Tankless hot water? Please help

[KasiePrather]

I am permanently stationed on my own property. I bought a 110 tankless hot water heater from home depot and I want to use it in our camper how do we bypass the tank that is in the camper or how can I hook this up to use in our camper we have a breaker box in our shed that is a 200 Amp that we use to power most everything in the camper so the power isn't a problem just wondering if anyone has done this and how to do it? I have 2 small children and the hot water just isn't cutting it during the winter someone please help me

 

[donn]

Lots of pipe and fittings. Place the water heater, secure it. Get a pile of plastic pipe that can withstand hot water and start plumbing. If your not handy you might be best to hire a plumber. Your going to have to access behind the existing water heater to disconnect so you can hook up your new toy. To me this is going to be a real hassle with a lot of water heat loss depending on how far the lines run and how cold outside Temps are.

 

[Gizmo100]

My first question....
Are you sure what you have will do the job?

The "110 tankless hot water heater" sounds like a 110 volt system. If that's the case I'm not sure your going to be happy.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Why wouldn't it be installed at the point of use, or in place of the trailer HWH? Depending on the vintage of the camper it's likely plumbed with PEX and would be a fairly straightforward install with basic tools. Would be a lot easier to run a high current AC feed to the camper over a distance than piping.

Echo Gizmo100, depending on the power input and degree of heating the flow rate is about the same as an RV lavatory sink and won't keep up with even an RV shower. So this may be a non starter. If the camper is permanently parked then it seems a larger hot water heater tanked or tankless would be the most straightforward solution.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Bent Valve]

The 6 gallon water heater in our RV does an outstanding job on propane alone. It can be run with both electric and gas to heat even faster. Maybe get your WH checked and serviced? Water heaters do degrade over time and need attention. (new elements etc)

BTW most house hot water heaters (tank type) are mostly 220 volt. Some friends pulled theirs and put in a tankless hot water heater. They regretted the move.

If you do it yourself and your dealing with PEX save some frustration and get or rent the clamping tool instead of the Sharkbite fittings. Get the one with the gauge and check your work, you won't regret it.

 

[CharlesinGA]

It will help greatly if the OP provides information on the exact make and model heater they bought.

The 110V tankless is designed as an undercounter instant water heater for use with sinks. Many stores and businesses use them to supply their restroom sinks. If the incoming "cold" water is not bitter cold, it might work if you run the shower VERY slow (I mean like a dribble), but cold water in the wintertime is never going to get more than luke warm if that.

What would work (I know because I did it as a temporary installation for a friend while I re-plumbed her 150 year old house) is a instant electric heater that is 240v powered and draws 11,000 or 13,000 watts . It wasn't far from her electric panel so I did a drop of 6 gauge wire to the crawl space and 15 ft or so to the water heater mounted on a board screwed to a floor joist. Eventually all the plumbing was finished and I installed a gas Noritz instant water heater and removed the temporary electric one.

Find product information, documents, videos, and installation assistance for the Rheem Professional Classic Series: RTEX-08, RTEX-11, RTEX-13

Now, look at the chart about half way down the first page on the left side of the flyer below.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebPartners/ProductDocuments/3320FFD8-8A08-46F9-AF9F-04AFEDF86EEC.pdf

It is the critical information you need to know. You want water at about 100°F or slightly more, and a shower head with the restrictor installed is supposed to flow no more than 2.5 gallons per minutes. Using the chart and looking at the model RETX-11 we see that at 2.5 gpm this heater will raise the temperature of the water no more than 30°F. This means that wintertime water coming in that is COLD, say 50°F will never get more than 80°F max, which is a lukewarm to almost chilly shower.

I use the example of the RETX-11 because it is 11,000 watts, at 240v is 46 amps draw. You can install it on a 60 amp breaker and meet the electric code (you cannot exceed 80% of circuit capacity with heating devices). You can go to the RETX-13 and gain a few degrees of temp rise, but at 54 amps you are past the 80% limit on the circuit (and NEC does not allow more than a 60 amp circuit per heat element, which is why you find multiple breakers on your home back up heat strips or on a whole house electric instant water heaters).

Bear in mind, you will have to run a completely new circuit from the panel to the trailer using 6 gauge wire. (for the heater I suggest) This in itself can be quite expensive, as wire has skyrocketed in price.

For your "110v" water heater, if it is one of the ones designed to plug into a standard outlet, it will barely heat water enough to wash your hands. The smallest one in the chart I reference above is 29 amps which will require a 40 amp breaker, and depending on the distance you can get away with 10 gauge wire or possibly step up to 8 gauge. You are actually better off with a 240v water heater as it will put out more heat and use smaller wire doing it, thus saving money.

Charles