Replacement Options for Girard Tankless WH

[hoppers4]

Changed out my water heater to a Suburban SW6DE. Not sure what the L stands for.

[thegatorsrock]

The l model has a 12 volt relay so you can turn the electric on and off from inside the Rv is what I was told

[hoppers4]

Makes sense. If the 115VAC is close to where you're going to install the water heater it would save wiring the 115VAC into the rig and back. This would have saved a bit of wiring in my install also. Also, the relay method would allow you to run only one set of low voltage small gauge wiring vs. running Romex into the rig and back.

[NC Roamer]

Our dealer installed a Suburban 6-gallon SW46DE. They did have to add a breaker to the breaker box at the foot of the bed and then ran a 110 circuit from it to the water heater compartment. I'm okay with the electric control being on the water heater itself. When on shore power it will stay on continuously anyway.

On our only outing so far with it, an eight night trip, it was great having uninterrupted hot water when we wanted it!

[rgolding]

We have the Girard tankless water heater and have learned to live with it, without major incident. I have continuously disliked the waste of water trying to get hot water to the bathroom and other locations. Because on our model of the Seneca, the hot water heater is in the very back corner of the driver side and distance to the bathroom faucets and the shower and the kitchen faucets is a real reason that it takes so long to get hot water forward. It has been my thought, that replacing with a traditional RV water heater placed in the location of the Girard, would not change this distance.

Yesterday, I installed a 2.5 gallon electric hot water heater in the utility compartment, right under the wardrobe and behind the bathroom. Last night was the first test of showers and water usage. So far, so good. I've been pursuing this project for awhile and the concern was where to break in to the hot water line. I felt I had found the location in the outside faucet and up until a couple of days ago, that was what I was going to do. Change came when I was exploring where to get 110 volt power and decided to use the power outlet behind the wardrobe that was intentioned to be for the washer and dryer we chose not to install.

My original thought was to break in to the hot water line and add the electrically heated hot water in to the line coming from the Girard heater. Upon exploration of the electrical outlet, there was the hot and cold water faucets for the washer. Decided to use them. Drilled holes down to utility closet below and this has worked well. Shower now works much like a conventional shower with adjustment of both hot and cold water. As I installed this, I also installed pipe insulation on all hot water pipes I could reach.

As we "boondock" with limited water and limited electrical power about half the year. Water consumption is the biggest obstacle and the extra 2.5 gallons doesn't hurt. Limited electrical power is just using the generator or isolating the use of only one electrical appliance, including this new water heater, at a time.

Continuing to explore "the pursuit of happiness in this great Nation".

[TheGriswalds]

We went to use our brand new 31FS this weekend. First trip. Pulled her out to check everything and that POS tank-less water heater never even came on. Read all the manuals and checked everything. NOTHING! To say I am #$%^&* off is an understatement.

Called Camping World and they cant get me in until June...

Nice.

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by TheGriswalds

We went to use our brand new 31FS this weekend. First trip. Pulled her out to check everything and that POS tank-less water heater never even came on. Read all the manuals and checked everything. NOTHING! To say I am #$%^&* off is an understatement.

Called Camping World and they cant get me in until June...

Nice.

Get Jayco to authorize the switch out to a "normal" water heater... they've been doing a LOT of them!

[rgolding]

Originally Posted by TheGriswalds

We went to use our brand new 31FS this weekend. First trip. Pulled her out to check everything and that POS tank-less water heater never even came on. Read all the manuals and checked everything. NOTHING! To say I am #$%^&* off is an understatement.

Called Camping World and they cant get me in until June...

Nice.

Have you checked the reset button. It is a real tough little sucker to find. It should help. It is a skill to learn how to use this heater and as I posted earlier, we've upgraded ours. Don't let hot water ruin your trip. If you were tent camping you wouldn't have it either.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by klassic

If these are so finicky why did Jayco add them as an option for 2017 TT's?
It does say generation 3...maybe better?

I just placed an order for a 2017 Eagle and was excited to see that a tankless option was available. A short conversation with my dealer and he suggested I go with a standard tanked heater. I've known him for years and he just said that I would not be happy with one... I left it at that and we moved on to the next item on my build.


I've still been on the fence but the more I read about them I think he is most likely correct.

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

I just placed an order for a 2017 Eagle and was excited to see that a tankless option was available. A short conversation with my dealer and he suggested I go with a standard tanked heater. I've known him for years and he just said that I would not be happy with one... I left it at that and we moved on to the next item on my build.


I've still been on the fence but the more I read about them I think he is most likely correct.

To function properly, an "on-demand" water heater has to monitor water pressure, rate of flow, and the temperature of the in-flow water. A computer monitors those datum points (sampled several times a second), and adjusts the temperature coming from the unit accordingly.

The RV units just are not there yet... if all worked as advertised, we would be able to set the desired temperature one time, and then forget about it.

My dealer told me to make the system work safely, he would need to add a thermal accumulator tank of about 6 gallons. I said, "wait, that sounds like a water heater!" He laughed, and said "exactly".

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

I've still been on the fence but the more I read about them I think he is most likely correct.

Some users have good luck with the tankless, especially if they camp with full hookups. Those who boondock frequently generally don't like them as well since water conservation techniques tend to cause wide swings in water temperature. The tankless heaters do better when you can afford to just "let the water run".

Another factor to consider is that a tankless heater requires you to always burn (your) propane to make hot water. If you have a combination gas/electric unit you can let campground power heat it for you. So if the available tank-style unit is indeed gas/electric, it gives you the choice to use propane or electricity (or both) to heat your water.

[TheGriswalds]

Rgolding,

Yes I did check the reset, it was not tripped. Thank you for the suggestion. As it is our first RV I will take anyone's suggestions. But I did read the manual and followed all the trouble shooting recommendations. Nothing worked.

[Jopopsy]

I must've gotten lucky but (again NOT boondocking) I've never had a problem getting constant hot water out of mine. I followed the steps in the video on Girard's website, I do not use a low flow showerhead, and I have a Watts pressure regulator (which does not limit the flow).

These units need proper water flow to function properly. If the water is not flowing fast enough, the temperature rise in the tankless system exceeds the cutoff limit and you end up with the whole up/down water temp problem some have.

So long as you have enough flow through the system, and you gradually adjust the temperature knob on the wall to your desired comfort, you'll be fine. Run the shower w/ 1/2 hot on and no cold. If you want a warmer shower, pull back on the hot water a little, if you want a colder shower open the hot water a little more. Counter-intuitive, but it works as designed. Again the faucet knobs in your camper are not temperature regulators; that's what the knob on the wall is for. Your faucet knobs are FLOW regulators; the faster the flow the colder the water.

If your temp is dialed in correctly you really don't need the cold water turned on to regulate the temperature.

[NC Roamer]

Originally Posted by TheGriswalds

Rgolding,

Yes I did check the reset, it was not tripped. Thank you for the suggestion. As it is our first RV I will take anyone's suggestions. But I did read the manual and followed all the trouble shooting recommendations. Nothing worked.

We had gotten used to the tankless operation mode and had resolved to just go with it... Until two trips in a row where it would work fine and then randomly fail to ignite. Like yours the secret reset button was not popped. That was when we pressed Jayco to replace it.

[Hivoltage98]

We're picking up our new rv tomorrow from the dealer, a 2012 31FS, and the first thing to check is the hot water heater.

[tom463219]

How hard was it to get Jayco to replace it?

[JDSport]

Heading out on my first boondocking adventure this weekend. Not very optimistic on how the hot water heater is going to perform. Taking and extra 10 gallons of water so the wife can take a shower.

[rgolding]

Another little trivia on the Girard Hot Water Heater, it is a 110 volt appliance. Found that out during a power outage. Verified with dealer the next day. So if no power, need to fire up generator for a hot shower. A lot my "pusuit of happiness" is keeping the bride happy. So far a 44 year project with minimal success.

[CarlWms]

2015 Greyhawk 29 MV
This weekend was the VERY last straw for the "Thank-Less Water Heater". With outside temperature of around 35 degree, the water heater was unable to heat water much higher than slightly cool no matter were any "controls" (flame and shower faucets) were adjusted to.
This water heater has been a pain from day one, even after following all the "instructions" provided by Girard. With less than 3 weeks of warranty left, how do I go about getting Jayco to step up to replacing it??

[NC Roamer]

Contact Jayco's Motorized Warranty Division directly. We were working through our dealer who said Jayco finally agreed to change ours, but only after trying it one more trip. The service manager for our dealer listed our frustrations with the unit (which I had documented thoroughly) and asked why we needed to wait. Jayco's rep said that if we thought it to be such a serious problem, why had he not heard directly from us? So he heard from me within the hour and finally agreed to to authorize the work.

With only three weeks left on your warranty, I'd contact Jayco directly and document the call. Good luck.

FWIW, we appreciate Jayco authorizing the swap and are delighted with the Suburban tank model. It's been great.