Water heater vs tankless water heater in 2000 Adventurer

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Atwood uses an aluminum tank........get it welded
Cheap repair---just like new.

That rubber washer special screw will leak.

It's already starting to seep ... but it was holding good enough to shower this morning... and hoping it's good enough to hold until a new unit gets here middle of next week.

Hubby says that the tank is corroded... welding it wont help.

dougrainer wrote:

journey indiana wrote:
A long time ago, back in the 90's, they used to sell just the tank as a replacement. You had to take everything apart, remove the leaking tank, and replace it with the new tank. It worked for me. You might check with reputable suppliers to see if they have replacement tanks. As I remember, it saved me quite a lot of money over replacing the complete water heater with a new unit.
Good Luck,
Journey Indiana

While they have Atwood tank replacements, the OP has an 18 year old unit. It would be better to replace the complete Water Heater. Doug

Yep... I agree with Doug, gotta replace the whole thing. Found just the tanks sold for 1/2 the price of a new unit but it is not worth the time to pull old brittle wires/connections apart to do a replacement of the tank.

And THANK YOU to the ones that gave a heads up that the RV tankless heaters are not a way to go. I hear you loud and clear.

journey indiana wrote:
A long time ago, back in the 90's, they used to sell just the tank as a replacement. You had to take everything apart, remove the leaking tank, and replace it with the new tank. It worked for me. You might check with reputable suppliers to see if they have replacement tanks. As I remember, it saved me quite a lot of money over replacing the complete water heater with a new unit.
Good Luck,
Journey Indiana

While they have Atwood tank replacements, the OP has an 18 year old unit. It would be better to replace the complete Water Heater. Doug

A long time ago, back in the 90's, they used to sell just the tank as a replacement. You had to take everything apart, remove the leaking tank, and replace it with the new tank. It worked for me. You might check with reputable suppliers to see if they have replacement tanks. As I remember, it saved me quite a lot of money over replacing the complete water heater with a new unit.
Good Luck,
Journey Indiana

The issue is variable flow rate and temp rise. Tankless systems operate on GPM flow rate. The more flow (demand) the hotter the burn rate but there is a minimum of GPM (gallons per minute). They also operate on a premise of required temp rise. So combine the 2, there is X burn rate required to achieve Y temp rise at Z flow rate/demand. The reason they work so well in houses and so horribly in Rv's is that these components are static in a house but variable in an RV. Not only is the water temp and flow rate different for every CG, it's also different for a water pump vs water connection. And usually both are less than the requirement for a tank less to function optimally add to that, flow rates - especially on the water pump fluctuate/cycle. Too low a flow rate and they won't ignite at all. Flow rate and temp required for rise are pretty constant in a house and the flow rates are usually adequate as is required by code. There is no code to ensure high enough flow rates in a CG or an RV. If you could ensure consistent flow rate at the consistent minimum GPM and consistent water source temperature, they would work fine. But reality is, an RV provides none of these. Exactly the opposite.

Well, here is a review from someone who actually owns one.

We have a Precision Temp RV500. For the most part, it works very well. We have found that although it uses a lot of propane while running, overall it uaes less than a tank style unit running just on propane.

There are some things that one has to get used to. They are very sensitive to the temperature of the incoming water. They will only heat the water so much and if the incoming water is very cold then the hot water output will be cooler. They are also flow dependent. So if you are in a place where water pressure is low, then the performance will suffer a bit.

Over all, we are happy with our unit.

Keith

Well this is discouraging.
Maybe someday they'll get them to work as well as (some) residential systems.

1. Atwood appears to be Precision temp. They look almost identical
2. LP Tankless in an RV is WORTHLESS. I have more complaints about Tankless water heaters than all other water heaters combined. Does NOT depend on the brand. NONE will give continuous heat flawlessly. They are very finicky.
3. Do NOT rate LP Tankless with Diesel fired Aqua hot type systems. Totally different animal. Doug

Atwood uses an aluminum tank........get it welded
Cheap repair---just like new.

That rubber washer special screw will leak.

Dick_B wrote:
Before you invest in the tankless search for and read the comments on this Forum. Unlike prescriptions I think the benefits do not out weigh the side effects.

I knew there were bad stories from previous years... was hoping to read that the kinks had been ironed out since then. Guess not.

Our Atwood sprung a leak in the middle of the tank... Hubby pulled it out and drilled a special screw with a rubber washer into the hole. It stopped the leak. We've hooked it up and have hot water flowing. It's outside the compartment so we can see if it's gonna leak or not in the next few days. Just might put it back in as is.

We have been parked in the same spot since 2011. This rig doesn't roll down the road anymore. It's been leaking for awhile but today was the first non-rainy day we had to pull it to take a look at it in weeks. Gotta love the NW... to stay here.

Before you invest in the tankless search for and read the comments on this Forum. Unlike prescriptions I think the benefits do not out weigh the side effects.