Water heater update

[Malu]

New tank heater installed, fit and finish looks really nice. Did have concerns when it wasn't clear where the switches would be, original thought was outside with the unit. Our suggestion was above the unit in the closet, not ideal but certainly better than heading outside to turn it.
Was thrilled to see that they managed to exchange the old controls with the new in the bathroom. Very nicely done!!
Also managed to sell the old one to a plumber who explained that he no longer installs tankless water heaters because the vast majority he needs to remove and replace. His take is only a small percentage of the population wants/needs hot water for a long duration, where these things excel. Most of us are repeated start stop users where tank heaters reign supreme.
We fill our fresh tank and sit for 3-4 days, no additional water supply or septic until we leave, a tankless will never excel when water is carefully used to last the duration.
Looking forward to warmer temperatures and hot water.

[hoppers4]

Nice! You'll be glad you made the change. Tankless is a nice concept but doesn't work for dry camping.

[Robbbyr]

X 2!

Formerly equipped with Girard, now have 10-gallon Atwood XT.

[TheFireman]

I have a black switch in the bathroom to the left of the thermostat for the water heater. I have a 35UN. Anyone remember what it is for?

[mowdoc]

Fireman - in my 2015 35UN that switch turns on the EFE. (Emergency Fart Evacuator) The ceiling mounted fan above toilet.


If fan does not come on when you flip the switch - look up at fan, see the black rocker switch in corner of frame, flip this rocker switch and the wall switch should now operate the fan. Leave the rocker switch in on position and use wall switch for fan control.


The fan also does a good job of removing shower humidity too!

[NC Roamer]

Our dealer swapped out our Girard tankless for a Suburban 6-gallon (SW46DE). It fit into the existing opening without cutting and the LP on/off control replaced the old Girard control knob in the bathroom.

We just returned from our first trip with it. The first six nights were off the grid. The propane burner needed about 20-22 minutes to heat the tank completely. Then we could take two, back-to-back showers without the LP burner ever reigniting.

After those nights boondocking, we stayed three days in a state park with 30 amp service. As soon as I hooked up, I turned on the electric element and had plenty of hot water at any time.

The fridge and water heater together used very little propane. The LP gage was slightly above 5/8 when we left home and slightly below 5/8 when we returned.

I would not return to a tankless water heater --- period. It was the first time in 20 months of ownership (82 nights camping) that we've had no problems, frustrations or hiccups with hot water.

[TheFireman]

Thanks I remember now. But I never fart so I never use it! Haha

[edatlanta]

I just don't see the reason for a tankless water heater EVER. Why would you want to have to use your propane for hot water when you are hooked up at a campground to the park's electricity which you have already paid for? Yes, I do boondock some and starting tomorrow I will be for 5 days at Talladega. My propane will work fine and then I'm back to electricity which is already paid for. I did just fill up one empty propane tank so I'm good to go.

[StevL]

Something for everyone.

We do not plan to boondock but once every blue moon. I for one really like the tankless water heater!

I have not used it using the on board water pump, but when hooked to city water it is fantastic IMO. If I take a 15 minute shower no big deal, wife comes behind me and takes another 15 minute shower shaving her legs then the grand child come in for another 15 minutes. We then wash dishes from breakfast and we have nice hot water the entire time.

If three more people wanted to shower no problem, the hot water keeps coming.

If water is being used elsewhere in the coach at the same time the water temp will vary in the shower, only negative I've seen. It does take a little time to get hot but so does our home, I guess I'm used to it.

We just got back from three nights at an RV resort, it was six showers, two nights cooking on the grill (I hook directly to the on board propane to grill), cooled the frig before the trip on propane, washed dishes etc. and I used less then 2 gallons of propane. *I* do not consider that an expense, I actually thought that was very good.

Don't get me wrong, for boondocking I can see where the tank heaters may be a benefit, for me though I'll stick with tankless.

Flame suit on

Steve

[Arniesports60]

malu,

did you ever look into the Truma Aqua-Go
supposedly has Constant, Instant, hot water..

Truma AquaGo® provides instant hot water while on the road

from rvforum:
I have a few friends in Europe who have used Truma products and they say they are excellent. The little I have learned about this particular design is that it should work exactly as advertised. Have any of you heard or read anything about it yet? I first saw it in RV-PRO magazine. They will be rolling out to dealers and manufacturers this spring and summer.

Truma AquaGoâ„¢- Instant, constant, endless hot water

[Arniesports60]

Re: Is the Truma AquaGo an instant hot water heater that will actually work?
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2015, 06:00:48 PM »

I've been looking at tankless water heaters for about 10 months now because my wife and I have decided to buy an RV when we retire and one of the concerns that I have about spending months on the road is that one of the things I truly enjoy in life is a long hot shower in the morning. What I have discovered is that there were only two rv tankless heaters when I started looking and one new on the market a couple of months ago. The RV500 (now 550) has the best consumer feedback but is the priciest at just over $1000. For about half that you can purchase a Girard but the complaints about it are numerous. Recently Atwood added a tankless model that is less costly than tha RV500 and rumor has it that they had some input from the folks who make the RV550. Since I'm not in the immediate need for this product I haven't looked to see what kind of consumer feedback is available.

Having said all of that, the Truma, with it's apparent hybrid technology, looks interesting but, being the cautious individual that I am, I would never buy anything that costs over a couple of bucks until it was on the market long enough for me to evaluate it's true worth.

[Arniesports60]

Re: Is the Truma AquaGo an instant hot water heater that will actually work?
« Reply #18 on: June 08, 2015, 06:22:10 PM »

Ok, I can now give a complete update on the Truma.

It works wonderfully. There are no temperature fluctuations once you set it to the temperature you want. You can reduce the flow amount of hot water and cold water if you are boondocking and not worry about having enough water flow to continue to get hot water as with other on demand hot water heaters. I begin to get hot water about 10 second after I turn it on from a cold start. (How long does it take for a standard hot water heater to heat up the water to be usable?) You will use that same amount of water with a standard hot water heater to flush out the cooler water in your lines so no difference there.

The limits to it are obvious. It only runs on propane so no hot water when you run out of it. If you are not at a full hookup, then you are also limited by your holding tank and the amount of fresh water you have. You will be tempted to take longer showers but that is not so bad as you can control that ... maybe (lol)

So, at this point, there is one on demand hot water heater that actually works well.

[Arniesports60]

I paid $1199.00 for the Comfort model. Dealers can sell it as low as $1133.00 from what I have read.
My outside cover (standard one) cost me $60.00.
My installation cost me $350.00 but that was because of the peculiarities of my camper (Trailmanor) the installer had to deal with and it was also his first Truma install. I think most can expect to pay $250.00. I think they have now installed 4 of them.
My Truma dealer bought my original hot water heater (never really used) for $200.00 so total out of pocket for me (except local taxes) was $1409.00.

Where skill was important on the install was dealing with changing the propane line. On my Suburban it was on the left side of the tank (looking at it from outside the trailer) and the Truma is on the right side. The Truma has two ways to run the propane line. One is straight through the back of the unit and then bend it to hook it up. The second way is to run it outside of the Truma up to the front and then connect it through another opening right where the connection fitting is. My installer attempted to do it the second way first but that did not work for my situation so he then went back to the first way and that was successful. Another reason why the installer had some issues is that the Suburban hot water heater was mounted about 10 inches off the floor on a frame built by Trailmanor. We had no choice but to do that same kind of install for the Truma because of where the access hole for the hot water heater is on the outside of the camper. The Truma is smaller in length than the Suburban so we had to build supports to make it solid with the existing framework. Thus the additional time and expense for me.

[rahawk]

x2 for boondocking it sucks. ill take tankless for our camping.

[Malu]

We just had a 6 gallon tank heater installed to replace the on demand failure. Apparently its the only size that fits in the space according to the Jayco dealer. My issue with the situation is this motorhome comes with a generous fresh, grey and black tank capacity, has 2 coach batteries and a generator. Seems off grid camping was a consideration of Jayco. But they failed miserably, the water pump they chose will never produce the flow necessary for success with this water heater.
I stepped into a shower with tepid water that suddenly went to flash sear, enough to produce a mild burn, then the water heater shut down sending fresh tank water that was near 40 degrees like the exterior air.
No where in the Precept brochure does it state that off grid camping will render the on demand water heater dangerous, then non-existent.
Whats the point of generous tank size, multiple batteries and a generator if the water heater is not functional in such a situation?

[Arniesports60]

You're in Hot Water

Revolutions in RV components don’t come along every day, so it’s a pretty big deal when you experience the instant-on, never run out of hot water Truma AquaGo system that is now being offered as an option in select Winnebago models!
Read Kathy Holcombe's review of the AquaGo System while boondocking

Truma AguaGo – Boondocker Heaven | WinnebaGoLife