Girard 2 hot water

bshammons · 03-03-2020, 08:14 PM

Girard 2 tankless hot water heater, help!, new 2020 Vegas, have tried everything, different temps, city water, water pump, knob to adjust flow on back inside rv, full faucet on or half faucet on... If we try to take showers starts out OK then midway blasts of icy water and then very hot or lukewarm blasts.. Can't take a shower! Sick of bathing in sink!

Bob Denman · 03-03-2020, 09:38 PM

Try a pressure regulator set to 50-55 psi.
And welcome to our campfire!

gmc · 03-04-2020, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bshammons

Girard 2 tankless hot water heater, help!, new 2020 Vegas, have tried everything, different temps, city water, water pump, knob to adjust flow on back inside rv, full faucet on or half faucet on... If we try to take showers starts out OK then midway blasts of icy water and then very hot or lukewarm blasts.. Can't take a shower! Sick of bathing in sink!

Since problem is with water pump too, pressure regulator won’t help in that case... but definitely don’t want a low pressure regulator if on city water.
Many reported setting the water heater to desired shower temp and using hot valve ONLY in shower (don’t mix cold) works best with tankless heaters.
They rely on flow...

Judge · 03-04-2020, 12:54 PM

What he said......

First, do not run any other water when showering because it will reduce flow and cause temps to drop.

Second, set the desired temp (we use 105) and then only open hot water and no cold water.

If you do this and have proper pressure / flow, you can take a hot shower all day long..... or until you run out of propane [emoji3]

If you can’t, then you’ll want to check for restrictions in your plumbing or an issue with the flow sensor or other problem in the unit itself.

This is the second coach I’ve had with the Girard and we like it.

bshammons · 03-04-2020, 06:55 PM

Just met with Joe Whetstine at Camping World Las Vegas, world's best tech! He plugged us into city water, set temp on 124, waited until water in shower reached that temp, by tiny slow increments added a little cold water and for first time had perfect shower. If add cold water too fast it will go cold on you.
Also replacing water pump which is pulsating and shouldn't. May in the end have to put a stronger water pump in.
Linda

wrapped · 03-04-2020, 06:59 PM

Have you tried setting temp to 105 and don't mix any cold yet?

Bob Denman · 03-04-2020, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrapped

Have you tried setting temp to 105 and don't mix any cold yet?

I agree: give this one a try...

howzball · 03-04-2020, 08:35 PM

We've had this issue with our Girard 2 since the day I installed it 3 or 4 years ago. All of the tips on here can help, it's a delicate balance.
It varies by water system you're tied into more than anything. In some parks you can shower all day and never have an issue but in other's it's a crapshoot.

If I park the MH in my driveway hooked up to city water it'll never cut out and we don't do anything differently.

If you're in a park with a lot of other campers you can tell the exact second your neighbors turned on a water faucet.

It's just ridiculously sensitive to water pressure changes. I even installed a temperature/pressure balancing residential style valve in our MH this way there's no hot or cold to even touch and it hasn't really made any difference either way.

I've even thought about running the water supply through a bladder tank to maintain even pressure.

I hate to be a dark cloud but, I'm a plumber by trade and I haven't solved it.

Good Luck

Bob Denman · 03-04-2020, 11:35 PM

I think that the Girard setup needs at least. 9/10ths of a gallon per minute flow rate.
My Truma system needs only. 4/10ths of a gallon per minute...

It works flawlessly: even better than the system in our house!

ducksface · 03-04-2020, 11:52 PM

There's a post a couple of posts up which explains exactly why we don't use shore water.

I have a 40 gallon holding tank with a very consistent pump.
I fill it as we're ready to pull out and don't care if the shore pressure is 120psi or 20psi.
No worry of a burst hose, a heater malfunctioning, a freeze....

Why do you guys use shore water?
I can't find a reason at all that doesn't involve snow depth during an extended stay.

Laco · 03-04-2020, 11:57 PM

The girard in our Gemini, I set at 120 degrees, ran an adjustable pressure regulator set to about 53psi, and never had a problem with water temperature, or mixing cold and hot water during a shower or??? From the many posts, it seems the girard might be a bit sensitive to settings and water pressure, but in my experience once set up they work well. BTW, until I put that adjustable pressure regulator on the line, I could never seem to regulate water temperature.

BigD · 03-11-2020, 09:05 PM

This is the best solution (we set it at 108 degrees) and the water remains hot throughout the shower. Nobody else should turn on any other faucets at the same time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judge

What he said......

First, do not run any other water when showering because it will reduce flow and cause temps to drop.

Second, set the desired temp (we use 105) and then only open hot water and no cold water.

If you do this and have proper pressure / flow, you can take a hot shower all day long..... or until you run out of propane [emoji3]

If you can’t, then you’ll want to check for restrictions in your plumbing or an issue with the flow sensor or other problem in the unit itself.

This is the second coach I’ve had with the Girard and we like it.

Glensouth · 03-11-2020, 09:20 PM

Your water heater bypass open? That’s the way mine acted when I failed to close the water heater bypass.

engrprof · 03-11-2020, 09:22 PM

Had a similar problem. Jason Treadway from Thor emailed Girard info to me. We did 2 things: Set the thermostat to 115 deg F. Tested the most distant (the kitchen faucet max hot) flow rate by filling a big bowl for 60 sec. It was only 0.5 gal/min. Girard says it should be at least 0.7 gal/min. So I removed the water pressure regulator at the outside shore faucet and then the flow was 1.2 gal/min. That fixed the problem. When DW showers she uses full hot on. When I shower I mix a bit of cold.

Trailfisher · 03-11-2020, 11:23 PM

The Girard tankless in our 2019 Vegas was driving us nuts. They don't handle well "out of the box" but seem to become more reliable once they are broken in a little. One trick we recommend...purge the lines once you get set up at your camp. Both the LP and water lines. The Girard seems to be very temperamental if there's an air gap in either. For water, before your first shower turn on cold and hot water all onboard faucets (including the shower head) for a few seconds. Notice any sputtering? That air gap would have sent the Girard into an error state. For LP...(especially after a tank refill) turn your stove burner on high for about 30 seconds to purge the lines. Having a problem getting the LP to ignite on your fridge while boondocking? Try the same stove burner purge trick, works every time. Also, if city water pressure is too high...an outside water pressure regulator is a must to get the Girard to stay lit. Since we started using these tricks, we've had 100% reliability and hot, consistent showers.

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