Tankless Hot Water Heater

Durfee@case.edu · 07-09-2019, 03:03 PM

We have a tankless hot water heater in our 2018 Citation. The heater intermittently work. Most of the time only when connected to city water. Will sometimes come on when on tank but very unreliable even when connected to city water. Any trouble shooting tips appreciated

paulwadley · 07-09-2019, 03:25 PM

You need to set the upper limit to what you can tolerate (usually 102-106 degrees). Turn on the hot water only. When it reaches that limit, you can slowly turn on the cold to get the desire temp. If you suddenly turn on the cold, the hot water will shut down and only cold will flow until it catches up to heating it again. It does not work like a house unit. There are a couple of good You Tube videos that show and explain how to use it. I have the system and now love it since I know how to operate it.

Bob Denman · 07-09-2019, 03:26 PM

Welcome to the forum!

The Girard tankless hot water system is pretty dependent on water pressure...
Add a regulator that gives you 50 to 55 psi, and that'll go a long way to making it work better.
Another tip: set your water temperature at the temperature that you wish to use, and only use the hot water faucet.
(Don't try to add any cold water to the mix...)
Good luck!

rogerddd · 07-09-2019, 03:45 PM

Bob's advise will help - good enough for me - but not for DW.

I replaced my Girard with a Truma. Works great - now everyone is happy

Long & Winding road · 07-09-2019, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerddd

Bob's advise will help - good enough for me - but not for DW.

I replaced my Girard with a Truma. Works great - now everyone is happy

Yeah I have read good things about the Truma. But its pricey .... Right?

If Im NOT hooked up to water my bathroom sink wont push enough hot water to trigger the HW tank to come on (I might need to clean the aerator out). So I use the kitchen sink (sometimes save this water in a 2qt pitcher to use later if boon docking). Then it will get hot where you can jump in the shower right away without a delay or wasting water.

Do a search on this subject.... lots of threads about it and how to overcome this problem (for the most part).

Bob Denman · 07-09-2019, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerddd

Bob's advise will help - good enough for me - but not for DW.

I replaced my Girard with a Truma. Works great - now everyone is happy

The Truma system is a HUGE improvement over the Girard. My new rig has one of them, and we just love it!

Judge · 07-09-2019, 04:45 PM

I really like the Girard in our rig. Bob is correct on the settings..... that's the way I have ours set up and it has worked flawlessly.

We usually set ours at 105 Deg. Last weekend it was near 90 when we were in Kentucky. The water out of the campground was so warm, the hot water was too hot! I had to set it at 95 to take a comfortable shower.

If the campground water pressure won't cooperate and I can't get my regulator to hold 45 - 50 PSI, then I just turn on the internal pump and it works great as well.

Bob Denman · 07-09-2019, 04:54 PM

Judge,
Where did they mount your controls for the Girard?
Mine was outside the bathroom door (on the garage side...); but I've also seen them mounted inside the bathroom...

funmoneypit · 07-09-2019, 05:00 PM

One thing I never hear mentioned is the water valve on the back of the water heater. Check yours and make sure it is turned all the way up. This ensures the most water flow.

paulwadley · 07-09-2019, 05:01 PM

My control unit is mounted inside the bathroom.

PAtrailtrimmer · 07-09-2019, 05:04 PM

Ditto, inside the bathroom on the wall across from the toilet.

Judge · 07-09-2019, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Judge,
Where did they mount your controls for the Girard?
Mine was outside the bathroom door (on the garage side...); but I've also seen them mounted inside the bathroom...

Mine is on the inside of the bathroom wall.

Sounds like it all depends on how the guy feels the day he has to install one as to where he puts it!

Bob Denman · 07-09-2019, 06:14 PM

I guess that mine was the odd one...

It figures!

Peterrrr · 07-10-2019, 07:22 PM

I also like the Girard. The aerator for the bathroom faucet caused my Girard to not work at that location. You may also want to check the strainer for your water pump. There are more than likely debris from construction in it, thus causing your intermittent problems when using it off the tank.

M&M_MURPHYS · 07-19-2019, 10:50 PM

We had a similar issue with our new Quantum.

We were schooled by our repair Tech that we should only use the hot water, no cold.

For our showers, We set the temp where we want it on the controller and then use hot water only.

The Tech also bumped up the water pressure setting on the internal water pump just a bit.

For the most part, we have been trouble free since then.

We have been at a couple of RV parks where their water pressure has not done the job and we have just used our on board water / pump in those few cases. Luckily those were short stays.

Swift · 08-07-2019, 05:24 PM

We use our Thor Siesta 24SS mainly for touring. The distance of its kitchen sink from the Girard water heater is twice that of the bathroom faucets. Especially when boondocking, (which we frequently do) we conserve water by washing dishes with cold and rinsing with water heated on the stove. It's a carry-over from our sailing days, when conservation was so critical.

rswoodson · 08-08-2019, 06:43 PM

I feel your pain. After lots of boondocking with no hot water and three new water pumps we finally found the problem. The water lines from our fresh water tank were clogged up with plastic shavings (sloppy workmanship during manufacture). I removed the water line and took each joint apart; blew the lines out with air compressor. This solved our problem. Good luck.

Judge · 08-08-2019, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rswoodson

I feel your pain. After lots of boondocking with no hot water and three new water pumps we finally found the problem. The water lines from our fresh water tank were clogged up with plastic shavings (sloppy workmanship during manufacture). I removed the water line and took each joint apart; blew the lines out with air compressor. This solved our problem. Good luck.

You are right on the money.... it is a shame.

One our first or second trip a large round piece of plastic came out of either the black or grey tank when draining them. When they used a hole saw to cut an opening for the plumbing of the toilet, sink, etc. they left the plastic drop right into the tank without removing it. Lucky it did not create major blockage.

Every time I take something apart I find saw dust, screws, plastic pieces, etc. I am running the shop vac to clean everything up.

I think it is very likely that most of these rigs have a lot of construction debris in the plumbing that is causing issues in different ways.

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