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Old 06-02-2016, 11:04 AM   #1
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Love my Girard Gen III Water Heater

I previously had the Girard Gen I (GSWH-1) Thank-Less water heater, which was a pain! I installed by myself the Gen III (GSWH-2) about a month ago and have since tried it out on a trip to St. Augustine and then to the 1000 Islands. It works like a water heater should; just set the desired temperature and if too hot, cold water may be mixed in or the temperature can be lowered. It is awesome!!!

The following current thread also makes mention by some Gen III users:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...-107997-4.html

I suggest that other Gen III users post their evaluations here to give all the Berk Gen I & II users a vote of confidence should they consider making the change..

Here are some pics of my installation:
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Old 06-02-2016, 12:50 PM   #2
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Since we're talking about the Girards in the Berks, does anyone have the URL for Girard ? I'd like to take a look at their web site.
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Old 06-02-2016, 12:59 PM   #3
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Never mind. I think I found it (Green)
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Old 06-02-2016, 01:22 PM   #4
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Hank- great looking install and something I am thinking about doing. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult of an install was it? I am assuming you also had to get a new door for the outside (and subsequent painting) and route the new wiring to the control panel, right?
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Old 06-02-2016, 02:46 PM   #5
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Quote:
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Hank- great looking install and something I am thinking about doing. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult of an install was it? I am assuming you also had to get a new door for the outside (and subsequent painting) and route the new wiring to the control panel, right?
I'd be interested in the answer also
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Old 06-02-2016, 07:43 PM   #6
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Gen3

I have been singing the Gen 3's praises since I had a Beta version nstalled two years ago.
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Old 06-02-2016, 09:21 PM   #7
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What are the main difference between generation. I think that my 2012 390BH60 has a gen1.

It took several years of trouble shooting but it is now to the point that it operates as advertised.

What was the cost of a Gen 3 and why is it better than a functional Gen 1
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Old 06-03-2016, 08:15 AM   #8
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Quote:
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Hank- great looking install and something I am thinking about doing. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult of an install was it? I am assuming you also had to get a new door for the outside (and subsequent painting) and route the new wiring to the control panel, right?
The Gen III unit fits perfectly in the place of the Gen I or II. The new door can be gotten in white with white silicon ring or black with a black silicon ring.

The gas line connection on existing heaters is located inside and must be disconnected from the outside, Always use two wrenches; on the tubing fitting and one on the heater's fitting. When the heater is pulled out, the gas line is exits through a hole in the heater. The Gen III has the gas connection on the rear which will require creating a 90 degree bend close to the end of the gas fitting. Although the 3/8 copper gas line is soft copper, a tubing bender must be used; otherwise the tubing might be kinked.

Once the gas line is detached, remove the hot and cold water line connections from within the access panel and cut the electrical lines (careful not to short them and put safety wire nuts on to protect).

With gas water and electrical disconnected the existing heater can be pulled out. My Berk had a Girard WUD (Winter Use Device); which is a solenoid operated valve tee'd to the hot line, which the heater would open the valve (by the orange wire) if the water was near freezing and sent the water to the grey tank. I never knew that was there and Girard does not use it anymore.

Once the heater was removed, I used a pvc tubing cutter to cut the hot and cold line as close as possible to first encountered fitting. For the WUD device, cut it from the return flow line to the grey tank and cap the line. My cold supply line was also tee'd to a manual drain valve which I never knew existed. I removed that valve and did not reinstall.

Once the rats nest of plumbing is removed by cutting away, there should be left hanging in the compartment, the hot, cold and possibly the WUD return line if your unit had it. There are three ways to connect the hot and cold line to the new heater; they are: 1) Use PEX clamps, The PEX clamp and removal tools are expensive. I was fortunate to borrow. Note, salvage the heater connection fittings.2) Complete the tubing runs using Shark Bite fittings. No special tools required here, but fittings are very expensive. 3) Use one Shark Bite fitting on each line to covert to flexible lines, like used on sinks.

The control pad is connected via two light gauge wires where polarity does not matter. Because where the heater is located, if the control was to be mounted far away, I would have to deal with slides. I got lazy and mounted the control on the trim next to the clothes washer compartment.

As for the door, the plastic slide button needs to be removed prior to painting. There is a small spring within the button which need to be pulled out first before removing the button. Be careful here and document its orientation when removing, so that it can be properly reinstalled. I had the door painted by an auto body shop that does graphics, for $150. They found the Berk paint codes useless and was more comfortable with mixing and matching by themselves.

Girard has two tech support guys located at Goshen (Mitch & Scott 866-559-1221) that can help when in a bind.
Hank
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Old 06-03-2016, 08:32 AM   #9
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Wow Hank, thanks for the great write up!
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Old 06-03-2016, 08:41 AM   #10
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Looks like a bit more than I would feel safe doing myself.

Anyone here know of a GOOD dealer near Elkhart that install these things ?

Ken
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Old 06-03-2016, 08:46 AM   #11
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It would have been nice if they made that door hinged on the right instead of the left. I always worry about a latch failing or not be shut all the way and when doors are hinged on the left and come open while going down the highway, probably gone. One of my travel checks is to go around and pull on every outside door. -Glenn
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Old 06-03-2016, 11:59 AM   #12
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Thanks for that great write-up. I had no idea it would fit into the same hole.

You didn't say much about wiring. I assume there's some 12 volt and grounds to hook up someplace.
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Old 06-03-2016, 12:58 PM   #13
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I just had a Gen III installed in our new trailer 10 days ago and just spent a week camping and trying it out. It's far superior to the 6 gallon Suburban that was originally installed and my wife gave it thumbs up for hair washing & showering. It does take a little getting used to, but it is excellent for taking a shower.


Here's the however: It's not so good for hand washing, doing dishes or for general water conservation practices. A couple of reasons: If you turn the water off, the WH shuts down and no matter how short a time it's off, it still needs to go through the start up routine. In the shower, what you get is some warm water, a bolus of fairly hot water and then cold water until the WH is up and running. Then nice hot water for as long as you want. For hand and dish washing, it takes several seconds for any warm water to show up and by then, the hands are mostly clean and the dish is mostly rinsed and so the water is turned off until the next dish. (This is VERY DIFFERENT from a tank-style WH and not specific to the Girard. ANY tankless WH from any manufacturer (except maybe truma) will perform this way. it's the nature of the beast. This behavior is not so good for water conservation in that we sort of waste water waiting for hot water to show up in these on-off-on-off situations. Camping in California, I am especially conscious of wasting water and since my site did not have a sewer connection, I was toting waste water every day and thought twice about letting water go down the drain unused.


I like the Girard Gen III WH heater and have some ideas about how to overcome the "1st gallon" problem I described in use other than showering. If anyone else has any suggestions, I am very interested in hearing from you.


Cheers!
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Old 06-03-2016, 01:52 PM   #14
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Is this what we are talking about? It doesn't say Gen III. Searching didn't find a Gen III. However, maybe I didn't do it right.
Girard 42K BTU Micro-Processor Controlled On-Demand Tankless Water Heater - RV Water Heaters - RV Water Heaters - RV Appliances
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Old 06-03-2016, 02:53 PM   #15
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Yes, that is it. The key for me is the LCD control panel. The Gen 2 used a knob,
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Old 06-03-2016, 06:14 PM   #16
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Is this what we are talking about? It doesn't say Gen III. Searching didn't find a Gen III. However, maybe I didn't do it right.
Girard 42K BTU Micro-Processor Controlled On-Demand Tankless Water Heater - RV Water Heaters - RV Water Heaters - RV Appliances
Wow Dave, you opened another can of worms. The link that you referenced is for the Girard model The specifications states that it replaces the GSWH-2 which was known as the Gen III. It looks like the new unit that I put in is obsolete already; H'mm! Please note that I did not create the Gen nomenclature. So is the model 2GWHAM now Gen IV? -dah!

Below is the data sheet for the Gen III. I will have to find out the differences.
Hank
Attached Files
File Type: pdf GSWH-2 Flyer (1).pdf (2.47 MB, 95 views)
File Type: pdf GSWH-2 WH-Manual Gen III.pdf (5.55 MB, 62 views)
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Old 06-03-2016, 06:21 PM   #17
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Thanks for that great write-up. I had no idea it would fit into the same hole.

You didn't say much about wiring. I assume there's some 12 volt and grounds to hook up someplace.
Dan, the wiring was the easy part. The heater only has two pairs of wires; the ground and 12VDC, and the wire pair to the control module. The motorhome's wire to the Hi/Lo switch or dial control are not used.
Hank
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Old 06-03-2016, 06:41 PM   #18
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No problem. I was just looking for information. Putting on my wish list when I ever hit the Loto.
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Old 06-04-2016, 10:58 AM   #19
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I was wondering if you make all the connections in the back before sliding the unit into the wall or if you have to squeeze your hands in that crowded space to make the disconnections prior to sliding the unit out
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Old 06-04-2016, 06:18 PM   #20
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I was wondering if you make all the connections in the back before sliding the unit into the wall or if you have to squeeze your hands in that crowded space to make the disconnections prior to sliding the unit out
Ken, there is 5 1/2 in. from the heater's back wall to the cavity wall. It is enough to get wrenches in. However, by pulling the heater out, say 3 inches, it really helps.

The water and gas lines come downward and need a 90 degree bend. The PEX tubes do not easily bend and therefore elbow fittings are necessary for the bend. The soft copper gas line can be bent, but only with a tubing bender. The main point here is that the length of the horizontal portions of the gas and water lines need to fit in the 5 1/2 inch space for the new heater. Connecting the lines to the new heater can be done with the heater slightly pulled out.
Hank
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