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Old 01-13-2020, 01:28 PM   #21
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If you're planning on removing the Girard system: take a peek at Truma's system.
They work on about half of the flow rate of the Girard, and recirculate water within the system so that you always have hot water.
It's just like using your own shower at home!

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Old 01-13-2020, 02:16 PM   #22
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Bob: I looked at the Truma system here in Canada and with installation it would be around $3000 and that's a lot more than what I paid to have the Girard taken out and the Suburban installed and there was only one dealer around my area and they were still 3 hour drive away.
I am going out on a trip and tested the new Suburban and it worked as expected and took 20 minutes from very cold water to 140F and took 5 seconds to get to the shower as opposed to the Girard that took 10 seconds to get warm and another 10 to get up to 105, that's a lot of water dumping into the grey tank
The Truma is a very good hot water system and too bad it could not be made an option on new units.
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Old 01-13-2020, 02:28 PM   #23
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$3000?
Perhaps you should come South, and check the pricing on our side of the Border...
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Old 01-13-2020, 02:49 PM   #24
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Just for the Truma WH its $1900 and the labour is the rest as there is a considerable amount of work needed to get it done right. Our other issue getting one in the US is the extra 35% we pay on the dollar and no warranty if bought there.
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Old 01-13-2020, 07:55 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by Coveman2 View Post
...
I am going out on a trip and tested the new Suburban and it worked as expected and took 20 minutes from very cold water to 140F and took 5 seconds to get to the shower as opposed to the Girard that took 10 seconds to get warm and another 10 to get up to 105, that's a lot of water dumping into the grey tank
...
Did you get the Suburban gas/electric unit?
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Old 01-13-2020, 08:00 PM   #26
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Yes, the model is SW6DE 6 The tech was able to use the wiring from the Girard and in the same location for the propane switch.
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Old 01-13-2020, 08:11 PM   #27
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Thanks, I was looking at the difference between the SW6DE and the SW6DEL. It looks like the SW6DEL has a relay for the onboard 120VAC heater element that would be turned on by a 12VDC connection from a wall switch inside. Which makes sense why the wall switches for the SW6DEL have 2 switches, one for gas operation and one for electric. So to turn on the electric operation for yours do you have to open the outside cover and flip a switch or just turn on the AC breaker inside to the electric element?
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Old 01-13-2020, 09:03 PM   #28
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Yes the switch is located on the WH but it is no big deal to me I just have to add it to the
`Hook up and leaving checklist` I am just looking forward to giving it a good test in next month`s road trip to NC from Canada. Had a 6 gallon propane only in my Roadtrek and really liked it, the biggest reason was the water stayed fairly hot during the day, so if you needed to wash your hands or whatever you were not wasting water or propane.
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Old 01-14-2020, 12:31 AM   #29
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Well I guess you could leave the outside switch on and assuming you have the 120VAC element connected through a breaker switch inside you could use that too to turn on the heating element when connected to A/C or gen is running. In the boonies (or hooked-up) you could crank up the gen and use both propane and electric if you wanted to heat up the water faster or recover faster for more than one persons shower...
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Old 10-19-2021, 09:16 PM   #30
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On Demand screen reads E1

What the heck does that mean?
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Old 10-20-2021, 11:58 AM   #31
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What the heck does that mean?
Assuming you are talking about a Girard, get your owner's manual, or download it, and look at the error code. There are several "E" codes you may experience at time. I'm not going to give the answer because it's important for an RV owner to know how to find answers to issues with them. It's the old "teach a man to fish" type thing.
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Old 10-20-2021, 12:23 PM   #32
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Just go to your internet browser and type in Girard R V Tankless Water Heater Error Code E1 and you will get the tech bulletin that explains what it is and how to check it. It is several pages long(I just looked it up). That would be a good starting point.

Good Luck
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Old 10-20-2021, 01:14 PM   #33
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I did all of the above but still couldn't get hot water from kitchen faucet so I removed the plastic aerator and drilled 2 more small holes in it and that cured the problem.
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Old 10-20-2021, 01:28 PM   #34
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I did all of the above but still couldn't get hot water from kitchen faucet so I removed the plastic aerator and drilled 2 more small holes in it and that cured the problem.
That is just one of the problems with the Girard in that it needs a robust water flow to activate it and make hot water. Many parks I've been in had water psi less than 40, sometimes mid to low 30s when park demand was high in the evening. Combine that with the "standard" RV practice of putting restrictors on faucets, showers, etc. and you get no hot water with the crappy thing. As you may guess, I don't like it and if I keep the Omni, at some point will replace it with a non water wasting, non waste tank filing, more reliable traditional gas/electric model.

If you are always in a park with 45psi+ water pressure and hooked up to sewer, and don't mind the water wasting and idiosyncries of the things, then you may like it.
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:44 PM   #35
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If the park water pressure falls below what is needed, just switch to your water pump and use the onboard water in your tank since it produces a higher water pressure.

Paul
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:55 PM   #36
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If the park water pressure falls below what is needed, just switch to your water pump and use the onboard water in your tank since it produces a higher water pressure.

Paul
Yes that's true but it's ridiculous that thor puts in such a crappy WH to begin with. The Omni which is on the 4WD chassis is something that just might venture away from the RV resort and hit an unimproved area, boon docking, and now you have a system that's wastes a precious commodity for boon docking, water all the while using up another of those precious commodities, waste tanks. Obviously cheaper to install is the only reason it's there.
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Old 10-20-2021, 05:13 PM   #37
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I suspect the Girard may use a cup or two of water more than a tank type water heater, but that is all.

When you turn on the hot faucet using a Girard, water starts flowing and the internal flow meter signals the burner to start if it is about 0.9 gpm or greater. It takes 3-5 seconds to heat the water and then additional time for the hot water to get to the faucet depending on how far away it is. A tank type water heater still requires the latter but not the former. My shower head is not too far from the water heater, maybe 10-12 feet but it takes at least ten seconds for hot water to get there, 3-5 for water heat up and 5-7 for travel to the shower.

3-5 seconds is less than a pint of water used for the water heat up in the Girard.

FWIW you can check the time to heat up by watching the Girard control display. Once the paddle icon starts turning it takes that long for the water to get up to a usable temp.

OTOH the Girard does use less precious propane since it doesn't need to keep a tank of water hot all of the time.

David
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Old 10-21-2021, 12:23 PM   #38
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I have had both the tank and now the tankless. I think the tankless system works best and would not have the tank version again in my next R V. I think the advantages on the tankless out weigh the tank version.

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