Tankless water heater.

[Coveman2]

I agree with Bob. You have to know how many watts are being used and the size of the genny. The A/C uses up to 3500 on start up and up to 1500 when running and the ceramic cooktop takes 1000, a hair dryer or toaster take 1500 each so be aware when switching things on you can adjust what you are doing at a given time. My propane genny is only 3500 but do not use it all that much.
Coveman2
Thor Compass 23 TB

[gr8rcfan]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

They're not nearly as bad as you think... Once you get them figured-out.
First: make sure that you've got good water pressure. It takes at least 50 psi to keep the system happy.
Next: only use the hot water faucet. Forget that the cold water one even exists. Use the system controls to set the temperature to a comfortable level. (105 to 110 degrees is a good place to start.)

Once you get the quirks figured out: they do a nice job.

We use the same technique. It works!

[Mlarrabee]

2018 Quantum PD31. I was about to convert my on-demand water heater for a 6 gallon unit as well. Quote I received was $1800.00 They asked for a shot at fixing my problem. Turned out to be a bad flow sensor. Replaced under my extended warranty and all is now great. Advise about setting temp between 105 and 110 and NOT using any cold is good advise. Just two cents from my foxhole, but it worked for me.

[Bob Denman]

It almost makes you feel better, when they find something that they can fix...

...But it's a shame whenever they find something wrong...

[Tpowers@tampabay.rr.com]

Originally Posted by Wayne Shuttleworth

Hi. Has anyone switched out the tankless water heater for a standard hotm just doesn't work, and there are many complaints on the internet about this system that I'd like to just get rid of that nightmare of a device. It's just a way too fussy and touchy for use in a motorhome.

I have a tankless water heater in my motorhome and I love it. I never run out of hot water. First you must remove the restrictor from each faucet and the shower. Next get a high volume water adapter from the campground to the motorhome. Once you do this - you will be fine.

[Bob Denman]

I actually cheated: I traded in my Girard for a Truma...

...And they threw in the new RV!
But the Truma was a MAJOR upgrade. I can mix water with the faucets, and there's probably a 80% reduction in the time spent waiting for the hot water.

[Mlarrabee]

TPowers... what is a “high volume water adapter?” And where do you get one??

[Rybie]

Originally Posted by Coveman2

Its really a matter of what you are used to and if its worth the cost. I had two motorhomes with the 6 gallon Suburban and had no problems with them, the tankless Girard is a good unit but hard to get used to. We found that it took a while to get the hot water to the shower head and that water was going right into the grey tank and filled it faster than usual than the tank heater.

[/QUOTE] your screens might be clogged with construction debris, or your water pump might not be set correctly.
Normally; they do a real nice job. [/QUOTE]

We have a Quantum with the Girard tankless. sounded great until we used it. Complained a few times and a few trips for repairs and still little luck. I found debris in the showier head. Once the dealer cleaned the water lines out things improved. Also if the city pressure is not at 50psi, then we use the water pump in addition to the city water, then we began to like the showers.

As noted hard to get used to , mainly because dealers do not tell you how to use it and the manufacturer leaves debris in the lines. I even called Girard and they told me about the water pressure (45psi min) but never mentioned debris or other thoughts.

Good luck, I was close to changing it but decided to to continue to troubleshoot and now it works.

[mgunnin]

I have a 2018 Vegas 27.7. I was just like you about the Tank-Less Hot water Tank until I received several comments from the Forum.
1.) Get a pressure regulator install where the city water screws in. Now you know the pressure you have coming in.
2.) When you turn the water on you must flush all water line of any air. DO NOT FORGET the outside shower.
3.) Find the Hot Water Tank. You should see a white handle that you can turn. It most likely is turned all the way left (Counter Clockwise). That allows water to flow to fast for the system to keep the water flowing hot. Turn the handle to the far right. Find center, the move just a little counter clockwise. This might take a couple of adjustment.
4.) Now as others have said set the temp around 107.
5.) Again as others have said run just the hot water.
6.) while take a shower you might have someone adjust the setting up or down to find you pleasure spot.
I like getting to my site and knowing that I will not have to wait on the system to heat up the water before I can take a shower.
OH one last thing the system heats with LP. If your tank is to low you will not have hot water. Always keep you LP full before each trip.
Do not give up. You will find the sweet spot with city water and your on board pump.
It took me several trip on several month to find out about each little thing that needed to be done.
The last one was flush all air out of the water system. DO NOT FORGET THE OUTSIDE SHOWER.

[alicephilhamilton@msn.com]

Wayne,

I have to agree with you. Our experience with a tankless RV water heater is less than good. Not only is pressure a problem, if you turn it off while soaping down to conserve water you will get a warm and then cold supply until the system again turns on to heat the water. Also you have to turn the temp up to wash dishes and then down for the shower using only the hot water.

We were glad when we bought a new motorhome in 2019 that the standard hot water heater was installed. Now we enjoy our showers as in the past and always have plenty of hot water with not cold spots. The amount of gas or electric savings over the continuous hot water is too small to calculate.

[Sandersonh]

I have one on my 2018 Citation and at first I thought it didn't work.
After several calls to Thor, they directed me to a mechanic on the phone who enlighten me. He said do the reverse of what you do at home- instead of turning the cold on and adding hot, turn on the hot- almost full and add in the cold. The key is to keep the water heating which will only happen if there is enough call for hot water. Play with it in your sink and you'll then be able to have nice hot shower. It does fill the grey tank quickly- only down side.

[Reid]

[QUOTE=Wayne Shuttleworth;250767]Hi. Has anyone switched out the tankless water heater for a standard hotwater heater?

Yes, we switched out of a tankless WH but long story...

We snowbird at a military campground where we have to rotate between dry and full hookup. When we arrive, we go on a wait list and work our way up to full where we can stay two weeks and then back to dry. Over a three month snowbird stay, one month will be full hookup and two months dry. When you are dry camping, water is an issue.

Our Thor Freedom Elite Mercedes Sprinter came with a Girard Tankless WH in the slide....on the opposite side of where the hot water was needed. Thus, a lot of water goes thru the line before it gets to where you need it. Also, the Girard doesn't even turn on until you have .8 gallons per minute flowing. If you stop the flow to temporarilly turn off the shower, you will get a blast of cold water. So, when in full hookup, just let the shower water run and you won't get that cold blast. The Admiral was not happy with this situation since we spent most of our time in dry.

I had been told that the WH space in our RV wasn't large enough for a regular tank WH so I began looking elsewhere.... Found that the German Truma brand tankless had great reviews. Was a little pricey but had one installed. The Truma Aqua Go has a .7 gallon tank that stays heated so instant hot water when you turn it on and it turns on at .4 GPM. The Admiral was very satisfied with this unit. I, on the other hand, am trying to get the most bang for the buck...the tankless units operate only on propane. You could have "Free" hot water when in full hookup if it operated on electric as well as propane. After more research, found that Suburban made a gas/electric 4 gallon unit. I bought and installed it and we could not be happier now.

So, have a Truma and a Girard tankless WH if someone is looking for a tankless unit. I had the Truma less than a year before I switched to the regular unit.

[wrapped]

I installed the Shower Miser, now I can turn off showerhead, water recirculates to freshwater tank until ready to rinse when dry camping .

[thisoldman]

This weekend we’re camping with our granddaughters in a beautiful campground with only water and electric, and a gray water holding tank that was already about half full. It’s the first time since figuring out the secret of using the tankless water heater that I’ve longed for one of the old tried-and-true six gallon units. If you can afford to keep the water running continuously the tankless units are great, but when wastewater storage is at a premium and you have to keep shutting off the hot water so as not to cause the gray water to back up into your shower, the volume of cold water you have to repeatedly endure in order to get it flowing hot again is a real pain in the backside.

[Bob Denman]

How about taking a 2 quart pitcher into the shower with you, and catching that initial dribble of cold water?

[ky bob]

Originally Posted by Wayne Shuttleworth

Hi. Has anyone switched out the tankless water heater for a standard hotm just doesn't work, and there are many complaints on the internet about this system that I'd like to just get rid of that nightmare of a device. It's just a way too fussy and touchy for use in a motorhome.

I have the regular 6 gallon water heater on mine, but this conversation reminds me of my life 40 yrs ago while in the Peace Corps. I had a tankless water heater in the house connected to a portable propane tank. It worked fine. The only problem I had was that in the town, there was only water, or strong enough water pressure a day or so a week

[wrapped]

If you have a tankless water heater PLEASE look at Shower Miser it's a simple 2way valve turn on shower water recirculates to freshwater tank until your ready, then flip valve ,instant hot water flip back to recirculate to freshwater tank again until ready ,I installed the valve in shower and ran the return line myself in about 4 hours $25. dollars for pex pipe and shark bite fittings . Only instant hot water when needed,saves water,doesn't fill gray tank! Sorry I keep talking about this device,but since I installed the Shower Miser I see no down side to the tankless system, you can even use it to fill your freshwater tank when on city water,in fact when we arrive at new destination and set up I don't have to wait to take a shower or remember to turn it on. Ok I read all of the complaints about the tankless systems and just don't understand, all of the advice given here,set temp to 103-110, don't mix with cold water at all,if city pressure is low use your pump,clean screens and filters, and after reading all of this they still hate it.

[Wayne Shuttleworth]

Well home service tankless water heaters are aweful, they have a very short lifespan, and they're incredibly fussy and touchy as well

[wrapped]

RV website

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

How about taking a 2 quart pitcher into the shower with you, and catching that initial dribble of cold water?

Nah, we've beaten that horse to death.
I even measured and posted pictures.
It's less than a 20 ounce red cup for ours.
And the toilet is right there....

But hey, it's their happy...or not.
I prefer a low effort cure and a happy myself.