Forum Discussion

doughere's avatar
doughere
Explorer
Sep 27, 2023

Replace Girard tankless how water heater

I just bought a Cougar 5th wheel with a Girard tankless how water heater. What a joke! Unit will supply hot water heater endlessly, but not intermittently. This means any time you want hot water, you waste about a quart until you get hot water. Showering can not be a sub-shower, as you will be hit with a shot of cold water each time you turn the shower back on.
There appears to be enough room to put a conventional RV how water heater where this piece of c$&% is. Has anyone tried (hopefully succeeded) to do this, how bad was it.

Thanks,
Doug
  • Now, to the problem he has. Believe it or not, ANY possible air in the pressure plumbing will cause erratic operation of a Girard. This means, if you have a washer/dryer prep and you have NEVER opened the 2 valves, there is air in that part of the system. Outside shower, never used or not run after winterization. Air there also. So, open every possible valve you can find and let the air bleed out. Including the 2 winter drain valves. See if that improves the operation. If not, then replace with a standard water heater. Doug
  • Suburban should replace the Girard. They used to make an adapter outer frame. Doug
  • I specifically selected a year older unit to avoid the tankless heater. It does look like there's enough room for a regular water heater in most units. I researched that quite a bit last year.
  • Lantley wrote:
    wa8yxm wrote:
    With any water heater the water in the pipes heater to tap/shower is room temp.
    And there is your quart. the Tankless has hot water coming out the outlet within half a cup.


    Go home. Turn on the shower. How long before you get hot water out of your tank type water heater?

    The only disadvantage to Tankless is you have a minimum flow rate before it heats.

    There is definitely a delay with tankless. A tank heater has 130º water ready to go. A tankless does not. The cooler water in the pipes is a factor for both. Tankless does not produce hot water instantaneously. It takes a few moments for tankless to produce hot water. You will notice the lag or delay with tankless in a house or RV.
    That said tankless is a very bad idea for an RV.
    My 10 gallon tank water heater gives me unlimited hot water. I never run out.
    Having unlimited hot water via tankless is a fallacy.
    You don't have unlimited supply nor do you have unlimited waste water storage.


    Agree. We would never have a tankless, nor a 12v fridge as both seem to the norm with the newer RVs. As for the tankless, friends of ours reported filling a dish tub full of water before it even got hot, hence he installed a mod noted in my other post. We have a tankless in our house and even with the water at full blast, there is a delay up to a minute for the faucets furthest away from the tankless. In that delay, an easy two gallons can be collected.
  • Friends of ours just bought a new Acadia and have the tankless water heater. It wasted so much water, they were frustrated. He researched and instead of removing, he added this to their kitchen sink counter and she loves it. It turns white when the water is hot and ready and no more wasting water. Here is the link to the product.
  • wa8yxm wrote:
    With any water heater the water in the pipes heater to tap/shower is room temp.
    And there is your quart. the Tankless has hot water coming out the outlet within half a cup.


    Go home. Turn on the shower. How long before you get hot water out of your tank type water heater?

    The only disadvantage to Tankless is you have a minimum flow rate before it heats.

    There is definitely a delay with tankless. A tank heater has 130º water ready to go. A tankless does not. The cooler water in the pipes is a factor for both. Tankless does not produce hot water instantaneously. It takes a few moments for tankless to produce hot water. You will notice the lag or delay with tankless in a house or RV.
    That said tankless is a very bad idea for an RV.
    My 10 gallon tank water heater gives me unlimited hot water. I never run out.
    Having unlimited hot water via tankless is a fallacy.
    You don't have unlimited supply nor do you have unlimited waste water storage.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    With any water heater the water in the pipes heater to tap/shower is room temp.
    And there is your quart. the Tankless has hot water coming out the outlet within half a cup.


    Go home. Turn on the shower. How long before you get hot water out of your tank type water heater?

    The only disadvantage to Tankless is you have a minimum flow rate before it heats.
  • I don't think your problem has anything to do with the tankless water heater. With any water heater, you're going to have to wait for the hot water to travel from the heater to the faucet your using (about a quart).

    I had the same problem with trying to use the "button" on the shower head to turn off/on the shower (what you call a sub-shower) - getting a blast of cold water. Research indicated there might have been a solution that involved installation of a check-velve in the hot water line to prevent cold water from backing into the hot water line. Instead, I went to using the water valves instead of the "button" for sub-showers. Problem solved.

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,210 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 04, 2025