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Old 09-07-2016, 08:12 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Girard GSWH-2 Tankless Water Heater

I've previously mentioned that this 3rd generation water heater came with my 2016 Thor Gemini. I've had it worked on and it's working better but the kitchen sink faucet works only intermittently. If you watch the control display, it the flame icon disappears sometimes and then returns. Anyone have this problem?

Thanks,

Jimboe

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Old 09-27-2016, 03:33 PM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Michigan
Posts: 10
THOR #3824
Girard GSWH-2 Tankless Water Heater

Yes having problem with regulating the water heater. It runs very hot and then cold. Does not stay a consistent temp. Any one else having this problem. Going to take in for other numerous repairs and wondering if others are having same problem.
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Old 09-27-2016, 05:04 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Girard Water Heater

Yes, that's more or less that problem I'm having. My hot water is intermittent. Sometimes works, sometimes not. Usually works in the bathroom sink. Kitchen sink is another story. I turn on the kitchen faucet and go back to view the control panel and see the flame icon appear and disappear. Sometimes it never appears. The shower doesn't work. Talked to a Girard tech last week and he suggested to check water pressure. If you can fill a gallon jug with the hot water on full in 75 seconds then your pressure OK. I filled it in 65 seconds so it would seem to not be the water pump. I'll be talking with him again today and will share what I learn. Btw, my experiences have been while dry camping. Was in a RV park a month ago and found that the water heater wasn't working at all. Brought it in to the dealer who found a sticky valve which was replaced. I tried the hot water then and it seemed to work, but now realize that it's undependable. Back to the dealer I guess.Jimboe
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Old 09-27-2016, 07:30 PM   #4
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Michigan
Posts: 10
THOR #3824
water heater and other stuff!

I love many of the features of the Gemini; small and nimble, great mileage, but all of the little things are driving me crazy. The cupboard doors are screwed in with small screws into particle board and rip out...in for repairs, doors are not very thick and warp, in for a new one, wires hanging from underneath the rv in the back, ugh! on and on! Now the water heater! Talked with a Thor rep and since we live 200 miles from Elkhart, I think I will take directly to the Thor facility. Can't hurt. How do you like the flip up bed? Not as comfortable as I like and the problem is.... there really is no mattress to replace it with because it needs to fold. Also why didn't they provide a place for the sewer hose...like a back bumper or something?? Storage space is very limited and I do not want to use the rear compartment to store a sewer hose!!
Also, take a look at your shower. The metal sheet on the bathroom sink cabinet does not go down all the way and leaves a gap of about an inch where water gets trapped and can cause water damage. Rick
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Old 10-03-2016, 06:40 PM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickc View Post
Yes having problem with regulating the water heater. It runs very hot and then cold. Does not stay a consistent temp. Any one else having this problem. Going to take in for other numerous repairs and wondering if others are having same problem.
Rickc, here's some info from the Girard service manual. You can get this from them - ask tech support. They'll also spend time on the phone discussing your issue(s).

Customer cannot control the temperature from set point, get too hot and then maybe too cold.
 Purge water lines.
 Water pressure too low. Some campgrounds have the water pressure very low. Try putting water in the fresh water tank and running off the pump.
 Set temperature lower.
 Possible partial by-pass opened.
 Possible, outside shower faucets turned on and just the shower button closed. Same for inside shower.
 Possible, outlet temperature probe, defective. Have not confirmed this.
 Replace water heater.
They recommend at temp of 115 f. Also, when dry camping the heater won't work on battery power if the voltage is under 10 volts. I was trying to get hot water with only 2 batter lights lit on the panel by the audio unit. Hope this helps, Jimboe
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Old 10-14-2016, 03:53 AM   #6
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: North Carolina
Posts: 11
THOR #4990
Camping world sells a nice thick memory foam topper for the mattress which is a queen size. My wife and I thought the Gemini's mattress was too thin also. After we put the memory foam on the bed, we have been sleeping very well. I highly recommend it.
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Old 10-20-2016, 04:43 PM   #7
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Thanks for this information. Jimboe
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Old 10-20-2016, 06:27 PM   #8
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Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
Posts: 6,187
THOR #2121
Not to change subject too much, but do you guys know if this Girard instant tankless water heater is the same as what Thor is using on 2017 Model Year Axis and Vegas?

I'm familiar with Truma brand, but had not even heard of Girard before reading this thread. Thanks for heads up on possible issue to investigate.
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Old 10-20-2016, 07:54 PM   #9
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chance View Post
Not to change subject too much, but do you guys know if this Girard instant tankless water heater is the same as what Thor is using on 2017 Model Year Axis and Vegas?

I'm familiar with Truma brand, but had not even heard of Girard before reading this thread. Thanks for heads up on possible issue to investigate.
This unit is the latest model, and is what is called the third generation sometimes. It's quite an improvement over the previous model. I had to have a valve replaced a while back. I then experienced some other problem of intermittent functioning. This was two different problems actually.First, if using DC power, it won't work when voltage drops below ten. The other problem was due to the water pump filter being plugged up with plastic chards from plumbing. Probably from the original construction. It's working well now.
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Old 10-20-2016, 08:12 PM   #10
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Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
Posts: 6,187
THOR #2121
Thanks for update and clarification.

By the way, as I was looking for information on your model (assuming Thor would likely use it on Axis also), I found this which may be of interest.


https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/12...84305689873449


It mentions a minimum of 11.5-Volt battery voltage. Don't know what to make of that.
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Old 10-20-2016, 08:29 PM   #11
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chance View Post
Thanks for update and clarification.

By the way, as I was looking for information on your model (assuming Thor would likely use it on Axis also), I found this which may be of interest.


https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/12...84305689873449


It mentions a minimum of 11.5-Volt battery voltage. Don't know what to make of that.
Yeah, I've seen this. What they're saying is a minimum of 11.5 volts to the unit for it took function. I got service manual from Girard and it mentions that if voltages degrades to below 10, performance will suffer or it may work. If you access the unit directly on the exterior of the M.H. and open the white place cover to the circuit board you'll see three lights. The green is always on when you turn the unit on at the control panel inside. If you see a red light on, then the voltage is below ten. The yellow light just means that hot water is running. I'd bet that this unit would be on the AXIS since it's the current model they're selling to Thor.
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Old 02-07-2017, 03:13 PM   #12
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24FS
State: Georgia
Posts: 54
THOR #5981
gap in shower...can cause water damage.

Interesting to see that the problems seen above match what I'm seeing.


Regarding the "The metal sheet on the bathroom sink cabinet does not go down all the way and leaves a gap of about an inch where water gets trapped and can cause water damage. Rick".

I talked to Thor Support (Daniel) and he said that they have never seen this before and had no fix.

Basically Daniel encouraged me to fix it myself. I went to Home Depot and purchased some external plastic house trim...white. I trimmed it down with my table saw and slid it into the hole and caulked it good with white kitchen/bathroom caulk. I didn't glue it in place first incase I had to remove it later.

Daniel said Thor would reimburse me for the cost of material.

I guess this is not a one time problem. Perhaps Thor support/engineering should be reading the forum.


Attached is a picture of my fix.
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Old 02-07-2017, 03:31 PM   #13
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24FS
State: Georgia
Posts: 54
THOR #5981
Water Heater intermittent (Thor Gemini 2017)

I'm having the tank-less water heater problems too.

Kitchen and shower do not dispense hot water consistently. It goes hot/cold on about a 10 second cycle. CW/Thor replaced the shower head and the kitchen sink faucet head...because they said they were low-flow and not generating enough water flow to keep the water heater on. After the replacement, they worked better for a while, but back to the problem now.

If I run hot water at the bathroom sink (which always give good hot water) at about a pencil thickness, then when running the kitchen sink or shower, they do better at being consistently hot...but this can cause gray tank to fill up too quickly and wastes fresh water if you are camping dry, etc.

I appreciate some of the above tips. I've winterized for now but in April, I'll check some of the items listed above.
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Old 02-07-2017, 03:43 PM   #14
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmikea
If I run hot water at the bathroom sink
Are you sure your bathroom sink goes to the gray tank? Its customary for Thor to run the bathroom sink drain to the black tank.
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Old 02-07-2017, 04:39 PM   #15
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24FS
State: Georgia
Posts: 54
THOR #5981
No, just assumed.

Once I get it un-winterized (in April), I'll do a test: empty all tanks. run water in one faucet, etc for awhile, check which tank drains water.
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Old 02-07-2017, 04:51 PM   #16
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
You can always Ask Thor for the construction drawings.
That will give you more of an idea without having to wait until April.
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Old 02-07-2017, 04:53 PM   #17
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24FS
State: Georgia
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THOR #5981
Have one for water. Very hard to read. Nothing like an actual test.
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Old 02-07-2017, 05:08 PM   #18
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Washington
Posts: 21
THOR #4766
I'm planning to get one these soon. Do you recall the brand? Thanks, Jimboe
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Old 02-07-2017, 05:34 PM   #19
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24FS
State: Georgia
Posts: 54
THOR #5981
Jimboe: not sure what you are asking.

Here are the two "blue prints" I have for the Thor Gemini
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Old 02-07-2017, 05:36 PM   #20
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
well first of all you shouldn't be posting the prints (they say right on them confidential and proprietary Thor).

2nd: You'll want to ask for the waste diagram to see where the bathroom sink goes.
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