Tankless water heater

[CujoQuarrel]

Has anyone tried an "on demand" water heater also known as a "tankless" water heater? Interested in how well they work.

 

[Jim Dick]

Has anyone tried an "on demand" water heater also known as a "tankless" water heater? Interested in how well they work.

Can't say I've ever heard of such an animal. I wonder how much power it would require to heat water "on demand"?

 

[CujoQuarrel]

For a house model they actually use less power but in a house model the water is always kept hot which I assume is not the case in an RV. Always figured I'd put one in when my WH at home went kaput. THey do cost more than a reg WH.

I saw some adds for RV models so they do exist.

 

[Lorna]

Yes they do exist but don't know whether you could use them in a RV.

 

[Jim Dick]

For a house model they actually use less power but in a house model the water is always kept hot which I assume is not the case in an RV. Always figured I'd put one in when my WH at home went kaput. THey do cost more than a reg WH.

I saw some adds for RV models so they do exist.

Are they electric only? There may be times when you won't have electrical hookups and want hot water.

 

[Lorna]

Jim, I'm not sure just know that they exist because someone told me they had one but CRS has set in and can't remember who. :-[

 

[CujoQuarrel]

Found this link to one that claims to be RV sized.

http://www.eemaxinc.com/marine.htm

Do you tend to run out of hot water in an RV?

And where do you get water for the RV when you are travelling? Do you pay by the gallon somewhere?

ME

 

[Jim Dick]

Found this link to one that claims to be RV sized.

http://www.eemaxinc.com/marine.htm

Do you tend to run out of hot water in an RV?

And where do you get water for the RV when you are travelling? Do you pay by the gallon somewhere?

ME

First let me say we have never run out of hot water but do not waste it. We don't take long showers. If we did we might run the tank down and have to wait for the second shower. Most of the time we obtain water from a campground if our tank is empty. We only use the tank when we don't have hookups.

From the info on the site this is an A.C. only unit. As I mentioned before, you may need to have hot water when you don't have electric. Can't do it with this device. I also notice their diagrams show the unit mounted as close to the sink or shower as possible. Don't know if this is really required but I'd check into it before installing. The current requirements are quite high. The smallest requires a 20A circuit where the largest requires 30A! If you have a 30A coach, which the majority are, you probably won't be able to run anything else until you are through with the water.

I would do a lot more questioning before opting for this over an electric/gas hot water heater.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I've heard of a few installations in RVs but can't offhand think of anyone here to refer you to for their expereinces.  The drawback, as others have mentioned, is that it only works when you have adequate shore power, but if you always camp where there is 50A service that may not be a consideration.

A demand heater can be a useful add-on if it takes a long time to get hot water to a particular outlet. In our case, the galley faucets are a fair way from the main water heater and there is a noticeable delay in getting hot water there.  It's a small nuisance, but not worth the high price of a demand heater to solve.

If you currently run out of hot water, it may be easier to add a demand heater than to upgrade the size of yur existing tank-type heater. The 10 and 16 gallon RV tank heaters require a larger hole in the sidewall than a 6 gallon model, so upgrading tank size can be a major piece of engineering and body work. 

 

[Ron]

Tankless water heaters have been around for a long time and are very popular in Japan.  The ones I have seen have been gas but I understand they have electric ones too.  I have never seen one used in a MH but with proper installation should work very well.  Personally we have never felt the need to increase our hot water capacity.

 

[John From Detroit]

I have not tried a tankless or demand heater in my RV yet, however I've been in several campgrounds that had them in the showers.

And Coleman markets one that is PORTABLE, yes, PORTABLE,  Takes a 1lb Propane cartridge (Standard bottle) has a 6V rechargable battery and a 5 gallon collaspable jug. Options include a hand held shower head and a garden hose "inlet" fitting.

Put unit on a table, water bottle on ground, charge it up, hook it up and twist the knob, it pumps and heats up to 40 gallons (per documents) per charge, heats to a maximum of 160 degrees (or so many above bottle temp) if you hold the knob, less if you release

I have one, 179.95 and of course there is no instalation on portable gear.

Not for use INDOORS, in fact if you have an outdoor shower thing... put it OUTSIDE the shower enclosure

 

[Tom]

I used to install these in homes in the UK over 25 years ago, specifically at showers. They were a fast and inexpensive alternative for heating water to the electrical or gas heaters typically used for 50 gallon hot water tanks. I've never tried to put one in an RV but, if you can gain access to the plumbing, it would be relatively easy to install. It would also require some electrical work. If I had one of these in my RV and was boondocking (no shore power), I could run the generator. If I had a large enough inverter, I could even run it from that for the short time of a shower but it would deplete the batteries if used for very long.

 

[tyefighter]

Try this link, they do exist.  I was just looking into getting one, they sound a lot better than the standard tank models.

http://66.161.146.46/index.htm


Mike