Another tankless water heater question

[Lunatic]

I searched through the many posts regarding these Girard tankless heaters but could not find any information that helped me. I have good HOT water at the bathroom sink but only luke warm at the shower and kitchen faucets. This is after running the water for a good amount of time. I'm a little confused by that because if it's hot at the bathroom sink, I do not understand why it wouldn't get that way at the other points. There is full flow at all three so that's not the issue. Also, when I turn the temperature dial one way or the other I see no change in the visual look of the flame at the heater itself. I would assume I should easily be able to see a change in the height of the flame just as one would on any other gas appliance? Any ideas? I am contemplating changing the temperature dial but am confused by the hot water at the bathroom sink. This was my first time using the unit so I have no idea how it has worked in the past but it's had very little use.

[Stargazerandu]

Originally Posted by Lunatic

I searched through the many posts regarding these Girard tankless heaters but could not find any information that helped me. I have good HOT water at the bathroom sink but only luke warm at the shower and kitchen faucets. This is after running the water for a good amount of time. I'm a little confused by that because if it's hot at the bathroom sink, I do not understand why it wouldn't get that way at the other points. There is full flow at all three so that's not the issue. Also, when I turn the temperature dial one way or the other I see no change in the visual look of the flame at the heater itself. I would assume I should easily be able to see a change in the height of the flame just as one would on any other gas appliance? Any ideas? I am contemplating changing the temperature dial but am confused by the hot water at the bathroom sink. This was my first time using the unit so I have no idea how it has worked in the past but it's had very little use.

Does the Girard turn on when you turn on the faucet in the kitchen and turn on the shower? In my unit, I had more water pressure coming in at the bathroom sink, that being the closest to the city water inlet, than at the shower and lowest pressure was in the kitchen, that being the farthest from the inlet. Try getting water from your fresh water tank using the pump and see if you get equal amounts of hot water from all sources. The Girard needs good water pressure to trigger it to turn on.... I hope this helps...

[Lunatic]

Originally Posted by Stargazerandu

Does the Girard turn on when you turn on the faucet in the kitchen and turn on the shower? In my unit, I had more water pressure coming in at the bathroom sink, that being the closest to the city water inlet, than at the shower and lowest pressure was in the kitchen, that being the farthest from the inlet. Try getting water from your fresh water tank using the pump and see if you get equal amounts of hot water from all sources. The Girard needs good water pressure to trigger it to turn on.... I hope this helps...

Thanks for the reply. I tried this experiment using the coach water pump only and all seemed to put out very similar flows. The Girard turns on each time yes.

[Kahoneys]

By Turning the knob all it does is slow or retard the flow a small amount to adjust the time that the water is in the heater resulting in hotter water. Turn it the other way and less time in the heater and cooler water.

[DonaandDon]

How old is the house filter? Have you tested the system with and without the filter installed?

[Lunatic]

[QUOTE=Kahoneys;665123]By Turning the knob all it does is slow or retard the flow a small amount to adjust the time that the water is in the heater resulting in hotter water. Turn it the other way and less time in the heater and cooler water.[/QUOTE

Ok I did not realize that. I assumed it was like the portable Coleman hot water heaters you can buy for camping. Turn the knob up and the flame is increased resulting in hotter water. I didn't think it would restrict the flow by turning it. It's certainly not noticeable at the faucet either way.

[Lunatic]

Originally Posted by DonaandDon

How old is the house filter? Have you tested the system with and without the filter installed?

I did try it with the filter out and there is no change unfortunately.

[Rice1951]

I had a similar problem except my issue was hot water was OK in the kitchen, sometimes OK in the shower and no hot water ever at the bathroom sink. I could take a shower and it would be fine and then my wife would have no hot water. It was very finicky. As previously stated it’s very sensitive to rate of flow (i.e. water pressure). I complained enough to Jayco that they finally agreed to swap out the Girard for a Truma. They also found a clog in the water lines to the bathroom sink. Now my DW is happy and so am I. Some Jayco owners have learned to live with the quirkiness of the Girard while others have had it swapped out. Depends on which camp you are in. I just can’t see spending all that money on a rig and then not have hot water within a short time of turning the faucet handle. After all, hot water is not new technology. When you’re at home do you select the hot water temperature you want by entering a value on a control display? I didn’t think so. If you’re like me you adjust the water temperature by turning a handle which mixes the hot and cold water to reach a temp you are comfortable with. That’s the way it should work in your RV, too, IMHO. That’s my two cents worth so if you combine that with 97 cents more it will get you a cup of coffee to go. Good luck in your journey with Girard.

[t18skyguy]

Just a few tips. If your using the standard brass pressure reducing gauge, it will sometimes reduce the pressure too low. A adjustable Rinaldo on Amazon with oil filled gauge is very nice. Give it 50-60 psi. Set your thermostat to the temp you want, then use hot water only. No mixing of cold. Open the faucet and let it run no on and off. They don't like that. If your doing all that right, it does sound to me like a possible obstruction in the branch feeding the shower and kitchen faucets. Also make sure all the twist valves are fully open.

[Crossingover]

We have gotten used to our Girard and what folks recommend here will help you succeed. Frankly we have no use for 'endless hot water' and prefer the traditional two-way tanked water heater. Our biggest issue is minimizing the amount of grey water we generate, and I think an on-demand heater generates slightly more grey water than a tanked heater due to the slight increased delay in providing heated water to the tap. For kitchen use, we simply heat water in a tea kettle and don't use the hot water tap at all. That really helps in minimizing the grey.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Crossingover

Our biggest issue is minimizing the amount of grey water we generate, and I think an on-demand heater generates slightly more grey water than a tanked heater due to the slight increased delay in providing heated water to the tap

We solved that in an afternoon...
read more here: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...hot-36132.html

[Lunatic]

Well I have tried every suggestion on here to no avail. Still only get hot water at the bathroom sink and even that is not great. Maybe our water here is just too damn cold lol. Wife won't be happy until it's fixed so I think I'll just bite the bullet and change it to a tanked system and be done with it. We 100% Boondock so the extra 6 gals will be handy as well as less grey water being generated. Need to be able to Navy shower and it sounds like these don't like that anyway. Thanks for the suggestions.

[norty1]

I have one at home with my tankless but here is one someone has in their Seneca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBh395UyiaY

[Lunatic]

Originally Posted by norty1

I have one at home with my tankless but here is one someone has in their Seneca.

I would have done this had I been able to get hot water, but even letting it run for 10 minutes in my driveway it only gets Luke warm at best.