Tankless Water Heater

[lawnspecialties]

I know these are still new. But not a whole lot of reports on them yet.

Does anyone have a tankless water heater on their camper? If so, how do you like it?

I must admit, we've never had any complaints for the most part from traditional water heaters on a camper. But if something is getting better, I'm open to change. Just not sure if it is better.

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

We have one in our rig. It has the manual knob. Per the instructions, I adjust the knob based on the temperature of the incoming water and forget it. When I shower, I use the hot water knob only and throttle that to get the right temperature. I like it that way.

There are some issues with it. The first is that if you shut the water off while showering, you will need to aim it away from yourself when you start it back up because you will get a blast of cold water until the unit senses flow again. The second is that it's relatively low flow. But in a rig such as mine, that's a good thing for boondocking. Third, if I have to get up in the middle of the night and do anything that requires me to wash my hands, it really is a little too loud.

I've never had any issues with variable pressure from the pump. I've never had any issues getting it hot enough. I barely use any gas with it. I had only one issue where it cut off and I was able to reset that with the push of a button. Winterizing it is a breeze. No bypass required.

I'd own one again.

[Bob___Ann]

gatorcq wrote:
There are certain requirements for TWH
The Atwood requires the following:
1.5 GPM from each faucet = so you must measure
Temperature differential = 60 degrees. meaning water going in is 30, water coming out = 90.

And yes they work very well WHEN you stick to the requirements and they do not use more LP. Your best way is to call the manufactures and ask for technical support. They are more then happy to explain to you how there system works and what the requirements are. I did just this, and new that the shower head would not meet the water flow requirements. I was happy to have talked to TS. Many people spout what they read on the internet. That is one reason I try and call the manufacture and discuss the requirements of there product.

Homer
The information is in the signature of my first post on this thread. Our hot water on demand system is in our motor home which is a 2014 40 foot Tiffin Phaeton (40QBH)

[Homer1]

GOOD advice-Homer

[gatorcq]

There are certain requirements for TWH
The Atwood requires the following:
1.5 GPM from each faucet = so you must measure
Temperature differential = 60 degrees. meaning water going in is 30, water coming out = 90.

And yes they work very well WHEN you stick to the requirements and they do not use more LP. Your best way is to call the manufactures and ask for technical support. They are more then happy to explain to you how there system works and what the requirements are. I did just this, and new that the shower head would not meet the water flow requirements. I was happy to have talked to TS. Many people spout what they read on the internet. That is one reason I try and call the manufacture and discuss the requirements of there product.

[Homer1]

Bob & Ann - How large a home are you on, your tank less system at home? I have used them in a very large home in Europe, but have no information on the tank less made in the U.S.A. Strangely enough I remember the name of my tank less in Europe was "Apperson Jack Rabbit", as I remember it was made in Denmark.

[Bob___Ann]

72cougarxr7 wrote:
Most of the complaints are about the cheap manually adjustable units. These have 2 knobs, 1 to adjust the gas/flame and the other to adjust the water flow. Any changes in water pressure or inlet temp will change the temperature of the water coming out of the unit.

What you want is one of the computer controlled, self modulating units. The computer senses inlet temp and flow rate and automatically adjusts the flame to give consistent outlet temperature.

You very much get what you pay for when you buy a tankless water heater!

Ours has only one knob which is for the water flow and the gas remains constant. We leave our water flow wide open. That way it comes out very hot at the faucet. Just like at home you adjust the temperature by adding the amount of cold water which gives you a desired temperature at the faucet. One cannot adjust an accurate water temperature at the heater due to the different distances that the hot water travels to each faucet. By leaving the valve wide open you will always get hotter then needed water at all faucets. It really works very well and used very little propane.

[KenMast]

Hi,

There is a lot of negative talk about tankless water heaters. DON'T BELIEVE IT.

I have the Truma tankless water heater and it is GREAT.

There was a very long thread on this subject that explains it all. Do a search on this forum to learn about it. IT WORKS.

[72cougarxr7]

Most of the complaints are about the cheap manually adjustable units. These have 2 knobs, 1 to adjust the gas/flame and the other to adjust the water flow. Any changes in water pressure or inlet temp will change the temperature of the water coming out of the unit.

What you want is one of the computer controlled, self modulating units. The computer senses inlet temp and flow rate and automatically adjusts the flame to give consistent outlet temperature.

You very much get what you pay for when you buy a tankless water heater!

[Bob___Ann]

lawnspecialties
We have had both and the decision is yours. With a six gallon heater we would run out of hot water regularly. With the 12 gallon that ran on both gas and electric we really never ran out of hot water. Our current coach has the tankless hot water system which we really like. The advantages are:
1. The tankless water heater allows for more storage space.
2. Contrary to what is said we cannot believe how little gas it uses. The gas only kicks on while the water is flowing through the hot water system.
3. We have been in very cold areas (10 degrees) with very cold faucet water and it heats it well. You have to understand that there is not a tank involved. The gas heats the water while flowing through the copper lines.
4. It works very well for our needs and we are glad that we paid the additional money for it.
The disadvantages are:
1. For the hot water on demand system to operate efficiently you need 40 pounds of water pressure. If there is little pressure you can pump the water out of your fresh water tank.
2. In cold weather like 25 degrees you need to simply drain the heater system as it will freeze during travel and the copper lines are expensive to replace. It will not freeze while camping due to the pilot light. We have camped in 10 degree weather with no problem.
In summary it meets our needs very well. However if you have been happy with the tank system it probably is not worth the investment. I do recommend the water tank that will operate on gas and electric at the same time which works well if you have a lot of people taking showers. Good luck with your order

[kedanie]

It never fails to amaze me when these threads come up. So many people who have no experience with a tankless system are bad mouthing them.

Well, we have a Precision Temp unit in our coach. It works great, provides plenty of steaming hot water and doesn't use a bunch of propane. On a long term basis, it uses less than the old 6 or 10 gallon conventional units. Sure it uses what seems like a lot when it is in use, but when the water is turned off so does the heater.

Bottom line, once you have one you will not want to go back. Basically unlimited hot water.

Keith

[Homer1]

4X4 Dodger is absolutely correct in his post. The way we do in this country is a crime. It is so wasteful and expensive. Europeans literally laugh at us for our backward view on Hot Water. Remember fuel is very expensive over there and has been for many years.

[4X4Dodger]

lawnspecialties wrote:
I know these are still new. But not a whole lot of reports on them yet.

Does anyone have a tankless water heater on their camper? If so, how do you like it?

I must admit, we've never had any complaints for the most part from traditional water heaters on a camper. But if something is getting better, I'm open to change. Just not sure if it is better.

Tankless water heaters are NOT new. They have been used around the world in homes and businesses and RV's for many years. They are only "new" here in the states.

The ones I have used have worked perfectly and in fact have very hot water whether they are propane or electric.

There are always nay-sayers at anything new. Change is frightening to many. Sooner or later, and I hope it's sooner, our homes will all have these and we will stop the truly wasteful habit of keeping 40 gallons of water hot all the time.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

Tankless water RV heaters are not so good. If they are used in a cold climate, such as Oregon when the temperature is only 45F water inlet, the water will only get 'warmed' while in a area like Florida, with 65 or 70F inlet water, it will work great, heating all the water you might need to 105F.

However due to the water pump changing flow each minute, the flow switch might shut off while you are showering. SO yes there are problems with a RV using a gas tankless water heater.

That said, I have a portable tankless L5 water heater with a 37,000 Btu input, rated to heat 5 liters per minute from 65 to 105F. Because my inlet water temp was only about 45F, my 6 gallon hot water tank would run out in only a couple of minutes, and I did not 'enjoy' my showers in the winter. So by using the tankless water heater to fill my 100 gallon fresh water tank, I could warm that tank to 85F and it kept my bedroom warmer too! After 2 days, it would cool down to about 65F, and still offered a long hot shower, I timed them at 15 minutes with warm inlet water and only 4 minutes with 45F water.

The L5 water heater is only about $140 at Amazon.com and the larger 55,000 Btu L-10 water heater is only a few dollars more. Both are designed for portable use, and can be hooked up to a garden hose, and would be easy to fill the fresh water tank, or take outside showers, or be used to wash a horse, ect.

I also camped with a friend and his 40' DP, with a 10 gallon gas/electric water heater. That is what I want in my next RV!

Good luck,

Fred.

[Houston_Remodel]

We had a portable on demand Ecco Temp from our pop up days. We added it to the TT as a pre-heater where the water comes from the on demand then flows through the on board gas/electric HWH then to the shower head/faucet. Powered by a 20lb LP tank which we also use for the portable firepit. We get over a year out of a 20 pound tank, travelling 70+ nights a year.

Works perfectly. Link here