Tankless water heater

dougrainer wrote:

myface wrote:
The one I had, I purchase from Camping World for $98. Worked great. I forgot the brand name.

Standard RV Tankless water heater cost from a low of $400 to up to $800. Don't know what you purchased for 98$, but it was NOT a Tankless water heater that would do the job in an RV. Doug

PS, Since Tankless for RV's came out years ago, I have replaced countless Tankless with a standard water heater at the customer request. Some Paid for by the OEM (under warranty) and others out of the customers pocket. I have NEVER had a customer come in and have me install a Tankless and then the customer is happy with the Tankless. I would NEVER have an LP Tankless Water Heater in my RV.

Likely due to all the variables involved. Tankless water heaters rely on certain parameters in order to work effectively and consistently . You need to heat water at a temperature of X to desired temperature Y in a distance of a few inches at a GPM rate of Z. In a S&B house all these variables, specifically X and Z are static. In an RV they are very unstable. Each CG will have different flow rates and ground water temps. And the flow rate from an on board water pump also pulses and is pretty low and inconsistent. The ebb and flow of pressure from an onboard water pump would drive a tankless heater crazy unless you had a bladder tank to equalize pressure. Even your on board water tank can swing in temps dramatically. I am surprised they tried to tackle it at all in an RV application. They seem to work for some though, perhaps their conditions are less variable.

I would also argue their efficiency in an RV application over a standard tank. Most people in houses use them to save money so they aren't heating water in a large tank 24/7. In an RV if your tank is set to electric, you don't pay the Cg for electric usage by the KW. It's a flat fee. If your tank is on LP, most people I know, including me, only turn on the water heater before they take a shower or dishes etc. It's not left on 24/7. So there is really no efficiency advantage. It's just a gadget - that often doesn't meet expectations. in a house they are great. I personally think an RV is the wrong application.

To the OP, has the performance of your water heater degraded over time? They don't last forever, perhaps there are mineral deposits built up etc. maybe it needs drained/cleaned, element replaced etc.