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rogerddd's avatar
rogerddd
Explorer
Dec 30, 2017

On-demand water heaters – do they work?

We have a new Thor brand class C motorhome with an tankless Girard Brand RV water heater. In the shower the water will temporarily turn warm after the hot water faucet is on and run for a while, but it cycles between warm and cold, so we end up showering with mostly cold water. Both the manufacturer and RV repair facility tell us the same thing: run the faucet until warm water flows, then reduce the flow to sustain the warm temperature. When hooked up to city water, this almost works but with dry camping it does not work well and takes too much water to sustain even water occasionally warm. Washing dishes offers a similar experience. Anyone have good success with tankless water heater in their motorhome? Is so, how did you get it work?
  • Do a search on the Truma tankless water heater.

    Yes, people have been saying that the Girard is not the best for boondocking because it has to run in order to sustain hot water, filling up your holding tank as well running you dry.
  • Not as well as a real water heater and not for boondocking IMO.
  • Cycling off and on is common on tankless systems.
    These units need a minimum flow to turn the heater on, if the flow drops the heat turns off. Mixing hot and cold reduces the Hot flow just enough to shut the unit down.
    Try barely opening the hot water at the bathroom sink while running the shower. Just a small steady stream will often give the unit sufficient flow.