Tankless 120V water heater for family of 6

[theoldwizard1]

My daughter's family is still having problems with their 6 gallon Atwood propane water heater working inconsistently (less than 3 years old). Now they are talking about a tankless 120V water heater so the family can actually take showers in their TT.

Has anyone found such a water heater that can heat water fast enough for multiple kids to take a shower ?

[abom2]

Controller board on my dual sources hot water heater went out two years ago. Was looking on line for a new one or a new board.

Found at PPL an Atwood Tankless propane. On sale, it was a little less than a new hotwater heater. Time being of the essence I ordered it, installed it, and then read the instructions on its proper usage.

It has a thermostat you can adjust for the incoming water supply temp. Florida winter I had it set at half way of the adjustment range. One must turn on the hot water first, then temper by adding cold water to have the desired temp.

Propane usage is lower than with the old heater due to the propane demand is only when hot water is needed. I do not take Navy showers now because I am not in the service any longer. LOL

Probably not the best thing to have when boondocking I would think. Works well for what it is.

[wa8yxm]

Long time ago I did they math and frankly I don't have the resources to do it again but a tankless heater won't work on 120 volts for showers.

Works out to about 60 amps needed at 120 volts to do the job.

Propane is the only way to go for tankless on an RV.

[Happytraveler]

mchero wrote:
I have an Attwood EXT water heater that really pumps out the hot water and as suggested above you can run both propane and electric at the same time. Other that the mixer occasionally sticking it's been working for us the last 4 years.
http://www.adventurerv.net/atwood-water-heater-gallon-gas-electric-p-8668.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwhYLLBRD...

That's what we do when we have a crowd. It works out great!!!

[mchero]

I have an Attwood EXT water heater that really pumps out the hot water and as suggested above you can run both propane and electric at the same time. Other that the mixer occasionally sticking it's been working for us the last 4 years.
http://www.adventurerv.net/atwood-water-heater-gallon-gas-electric-p-8668.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwhYLLBRD...

[pconroy328]

ScottG wrote:
rely on electric to heat or does it use propane?
Thanks!

Sorry - I missed that part in the original post.
Propane.

Can't imagine a 120V unit being able to impart that many BTUs.

[drsteve]

I have a propane tankless in my S&B that is rated at 117,000 btu. So it uses about 5 lb of propane per hour of operation. It delivers 2.5 gal/min of really hot water. Once everything is dialed in it works great.

I don't think an electric tankless would work well with the limited power available in many campgrounds.

[joebedford]

Roadpilot wrote:
I had a 7KW 240 VAC unit in a caoch house. It didn't raise the water temp enough for showers on a cold winter day in Florida. Replaced it with a 15KW unit that works great.

How the heck do you get a 15kw unit to work? 50A isn't enough. Do you have an enormous generator?

On edit: you're not talking about using a standard RV hookup in this case.

[Roadpilot]

I had a 7KW 240 VAC unit in a caoch house. It didn't raise the water temp enough for showers on a cold winter day in Florida. Replaced it with a 15KW unit that works great.

There is no way a 120 VAC unit could function even using all 30 amps from a pedestal. That's assuming the raw water is warm.

If the RV is 50 amp you could get a 240 VAC unit that uses two 40 amp breakers and actually uses approx. 30 amps. But that wouldn't leave much left over.

I know the make propane tankless hot water heaters. That may work better, but I know nothing about them.

[Ivylog]

I would add the electric after your current LP...the two of them should do it. Agree a 120V unit is not up to the job.

[pickjare]

Suppose there are 6 of you: it Might be easier to do three showers morning, three at night. Between each three give water heater half hour to catch up. The three year old water Heater should be repairable.

[pianotuna]

If you go tankless forget about running on electric.

[time2roll]

Is it just propane? Consider a 10 gallon that runs on both propane and electric. And yes you can use both heat sources.

[ScottG]

pconroy328 wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Has anyone found such a water heater that can heat water fast enough for multiple kids to take a shower ?

Like a lot of other Jayco owners, our 2016 Jayco Class C came with a Girard tankless.

For every person that likes it, you'll probably find three that do not.

We do like it. It was a learning experience how to use it - the Girard does NOT work like a normal water heater. But once we dialed it in - we've got unlimited hot water.

You need full hook-ups obviously.

But the point is - there are a few of us with Tankless water heaters in our coaches that like 'em.

I don't think I'd recommend Girard, however. If I had to do it from scratch, I'd probably look at Truma. Atwood and Suburban also have tankless water heater products.

We've got one child with specific needs - and the tankless has been a blessing for us.

Does your tankless rely on electric to heat or does it use propane?
Thanks!

[Hurricaner]

Forget about electric instantaneous water heaters in rvs. Even at 50 amps 240 volts you would only get a moderate flow of hot water. At 120 volts it just ain't gonna happen.

Sam