slower to heat/recover.
IF set of t-stats are properly attached to tank wall they shouldn't cause overheating issues
And IF the AC power is properly supplied ie: properly wired AC outlet then Circuit Breaker would provided protection

But that is a lot of IFs

FIRE UP · 12-03-2016, 05:48 PM

Well Gang,
First off, I've never, ever heard of a "Hot Rod". So, may I ask, what is it? And, what's it supposed to do?
Scott

Jim_HiTek · 12-03-2016, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Well Gang,
First off, I've never, ever heard of a "Hot Rod". So, may I ask, what is it? And, what's it supposed to do?
Scott

It's a little electrical heating element for your RV water heater. You remove the drain plug for your heater, and insert the Hot Rod. It has a thermostat that is attached to the overheat safety valve that all heaters are required to have and than plugs into 120Vac to heat up your water.

My old '94 Bounder had a convenient 120Vac outlet outside under the awning area that was where I'd plug it in when I parked at a park.

Did a fine job maintaining hot water but sometimes, when I'd need a shower after just arriving at a RV park, I'd light off the propane to speed up the process. Five minutes is all it took, than the Hot Rod did the work from than on.

Here's my blog post about the water heater and you can see the wiring and thermostat in the write up: Water Heater...

Mudfrog · 12-04-2016, 05:30 PM

I installed one on our 6 gallon Suburban back in 03. Was an easy install, mainly because i had easy access to the tank where i placed the thermostat. It works great, think i've fired up the propane maybe a couple of times since it was installed. Knocking on wood but so far it has been trouble free.

But this thread does remind me, i haven't pulled the rod out in probably 5 years.

Got me a project to do on the next nice day that comes along...

FIRE UP · 12-04-2016, 07:16 PM

You know,
Based on the term "Hot Rod", and the subject at hand, I kind-a assumed it was some form of heating water. But, you know how assumptions can go

So, I'd rather be properly informed as to its true pupose so that I'm not just thinking of what it is, thanks for the answer. It sounds kind-a like a diesel block heater, only maybe just a tad different.
Scott

Notayurt · 12-04-2016, 07:52 PM

Agree that the drain plug hot rod type heaters are simple to install, trouble free, and worth adding to your HW heater. I extended the wires to the temperature sending module so I could secure it to the side of the HW tank about 2/3rds of the way up, tightly surrounded by the tank's Styrofoam casing. I covered the sending unit with additional insulation, so it reads the water temp in the tank quite well. The electric element cycles on and off, not excessively, and keeps our water hot enough for two adult showers. If you have a teenager though, all bets are off. I remove the heating rod at the end of each season and clean off any hard water scaling as part of winterization and cleaning of the HW tank. I don't know why electric HW elements are not standard features on all RV HW heaters. We had one in our first 30 amp coach and never had to worry about the electric load as we monitored our amp draw and just shut it down for the short times we were using the microwave or other big amp draws. The power management system would shed the A/C units if necessary on hot days, so the whole HW heating system was trouble-free. You may have to add a supplemental circuit breaker box to your electric service if you don't have room for another breaker, or if you don't have an available "low draw" circuit to tap into for the HW heater. All in all, it's worth the effort, if only to avoid hearing the noise of the gas heater firing up. Good luck with your decision!

Forzatm · 12-05-2016, 08:39 AM

This person claims that the Hott Rod damaged their hot water tank. He shows a photograph of his water tank out of the coach and a guy welding up a pinhole with a mig welder. He is claiming that the Hott Rod caused this and others are claiming that it has some sort of electrolysis going on that's causing damage to the inside of the hot water tank and warning people not to use the Hott Rod. I for one am not buying this, the Hott Rods been around for years. I have never heard of any such thing. Is it possible that he got a hold of a bad tank from the factory? ANother person is claiming that the inside of his hot water tank is damaged by the Hott Rod and some sort of blue Goo material came out when He cleaned it out and shows a picture of it, even the dealer according to him cannot tell him what it was, it looked like a blue glob.

Mudfrog · 12-05-2016, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forzatm

This person claims that the Hott Rod damaged their hot water tank. He shows a photograph of his water tank out of the coach and a guy welding up a pinhole with a mig welder. He is claiming that the Hott Rod caused this and others are claiming that it has some sort of electrolysis going on that's causing damage to the inside of the hot water tank and warning people not to use the Hott Rod. I for one am not buying this, the Hott Rods been around for years. I have never heard of any such thing. Is it possible that he got a hold of a bad tank from the factory? ANother person is claiming that the inside of his hot water tank is damaged by the Hott Rod and some sort of blue Goo material came out when He cleaned it out and shows a picture of it, even the dealer according to him cannot tell him what it was, it looked like a blue glob.

We can help extend the longevity of our tanks by doing regular maintenance, such as draining and flushing. But no matter how much we do, tanks will eventually fail. Some people get only a few years and some get 20. There are lots of variables such as water quality and usage that make predicting failure impossible. A Hott Rod could cause a problem i suppose. For instance, if one was installed in place of the factory anode rod. For the most part though,, the blue glob and pin hole probably weren't caused by the Rod.

Old-Biscuit · 12-05-2016, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forzatm

This person claims that the Hott Rod damaged their hot water tank. He shows a photograph of his water tank out of the coach and a guy welding up a pinhole with a mig welder. He is claiming that the Hott Rod caused this and others are claiming that it has some sort of electrolysis going on that's causing damage to the inside of the hot water tank and warning people not to use the Hott Rod. I for one am not buying this, the Hott Rods been around for years. I have never heard of any such thing. Is it possible that he got a hold of a bad tank from the factory? ANother person is claiming that the inside of his hot water tank is damaged by the Hott Rod and some sort of blue Goo material came out when He cleaned it out and shows a picture of it, even the dealer according to him cannot tell him what it was, it looked like a blue glob.

Folks are always 'looking' for an excuse as long as it doesn't point at them

Pinhole leak......
1) Could be due to lack of routine flushing/cleaning because aftermarket heating element is in the drain hole
2) Could be due to aftermarket heating element being used WITHOUT an anode rod or the short rod not being replaced when gone
1& 2 ----owners issue

3) MFG. production defect........hard to prove

Blue glob......
Water quality plain and simple.
It is Aluminum Hydroxide. Shows up in residential water heaters.
It is not harmful, it is a reaction to minerals in the water, it varies from clear gel like to blue to green goo

More frequent draining/flushing removes it and doesn't give it time to react.

Funny how folks always look to blame anything but there own actions

Mr_D · 12-05-2016, 03:23 PM

Hott Rod is the brand name of one of the units. I've installed two of them, one on my rig and another on a friends some years ago. Both did as expected which was heat the water, but they were slow and you did need to run the propane burner oif doing much other than washing hands. Used a lighted switch on both so you could see when they were on.

Stevegd007 · 12-06-2016, 11:14 AM

Both my RV's came with an electric option to heat the water as standard. On my first one I drained the water heater one winter of water. Come spring I had forgot there was no water in it an I was checking my RV for the road, I clicked on my electric heat for my water heater AND oops, minutes later I had burned out the element cause no water was in the tank!
My second RV is going on 10 years and the electric heat element in the water heater is going strong!

spyderRV · 12-06-2016, 12:39 PM

My question about the Hot Rod is this, I removed mine to drain the tank for winterizing in the driveway. It looked like this!

In less than a year and occasional use. Normal?

lanerd · 12-06-2016, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

You know,
Based on the term "Hot Rod", and the subject at hand, I kind-a assumed it was some form of heating water. But, you know how assumptions can go

So, I'd rather be properly informed as to its true pupose so that I'm not just thinking of what it is, thanks for the answer. It sounds kind-a like a diesel block heater, only maybe just a tad different.
Scott

My first reaction was that someone was going to tell us all about their Hot Rod....like my 64 Fairlane with a 351c bored and stroked 4-bolt main engine, a Borg & Warner HD T-10 4-speed close ratio trans and a 9" 350 post-traction rear end...

but no...

Jim_HiTek · 12-06-2016, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyderRV

My question about the Hot Rod is this, I removed mine to drain the tank for winterizing in the driveway. It looked like this!

In less than a year and occasional use. Normal?

Looks to me as though the water you've had in the tank is hard water, and then that you need one of those sacrificial electrolysis sleeves.

Also, just clean it off and stuff it back in the tank. That white stuff is harmless. Mine got some on it but not that thick and not that fast. But I full time RV'ed over in the NW mostly where the water is pretty good.

Old-Biscuit · 12-06-2016, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyderRV

My question about the Hot Rod is this, I removed mine to drain the tank for winterizing in the driveway. It looked like this!

In less than a year and occasional use. Normal?

Very normal.
If you pulled an OEM electric element you would see same kind of scaling going on
Just wire brush it off--------clean up threads, retape and back in.

Size of threads looks like it is in an Atwood (aluminum tank) so no anode rod needed.