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Old 02-18-2024, 01:13 AM   #1
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Question Tankless water heater recommendation

Can anyone recommend a tankless replacement for my 2012 Thor ACE? I can't seem to find one that is the exact size the water heater is right now. Can I choose a smaller option? Gas tankless replacement, please.

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Old 02-18-2024, 04:02 AM   #2
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Have you read the negatives about the tankless water heaters? If you boondock you certainly don't want one. Make sure you do your real world research before you go down that road.
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Old 02-18-2024, 06:13 AM   #3
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I Agree with ACE. To me a tankless water heater works great if you have an endless water supply - like hookups at a campground. But for those who boondock a lot I see no real advantage, and lots of disadvantages... water conservation being the main obstacle.
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Old 02-18-2024, 02:22 PM   #4
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If you can install the shower miser system a tankless water heater will be as good as a tank system for boondocking.
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Old 02-18-2024, 03:28 PM   #5
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In an RV, based on my experience witch tankless in the sticks and bricks, I would never have a tankless water heater unless there was a hot water circulating system installed that could be switched on to preheat water before use.

Quite a few Seneca/Accolade owners with new tankless systems installed their own circulating systems.

As a note, Jayco put tankless in the Seneca/Accolade for 2 years, in 2021 annd 2022, and after all the complaints and problems they have gone back to LPG/electric 10 gallon tanks.
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Old 03-04-2024, 12:10 AM   #6
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I have the Girad tankless water heater in my RC25 and must say it has taken some learning curve time for saving water. Mainly, since it has an interior temp control, don't use the cold water at the tap and just adjust the hot water temps to the temp you are comfortable with. I also have a basin (just like at home) that I catch the cold water in as I wait for it to warm up. I use that to cook with, the dogs water bowl, etc., so the comments about water wasting are "wasted" on me.. ;-) a showermiser is my next thing to recirculate. I do miss the tank heater but it's not worth the change to us at this point. Good luck!
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Old 03-04-2024, 12:14 AM   #7
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Shower Miser, makes tankless boondocking no problem.
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Old 03-04-2024, 02:28 AM   #8
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Sower Miser Question

I can see how the Shower Miser would help from wasting water in the shower but are there any options for the sinks to conserve water?
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Old 03-04-2024, 02:37 AM   #9
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The op, and 200,000 other folks do not have a problem with their tankless.
The modification to a tank type might be a monstrous proposition in time, money, and cutting the hell out an RV.

Or Not.

Easy fix, or a possible mess of a change to save 20oz of water(how much mine runs before it's hot).

Boondockers;
Catch the 20oz's in a small container and use it when you're ready to use the toilet. My shower wand reaches the toilet. My toilet valve holds water until it just evaporates away.
Easy solutions are available.

Or, if easy isnt available for some reason;
A .2 micron filter and a pump on your gray water gives you basically unlimited shower and toilet water.
(Be dedicated to your cause)
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Old 03-04-2024, 03:13 AM   #10
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Yes, the Girard “wastes” a quart or so of water every time you take a shower and if you turn off the water to lather up, you waste another quart. And yes you can collect the wasted water and use it for the dishes.

But a half gallon or so wasted is no big deal unless you are really tight on water.

And FWIW, a tank type WH will waste almost as much when you first turn it on, although it stays warm during the lather up, so it does a quart or so better.

The Girard definitely saves propane though since it doesn’t heat up a full 6 gallon tank and keep it hot 24 hrs a day.

David
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Old 03-04-2024, 03:40 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ducksface View Post
The op, and 200,000 other folks do not have a problem with their tankless.

Easy fix, or a possible mess of a change to save 20oz of water(how much mine runs before it's hot).
I'm one of those 200,000 folks who do not have a problem with my tankless. But I also don't boondock for more than a few days at a time.
A question - is the 20 oz of water (less than .2 of a gallon) the amount from the time you turn on the tap until it's hot? There would be water in the lines from the tank outlet to the tap that would be exactly the same - tank or tankless.
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Old 03-04-2024, 03:58 AM   #12
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For us the biggest waste of water when boondocking is not the shower but the sinks. With a conventional hot water tank we will run the water at a low rate when washing hands or doing dishes. On a tankless heater the water has to be almost full blast or the flow sensor will not allow the gas burner to turn on, which uses a lot more water over the course of several days. On our last RV we changed out the tankless for a 6 gallon conventional. We are trying to get used to the tankless so we dont have to do that on our Magnitude. We will see…….
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Old 03-04-2024, 06:57 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RafterRR View Post
For us the biggest waste of water when boondocking is not the shower but the sinks. With a conventional hot water tank we will run the water at a low rate when washing hands or doing dishes. On a tankless heater the water has to be almost full blast or the flow sensor will not allow the gas burner to turn on, which uses a lot more water over the course of several days. On our last RV we changed out the tankless for a 6 gallon conventional. We are trying to get used to the tankless so we dont have to do that on our Magnitude. We will see…….
We primarily boondock and "only" have 40 gallons of water to last as long as we can stretch it... which translates to mainly how long is comfortable without showers? We use the nighttime "if it's yellow let it mellow" principle for toilet flushes. I installed the ShowerMiser recirculation system.

We have a legacy 6 gallon heater. Over the course of 5 days all those quarts of cold water add up to several gallons. The ShowerMiser seems to have rectified that issue.

We only pre-heat the tank if taking showers and in prep for washing dishes. We have never come close to using a full propane tank in one season even with light furnace usage.

The only issue I see with a tankless is with tasks like rinsing dishes and hand washing where a full force stream of water is unnecessary. Even though the ShowerMiser is in the shower, I use it for recirculation before washing dishes in the kitchen sink, which works great. I can then let the water run at a trickle and it stays scalding hot.
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Old 03-04-2024, 12:45 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrapped View Post
If you can install the shower miser system a tankless water heater will be as good as a tank system for boondocking.
Amen.
Big boondocker
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Old 03-04-2024, 12:48 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ducksface View Post
The op, and 200,000 other folks do not have a problem with their tankless.
The modification to a tank type might be a monstrous proposition in time, money, and cutting the hell out an RV.

Or Not.

Easy fix, or a possible mess of a change to save 20oz of water(how much mine runs before it's hot).

Boondockers;
Catch the 20oz's in a small container and use it when you're ready to use the toilet. My shower wand reaches the toilet. My toilet valve holds water until it just evaporates away.
Easy solutions are available.

Or, if easy isnt available for some reason;
A .2 micron filter and a pump on your gray water gives you basically unlimited shower and toilet water.
(Be dedicated to your cause)
Excellent suggestion
We will capture the 14 to 20 ounces and pour in our Berkie
Thx
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Old 03-05-2024, 05:50 PM   #16
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The new version of AquaGo, the Comfort Plus, has a feature that regularly circulates your hot water back from faucet to tank. A pump comes on regularly and keeps hot water at the tap. We only turn that feature on in the morning before showers and it works very good. At first I hated that it was what they put in my camper....same with the macerator toilet. After using these for a while I wouldn't go back to anything else. The newer featured model isn't suitable for replacing an older, non-recirculating model. You would have to re-plumb the coach.
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