Tankless vs. Tank Water Heater. Which one is better?

dangerruss · 06-07-2022, 07:26 PM

I was wondering if anyone has replaced their standard tank water heater with a tankless water heater. Pros? Cons?

Thanks,
Russell

Reverse_snowbird · 06-07-2022, 07:29 PM

Ours came with a tankless and we wouldn't go back to a tank. When we're hooked up, we can take endless showers and not be limited to 6 gallons. It's great for washing long hair.

dblr · 06-08-2022, 05:33 AM

Ours also came with a tankless, it was the Girard 2 model, it was ok but did have a rather big learning curve. Got switched to the Truma and what a difference, the biggest drawback is the descaling needed every once in a while, (depends on usage). The Truma is probably the best, but they require a certified installer to do the job.

Homebrew · 06-08-2022, 06:56 AM

We have a standard 12 gallon gas and electric.
12 gallon seams to be enough for one shower specially when we don’t have a sewer connections.

NevadaMiniLite · 06-08-2022, 09:24 AM

We had a tankless WH in our Lance TT and hated it. It was darn near impossible to regulate the water temperature so you either got scalding or freezing and most times both during a shower. Our Mini Lite has a 6 gal tank and we like it much better as it is so much more consistent.

SimchaSabre · 06-08-2022, 12:31 PM

For what it's worth. When we ordered our new Cedar creek, after doing a fair amount of research, we chose to stick with the standard 12gal RV Gas/Electric water heater. That was even after Cedar Creek offered me a free upgrade to try out a new brand (can't remember what it was) they were thinking of moving to from the Girard.

Our reasoning was simple. We are very familiar with the RV water heater tech and can do most servicing myself if needed. (rarely). Also, it's just the 2 of us and we rarely run out of hot water....and if we expect higher demand like when doing laundry or visitors, we just run the gas.

btw...We used similar reasoning when we ordered the "residential style" RV Gas/Electric refrigerator...Easy to repair by more RV service people.

No regrets after 3 years of extended seasonal use.

CaptnJohn · 06-08-2022, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Ours came with a tankless and we wouldn't go back to a tank. When we're hooked up, we can take endless showers and not be limited to 6 gallons. It's great for washing long hair.

After 1 tankless that was enough! My wife can wash clothes and each of us take a shower with 12 gallon running electric and gas and never run out of hot. 6 gallon? Never !

Quixotex · 06-08-2022, 02:13 PM

We switched to the Truma for our 5th wheel a couple years ago and it's the best enhancement we ever made. Love it! It has none of the hot/cold adjustment problems the earlier tankless heaters had--it works just like at home. It's not cheap, and requires expert installation, but it's worth every penny.

tomkatb · 06-08-2022, 03:10 PM

We have the 12 gallon traditional water heater.

The first generation tankless were problematic. FR stopped making them standard on our unit.

Truma was the best. Also expensive.

With the tankless you cannot take navy showers to conserve water while boondocking. Well, it was funny to hear the DW get a blast of cold water on her!

Cannot use electric to heat water while on shore power.

When we have a crowd we use both electric and gas simultaneously. Practically endless hot water. Very fast reheat.

KISS. Simple rv gas/electric water heater.

dr911 · 06-08-2022, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomkatb

We have the 12 gallon traditional water heater.

The first generation tankless were problematic. FR stopped making them standard on our unit.

Truma was the best. Also expensive.

With the tankless you cannot take navy showers to conserve water while boondocking. Well, it was funny to hear the DW get a blast of cold water on her!

Cannot use electric to heat water while on shore power.

When we have a crowd we use both electric and gas simultaneously. Practically endless hot water. Very fast reheat.

KISS. Simple rv gas/electric water heater.

Explain to me why you can't take a navy shower with a tankless water heater.

waynemaxx · 06-08-2022, 04:24 PM

I've had a Domitec tankless water heater a few years now, a 15 or 16 model. The dealer couldn't keep it working, heat a while and quit. this year i found a shop who had qualified people who found a problem and now it works! This whole issue was most frustrating! I'm expecting this season to be much better!!

This is in a 2016 Forest River Rev 24TB. My 2 cents worth!

tomkatb · 06-08-2022, 06:07 PM

My understanding is. When you turn the water off at the shower handle the unit senses the demand is not there. Turns off. Then restarts heating after a flow switch senses water flowing. A second or two. The water passing by is cold! DW will generally say a bad word.

The Truma has a small tank that fixes this.

There is a learning curve to the use of them. As I remember you allow the hot to be on full. Cold water off. Adjust temp on a device on the wall.

Do not know what is going on today. We purchased in 2019. The DW wanted no part of that.

My understanding is they use more water.

dblr · 06-08-2022, 07:18 PM

We have no issue taking navy showers with the Truma, we just use the button to stop the flow of water and when turning back on never really an issue getting hot water right away.

DouglasReid · 06-09-2022, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevadaMiniLite

We had a tankless WH in our Lance TT and hated it. It was darn near impossible to regulate the water temperature so you either got scalding or freezing and most times both during a shower. Our Mini Lite has a 6 gal tank and we like it much better as it is so much more consistent.

Ours came from the factory with a Girard 1st Gen tankless. In a word it was HORRIBLE, either freezing or scalding.

I replaced it with the new Furrion tankless and what a difference. We can set the temp on the remote display and it gives that temp til you shut off the water. DW and I like slightly different temps, no problem just set the temp on the display before you shower.

We would Never go back to anything less. I hear Truma and Suburban are good but both require their dealer to install. I did this myself in a day, but Im old and work slow.

wildmanabe · 06-09-2022, 06:51 AM

In my House i have a tank-less system. Love it, had it for 19 yrs. (been replaced as elements burnt out). In our 5'er have a 6 gal tank propane/elec. This is primarily design for a quick shower. When i feel like i want a long shower i usually use the bath house at the CG.
On a previous rv we had a Class A it had a 10 gal tank. loved it but it was propane only. Always had hot water. but when it ran out. was a good 20/30 min to get hot.
Never had a tankless in a rv.
Moral of the story, cost vs what i want.

Vince and Charlette · 06-09-2022, 12:36 PM

I've had both. Tankless is definitely the way to go. Those who like the 6-12 gallon tanks forget to mention how long it takes to get that much water warm let alone hot. In our Class A, we can draw how water right out of the sink while on the move. With a tank type, I'd have to wait a long time just to get a cup or two of hot water. One of the previous posts mentioned up and down temperatures. That indicates something is wrong with his system. The vast majority don't have that problem. Check all the expensive coaches and you'll quickly see they've all gone tankless.

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