Interesting new design from Palomino RV - I wonder if GD will replicate this

[Dadeo6472]

Rude or Reem? Maybe American?... Heck, I can't even tell you the brand of tank heater I have now.... But every spring it gets flushed and the corrosion rod gets inspected, but it doesn't corrode. Our experience is common here. In fact, our builder advised against a tankless system, but we were talked into it by a plumbing supplier, because it was more efficient and would "never run out of hot water". But it died despite a 5 micron filter and a backflush system before a year was up. Apparently the supplier was not as familiar with the local ground and lake water as our builder. It was replaced (for free by the dealer) with a regular (much cheaper) tank heater. We draw water from a very clean limestone bottomed lake... and that means lots of lime in the water. Neighbors who live above us, away from the lake, draw from a deep well, and they also get iron with their lime. On the bright side, the water is clean, tastes good, and nobody around here has a calcium or iron deficiency!

But people need to really think twice before going for a tankless system if they take water from a well and/or have hard water... Open up a gas powered one (as we did) and you will find water flowing thru a heat exchanger with very small passages. They need to be descaled often, sometimes as much as 2 or 3 times a year. Here's a picture of one, not ours, ours was completely blocked.

[TheLexx]

Oh you're talking about a tankless unit for your home. Yeah, I looked at those and frankly I was not impressed. The output drops off dramatically when it's really cold. And if you use it in a recirculation loop to have true instant hot water (look up cold water sandwich), the mfgrs will drop the warranty from 13 yrs to 3 or 5.

For a RV however, the Truma AquaGo seems to work very well.

Rude or Reem? Maybe American?... Heck, I can't even tell you the brand of tank heater I have now.... But every spring it gets flushed and the corrosion rod gets inspected, but it doesn't corrode. Our experience is common here. In fact, our builder advised against a tankless system, but we were talked into it by a plumbing supplier, because it was more efficient and would "never run out of hot water". But it died despite a 5 micron filter and a backflush system before a year was up. Apparently the supplier was not as familiar with the local ground and lake water as our builder. It was replaced (for free by the dealer) with a regular (much cheaper) tank heater. We draw water from a very clean limestone bottomed lake... and that means lots of lime in the water. Neighbors who live above us, away from the lake, draw from a deep well, and they also get iron with their lime. On the bright side, the water is clean, tastes good, and nobody around here has a calcium or iron deficiency!

But people need to really think twice before going for a tankless system if they take water from a well and/or have hard water... Open up a gas powered one (as we did) and you will find water flowing thru a heat exchanger with very small passages. They need to be descaled often, sometimes as much as 2 or 3 times a year. Here's a picture of one, not ours, ours was completely blocked.

[offtohavasu]

i can remember back when Fleetwood had basement ac on their motorhomes but eventually went to roof mounted. Not sure why, but there has to be a reason.

Winnebago did as well. A buddy of mine had, I think 2005, Adventurer Class A gasser that had a 2 ton heat pump unit. Oddly enough it was mounted under the bed. I'll have to ask him about noise.

[Dadeo6472]

All I know is my real life experience that told me that tankless systems require much more maintenance. Carefully read the maintenance manual on a tankless system. The instructions will tell you that flushing at least twice a year is mandatory. And if you end up on water with lots of dissolved minerals (esp iron and calcium/lime) you need to do it quarterly. The better tankless systems sold today will make this easier, some really expensive ones will do it automatically, but how much do you want to spend on a water heater?

My bad experience was on water from Skaneateles Lake, a lake so clean that the City of Syracuse only has to chlorinate. We carbon filter because we take from only 100 yards from the beach. You can't get any cleaner water, and we still had problems.

One saving grace on an RV in areas that freeze is the RV has to be winterized, so draining and flushing the water system is done at least once a year, and most RVs are not used nearly as much as a home water heater. So an RV tankless heater may last you longer than one in a house.... but still, how much do you need to spend on a hot water heater?

[TheLexx]

I wonder if having a 3 stage filter system would ameliorate the issues. I have one that filters out anything bad before it gets into our fresh water system.

All I know is my real life experience that told me that tankless systems require much more maintenance. Carefully read the maintenance manual on a tankless system. The instructions will tell you that flushing at least twice a year is mandatory. And if you end up on water with lots of dissolved minerals (esp iron and calcium/lime) you need to do it quarterly. The better tankless systems sold today will make this easier, some really expensive ones will do it automatically, but how much do you want to spend on a water heater?

My bad experience was on water from Skaneateles Lake, a lake so clean that the City of Syracuse only has to chlorinate. We carbon filter because we take from only 100 yards from the beach. You can't get any cleaner water, and we still had problems.

One saving grace on an RV in areas that freeze is the RV has to be winterized, so draining and flushing the water system is done at least once a year, and most RVs are not used nearly as much as a home water heater. So an RV tankless heater may last you longer than one in a house.... but still, how much do you need to spend on a hot water heater?

[DaveMatthewsBand]

We might need to sell our rig and buy one of those. Love it!


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[DaveMatthewsBand]

If I wanted a low ceiling I'd buy a tt, class a or class b.

7 feet is low?
Lol
I’m 6’5” and that would be a dream for me.


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[cookinwitdiesel]

We might need to sell our rig and buy one of those. Love it!


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Roof may be too high for your solar

[Dadeo6472]

I wonder if having a 3 stage filter system would ameliorate the issues. I have one that filters out anything bad before it gets into our fresh water system.

Agreed, a three stage filter system with water softening SHOULD ameliorate tank scaling, but it seems like a lot of bother, considering that you add cost and maintenance. Plus won't running three stage filtration reduce water pressure, and/or increase the amount of juice your pump uses?

The best systems are simple to maintain, low in cost, and highly reliable. I am convinced that tankless water heaters are NOT all these things at the same time. . .

Its too bad, they sound like such a good idea: Instant water and not having to maintain a reservoir of water at 125F.

[TheLexx]

I've not noticed a loss of pressure with our 3 stage filtration system. The key is to make sure the flow rates of the filters and containers are correct.

From what I've seen the residential tankless units are more of an issue than the instant hot systems like Truma AquaGo or AquaHot (in class A coaches). But nothing is maintenance free. Our propane/electric water heater blew a control board and left us without adequate hot water for a couple of weeks before we were able to get the problem fixed. Right now we are continuing to just stagger our showers so that our 3 kids and 2 adults can take decently long hot showers (when we have FHU).

Agreed, a three stage filter system with water softening SHOULD ameliorate tank scaling, but it seems like a lot of bother, considering that you add cost and maintenance. Plus won't running three stage filtration reduce water pressure, and/or increase the amount of juice your pump uses?

The best systems are simple to maintain, low in cost, and highly reliable. I am convinced that tankless water heaters are NOT all these things at the same time. . .

Its too bad, they sound like such a good idea: Instant water and not having to maintain a reservoir of water at 125F.