Damaged tankless on demand water heater

[Marcel2011]

I my self installed a fire plac with 20 amp braker in it 1500watts work like a charm!

[grandjim]

I had the tankless on my Precept. Didn't like it. Replaced it with the old standard water heater and didn't regret it.

[willdenise]

Originally Posted by Hivoltage98

I have a truma aquago and we absolutely love it.
German engineering went into this fine machine and we have hot water that’s perfect every time.

How much did the hot water heater cost

[grandjim]

If you raise eniugh stink Jayco willl pay for it, which they did. They had a Lot of problems with the tankless. They may be better now. Mine was a 2018

[Hivoltage98]

Wayne is a great mechanic, helped me with my tankless when I needed it. Thanks Wayne!

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by pconroy

There are three (at least three) models of the Girard. The GSWH-2 is actually Gen 3. I have Gen 2 in my 2016 Greyhawk.


I know I'm in the minority, but we've come to like our water heater. That said, if it dies, I'll see about upgrading to the Truma.

I planned ahead... and bought a used one from HighVoltage and use it as our pool heater. We too have figured out our Girard and took a long hot shower this morning on Fresh Tank water with water pump pressure - it did not flinch a bit with temperature.

Originally Posted by javamon

We have at least 400 showers on our GSWH-2 and have absolutely no complaints. I think the Truma is quite a bit more $$$ so I'm not sure it would be worth it based on my opinion and my experience with the GSWH-2.

We are with you on this one!

Originally Posted by whporwil

x3 on the newer Girard. if i'm in a campground with low water pressure i use water from my fresh water tank.

X4 !!!!

Originally Posted by TnHiker

I have the Gen 3 Gerard. At first I didn't like it but once I learned how to use it I like it a lot. We have two seasons on ours and over 100 night camping. It uses very little propane, some others have said if you have low pressure it is a little flaky. I haven't been anywhere that I had to use my fresh tank to get consistent heated water. I have found over the years of camping one of the main reason some complain of pressure problems is the regulator they are using. If you have a quality regulator that displays pressure and is adjustable it will solve a lot of water flow problems. Good luck.

Agree... we switched to a better regulator, but there still are times when someone is running a lot of water and makes the pressure vary... right when i am enjoying a hot shower. I just fill the tank and use the water pump. Every shower is perfect - every time, every day.

[BeachRetreat]

I'm curious. For those who've commented on their nice long hot showers with their Girard, have you been able to rinse your dishes with hot water? Or run a load of laundry on warm? I agree, showers are no problem, but I want hot water for other things too, and I haven't figured those out.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by BeachRetreat

I'm curious. For those who've commented on their nice long hot showers with their Girard, have you been able to rinse your dishes with hot water? Or run a load of laundry on warm? I agree, showers are no problem, but I want hot water for other things too, and I haven't figured those out.

I can't comment on laundry but rinsing is possible if you do it differently.


You cannot flick the hot water on and off with a Girard like you can at home. You also can't trickle the hot water.


Nope.


It's full on - or off.

[norty1]

We have a Rheem tankless at home and use it the same way. Hot is all the way open and the cold adjusts the temp.

[Hivoltage98]

All those scenarios are not acceptable. Truma responds to a low pressure or high. You get what you pay for.

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by Hivoltage98

All those scenarios are not acceptable. Truma responds to a low pressure or high. You get what you pay for.

I have never had a problem with mine. I am not sure 3 times the price is worth that little gain for me, but to each his own.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by Hivoltage98

All those scenarios are not acceptable. Truma responds to a low pressure or high. You get what you pay for.

There's not a Truma in my Greyhawk.
It's a Girard.


We've learned to live with it's quirks.


Like that one light switch in the house that's in a really stupid place - rather than sell the house or remodel, we deal with it.

[Gaffer75]

Originally Posted by grandjim

If you raise eniugh stink Jayco willl pay for it, which they did. They had a Lot of problems with the tankless. They may be better now. Mine was a 2018

I have a 2018 PRECEPT Motorhome with a Truma tankless water heater. It came with the basic model and I had it upgraded to the Comfort model. I absolutely hate it. I hardly get any hot water. I have to take lukewarm showers and by the time I am finished about 25 minutes later I get hot water but it doesn't last. Truma thinks it's a water mixture problem with the RV and not the water heater. Setting the control valves to winterize the RV the fluid comes out of the water heater until I put the filter back in. This is not supposed to happen so what's the purpose of the valves if not to bypass the water heater. I am stuck in a cold climate at night so will be taking cold to lukewarm showers for the next 4 months. Water isn't hot enough for washing dishes either. Wish I had a regular 10 gallon water heater but will cost over $1500 to change.

[RVermont]

Originally Posted by Gaffer75

I have a 2018 PRECEPT Motorhome with a Truma tankless water heater. It came with the basic model and I had it upgraded to the Comfort model. I absolutely hate it. I hardly get any hot water. I have to take lukewarm showers and by the time I am finished about 25 minutes later I get hot water but it doesn't last. Truma thinks it's a water mixture problem with the RV and not the water heater. Setting the control valves to winterize the RV the fluid comes out of the water heater until I put the filter back in. This is not supposed to happen so what's the purpose of the valves if not to bypass the water heater. I am stuck in a cold climate at night so will be taking cold to lukewarm showers for the next 4 months. Water isn't hot enough for washing dishes either. Wish I had a regular 10 gallon water heater but will cost over $1500 to change.

Before I upgraded to the comfort model I installed shut off valves in the wet bay to isolate the trauma. I would shut these at night in freezing weather and pull the heater filter to drain it. I still use this sometimes in really cold conditions when driving just to be sure there are not any issues.

Was it always like warm or just recently? Have you descaled it? Any difference using the on board pump vs cuty water?

My unit is hot and we have to blend cold back in during showers. Is it possible the outside shower is open?

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by RVermont

Before I upgraded to the comfort model I installed shut off valves in the wet bay to isolate the trauma. I would shut these at night in freezing weather and pull the heater filter to drain it. I still use this sometimes in really cold conditions when driving just to be sure there are not any issues.

This is the reason we stayed with the Girard... It has it's own built in freeze protection. We spend a lot of nights (last night was 24F) in freezing weather and I get up and have a hot shower right after getting out of bed.

All I had to do was run the motorhome on the built in water pump that jayco installed (Not City Water pressure) and tune the water temperature to my liking.

[pconroy]

The nights when it dipped to 14*, I tossed a 60 watt incandescent in the Girard behind the panel. I didn't know much about the built-in anything - I found the manual lacking.


Anyway - that kept the innards of the Girard at 70*F give or take.

[SloPoke]

In the manual, on page 13 this is what it says:

WINTER USE DEVICE (WUD) If you wish to operate the water heater in potentially freezing conditions the model GSWH-1M has a built in thermostat that will start the burner whenever the temperature of the Heat Exchanger falls below 38ºF and will automatically shut off when it senses a temperature in excess of 58 ºF.

IMPORTANT: To allow the WUD device to operate you must have sufficient LP Gas in the tank and you must leave the unit powered with the ON / OFF switch in the ON position at all times that freezing may occur. It will not protect the entire RV’s plumbing system. The RV must be designed for winter use/freezing conditions.

[Gaffer75]

Originally Posted by RVermont

Before I upgraded to the comfort model I installed shut off valves in the wet bay to isolate the trauma. I would shut these at night in freezing weather and pull the heater filter to drain it. I still use this sometimes in really cold conditions when driving just to be sure there are not any issues.

Was it always like warm or just recently? Have you descaled it? Any difference using the on board pump vs cuty water?

My unit is hot and we have to blend cold back in during showers. Is it possible the outside shower is open?

The water has always been Luke warm to start off. Takes a very long time to get hot water and then it's not even enough to rinse off with!
The basic model originally installed was the same.
The purpose of upgrading to the comfort model was to use in colder climates. I can hear it turning on all the time supposedly heating the water to 140. Truma did some troubleshooting with me and determined that the heater is fine and that the problem is a water mixer valve somewhere in the Jayco rv. Sure makes it an unpleasant
experience and won't be recommending the PRECEPT or the Truma to any other campers.
Unhappy in SC!!

[Rice1951]

Gaffer75, something doesn't seem right with your hot water system. Do you get the same results at all faucet locations? The Truma system should either work correctly or not at all. Did you buy your coach new so that you are the original owner? If so it seems like it should still be under warranty since it's a 2018. If that's the case contact Jayco Motorized CS and work with them. If you explain the issue and are civil about it they are usually very accommodating.
If you identified this issue while it was under warranty and it hasn't been fixed to your satisfaction you may still be able to have them resolve it even if your warranty period has expired. If you are not the original owner or if it wasn't discovered during the warranty period then it's all on your dime.
Each faucet operates independently with a hot and cold handle which allows the user to mix hot and cold water as desired. There is no overall hot and cold water mixer valve that I am aware of. It seems unlikely that every faucet would have an issue with getting hot water to it. Did Truma troubleshoot this over the phone or were they on site?
I would not give up if I were you. You paid a good chunk of change for your coach and you were willing to upgrade with the Truma Comfort kit. There has to be a good reason why it's not working properly.
I originally had the Girard and Jayco agreed to change it out to the Truma Comfort model when I brought my coach to the factory for some other warranty repairs. It's night and day difference and works just like at home. I've read where others have had Jayco agree to installing a regular 6 or 10 gallon WH so give it another shot. You will never be happy with the setup you have now. Good luck to you.

[RVermont]

I agree there is something wrong with your unit. My well runs between 45 and 50'f using this source I have to blend cold water into the hot supply to shower and it lasts longer than I want to shower. I would try a descaling of the unit. Then since the first place the water goes from the heater is the low point drain, I would test the water temp by opening the low point drain slightly ad see how hot it gets.