Instant gas hot water heaters

[rnrodhouston]

Have a 35IK and was wondering if anyone has installed Tankless water heater. Have looked online and see several options. Wondering if there is one better than another.
Thanks,
Rod and Dan

[dieselguy]

Perhaps they'll get the bugs worked out of them, but several people have went the opposite way you want to go ... ditching the "on demand" and going back to the tank style HWH. Some of the gripes about the "on demand" seem to center around sensitivity to water flow issues. Others find fault in if you are paying for electricity at a site ... you can't take advantage of the electric heating elements like in a tank style water heater. Didn't answer your question but threw out food for thought.

[rnrodhouston]

Thanks for the information,
We'll be permanently stationed in a park for the next several years, SO we're trying to figure out the best way to accommodate showers etc.
We only have a 10 gallon HWH

[5picker]

10 gallons of hot water will give you several good showers.
A lot of R/V only have 6 gallon tanks and get by.
Remember, in an R/V you can't take 'house' showers.
You have to be stingy with the water.
Many refer to it a 'Navy showers.'
Wet down, turn off shower head, soap up and wash, turn on shower head and rinse.

If your tank is both electric and propane, you can turn both on (at the same time) to speed up the recovery rate too.

[rnrodhouston]

Thanks for the info, have done the Navy showers many years ago

[NMWildcat]

We have the Girard tankless water heater. It has performed perfectly for us. It is nice to be able to take very long showers, one after the other. No more Navy showers and then waiting for the water to reheat for the next one.

We have the first generation, and I believe the new ones are generation 3. While on the road we constantly run into others who also love their tankless. The only place we have heard complaints about them are in these forums

Are they slightly different to operate and take a little getting used to? Yes. But our grandkids don't seem to have any trouble adapting after being shown once.

[florabama]

If you're not going "off grid" why would you want to pay for gas to heat water when most every campgrounds gives you electricity? We ordered our 2017 from the factory and specifically asked for the old style gas/elec heater.

If you want a 30 minute Hollywood shower go to the bathhouse.

[Bobf074]

I did the instant hot water hearter this year. One week long trip out so far, we love it.

I recommend it.

[rnrodhouston]

The Park we are staying in permanently until we retire charges per KW for Electric, that is one of the reasons, the other is we don't want to have to worry about having hot water if we do go off grid.
We have a 200W Solar Panel so the Tankless water heater would make sense for us.
NMWildcat - who did your install and how difficult was it for removal of the old tank. Thanks

[dblr]

Our River Stone Legacy came with the Girad tank less hot water heater and we like it, no issues with it and with talking to the rep at the FROG Rally last year I did learn that after 20 minutes it shuts down, I guess a safety thing incase of a leak

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by rnrodhouston

NMWildcat - who did your install and how difficult was it for removal of the old tank. Thanks

Sorry, not much help there. Our unit came with the tankless from the factory.

[div2802]

Anyone know who moth sale and install a tankless system near Houston Tx?

[Kenny kustom]

Look into a truma.

[httntheroad]

Have been full timing in our 35ik for almost a year.no hot water issues with electric tank.have plenty long showers. Electric bill was 50 a month ac/tv/redidential fridge /microwave ect.mostly in arizona Nov - april.lots of weeks 80-90.

[johng4706]

I've had a Truma AquaGo for two seasons and have spent about 300 nights in my TT. I have been very satisfied with the unit. Once I have adjusted the water temperature, depends on incoming water temperature, the water temperature remains constant for showers as long as I want.

The unit has performed flawlessly. The only problem I've had is running out of propane. Unfortunately, this only happens when you are using the hot water.

I believe the unit is very energy efficient and conserves propane because it only heats the water I use. Maintaining the hot water in either a 6 or 10 gallon tank is wasting propane.

To conserve on the use of propane, I use a 1,500 watt heater to keep the TT warm over night, using the campground's electricity. The little heater has kept the TT very comfortable with outside temps down in the 20's.

[DouglasReid]

Our latest camper came from factory with a Girard first gen tankless WH. We LOVE it! No problems, limitless hot water.

If the cost of the propane is an issue, perhaps you better stay camped in your driveway. Gasoline or Diesel to get to campground will be many times the cost of the propane.

[Bobf074]

Originally Posted by rnrodhouston

The Park we are staying in permanently until we retire charges per KW for Electric, that is one of the reasons, the other is we don't want to have to worry about having hot water if we do go off grid.
We have a 200W Solar Panel so the Tankless water heater would make sense for us.
NMWildcat - who did your install and how difficult was it for removal of the old tank. Thanks

I did the install myself, it was rather easy to install.

[dieselguy]

I'm a recreational camper ... 4-6 weeks per year. Although I see the value in a tankless HWH for some, the endless flow of hot water has a very limited benefit for us. 95% of the places we stay at have no sewer hookup and I'm sure not going to break camp on day 3 and go dump my grey water because of 15 minute showers. Our 10 gallon HWH well meets our needs and we have never drained both 30# propane tanks over the summer in 18 years of RVing. Usefulness of new gadgets are dependent on application.

[karpcbk15]

We've now used our Hot water heater for approximately 6 weeks total over the last 8 months. Really like it. It's much easier to winterize. It is susceptible to water pressure / flow issues. Somewhat sensitive, but once it's set to you're temperature preference, usually no problems.
One issue I have with it is maintenance. It will require annual cleaning of the internal water side coils to remove scale build up. Suburban recommends circulating a cleaner such as White Vinegar (similar to cleaning a coffee pot). Could be worse depending on the quality of the water.
Looking at installing a couple of tee's with valves on the tank side of the normal /winter shut off valves. Then using a small pump to circulate the solution from a 5 gallon bucket. They recommend one hour of circulation.