2021 Reflection with Furrion tankless water heater.

[Scubasteve78]

My wife and I traveled to Lazydays RV in Nashville today to look at the 337RLS that we think we have settled on.

While inspecting the bathroom, I noticed a digital gas water heater panel.

Upon inspection of all 7 Reflections onsite, they are all equipped with Furrion tankless hot water heaters.
The build sheet does not have this as an upgrade option, so it looks like it is standard on all 2021 Reflections.

Now I am researching tankless heaters on RVs to see if I want to take on a first generation implementation like this.

Anyone else seen this? We finally settled on the Reflection and this was a surprise when looking in person.

Pictures attached.

 

[Scubasteve78]

Also...Thinking thru the operation, I would assume that one would burn thru propane much faster using this option.
I am researching, but I assume that gas is used to heat the water fast enough.
If so, the option to use only electric for hot water is gone.

This looks to be the unit that Grand design is using, based on what I saw.
https://furrion.com/products/2-4gpm-tankless-gas-water-heater

 

[Second Chance]

According to Furrion's web site, you are correct in that it heats with gas:

https://furrion.com/products/2-4gpm-tankless-gas-water-heater?view=water-heater-refined-tech-spec

Theoretically, it should consume no more energy to heat water than a tank-type heater. The definition of a BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. So, heating six gallons of water from 40 degrees to 140 degrees in a tank should take the same amount of energy as heating six gallons of water from 40 degrees to 140 degrees in a coil.

It's pure speculation, but installation of the Furrion heaters may be a supply and demand thing. The entire industry has had problems this past year getting components from vendors to complete units - including ACs, water heaters, toilets, and many other things. GD put Furrion ACs on units for a while because they couldn't get enough of the Coleman ACs. Only GD could tell us whether or not this is a permanent change-over. Personally as full-timers, I would not like it. We run the water heater on electric nearly all the time to minimize trips to get propane.

Rob

 

[huntr70]

It is now standard equipment on Reflections.

 

[Second Chance]

It is now standard equipment on Reflections.

Thanks for chiming in, Steve. I will reiterate that, as full-timers, gas-only would be a deal-breaker for us.

Rob

 

[huntr70]

Thanks for chiming in, Steve. I will reiterate that, as full-timers, that gas-only would be a deal-breaker for us.

Rob

That's interesting because I use mine on LP 99% of the time. We travel all over and dedicated 50 amp service isn't a guarantee. I'm anxious to see the actual burn rate on them since they will only fire when needed.

 

[papermakermd]

I'm thinking about moving to a Fifth Wheel And the 337RLS. This would be a non starter for me also if this is a permanent change. I don't want to pay to heat water if Electric is included in my Rate. I almost never use propane to heat water.

 

[WhittleBurner]

A big question I have is how will these hold up to hard water ? is there a descaler mode.. This makes having a water softener a must, whe we researched tankless heaters the one thing I took away was they have to be descaled (if I understood correctly) or they won't last long.

Is this for the kitchen hot water too?

 

[rrlowen]

As for energy use, Rob is correct that the actual energy required for making hot water will be equal but there will be savings because there is no stand-by energy needed for the tankless water heater.
I have a tankless heater in our seasonal residence. It quit after about 3 years use and I had to de-scale it to get it going.
That's not a big issue, just pump some vinegar through it for a few hours but it's still another periodic maintenance task.
The burn rate is 60,000 BTU's.
We are like Steve, rarely use electricity for hot water - usually at gov't parks with no power.

2021 Reflection 303rls
Gone - 2015 Glacier Peak
2021 GMC AT4 Duramax 4X4 Standard Bed
Gone - 2019 GMC Sierra Duramax 4X4 Standard Bed
B&W Companion

 

[RobWNY]

Boy oh boy. When I get to the point that I can't wait 10 seconds for hot water to get to the faucet I'm using in my RV or someone can't schedule their shower or dish washing so the availability of hot water isn't a problem, I'm just going to stay home because I will have become too spoiled.

 

[rrlowen]

Boy oh boy. When I get to the point that I can't wait 10 seconds for hot water to get to the faucet I'm using in my RV or someone can't schedule their shower or dish washing so the availability of hot water isn't a problem, I'm just going to stay home because I will have become too spoiled.

Actually, the tankless heater doesn't get the hot water to the faucet any faster than the normal water tank heater.

 

[RobWNY]

Actually, the tankless heater doesn't get the hot water to the faucet any faster than the normal water tank heater.

So the only advantage would be that you can't run our of hot water? We've never run out of hot water with a normal hot water tank anyway. My wife showers, I wait 15 minutes. I shower, my wife waits 15 minutes to wash dishes. No big deal. We don't have a washing machine so there's no need or want for a tankless system.

 

[rrlowen]

So the only advantage would be that you can't run our of hot water? We've never run out of hot water with a normal hot water tank anyway. My wife showers, I wait 15 minutes. I shower, my wife waits 15 minutes to wash dishes. No big deal. We don't have a washing machine so there's no need or want for a tankless system.

I can't say that we have ever run out of water in the RV either but our usage is pretty limited.
Some full-timers might see an advantage, though.

 

[Scubasteve78]

Thank you for all of the replies! As huntr70 said, it seems to be standard on all reflections now per our dealer.
For us, this is not a deal breaker....but it is disappointing that we will not have electric as an option.

We really like the 337 and feel like it is the unit for us based on over a year of research, so I am taking the following approach.
We will give the tankless unit a shot and see how it does. After several years, if we are not happy with its operation, we could swap out to a regular water heater.
I would not think that anything about the space would be different.....and we would have 12v, gas, and the same plumbing.

Appreciate all of the input from everyone!

Working on negotiating price and coordinating an upgrade to disk brakes on the 337.
Hope to be at a campground in late May!

 

[Canyonlight]

Thanks for chiming in, Steve. I will reiterate that, as full-timers, gas-only would be a deal-breaker for us.

Rob

X2.....we rarely use LP like maybe less than 5% of the time. Our rates at campgrounds are fixed - they do not meter for and charge for electric use. It would make no sense to use LP in these scenarios.

Steve [MENTION=331]huntr70[/MENTION] - I am quite surprised at this decision by GDRV. It would be interesting to learn more on this decision. It seems to not be a positive move.

Dan

 

[Millhouse78]

Does anyone know if these tankless units will also be on the reflection travel trailers? Thank you

 

[Wandering5thwheelers]

We currently have an on demand hot water tank for our Park Model, and wouldn’t live without it. I’ve been doing research for a unit for my new trailer as well and found that while the time it takes for the hot water to move from the tank to the taps (the whole unit) is about the same as our Park model, the one thing I did find is that there “could be” an issue when boondocking, depending upon the pressure your water pump provides. I’ve read, re-read and read again all the pros and cons, and after experiencing the on demand world in the Park Model, would never got back to a hot water tank...ever. Not only does it free up space in your unit, ours works amazingly well and it’s a blessing to have an unlimited supply of hot water when connected to city water and you need it. Like others, I don’t know how well the RV units work, but I would be more than willing to have Grand Design come in and put one in my 2021 Transcend 200MK trailer for a test run. I just wish they had picked the Transcend along with the Reflections to start with...They’ve already gone full on solar or electric only with the fridges, my guess is it won’t be long before you won’t be able to order or buy any unit GD makes with an actual tank. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I love mine.

 

[fez111]

It really depends on several factors. I understand it all depends on water flow, not pressure. We would never own one, but my brother's new Cedar Creek came with one and they were very excited...Until they found that they could not wash dishes without the temperature changing constantly. Even when at a park with full-hookups their showers would be great and all of the sudden they would get cold for a while. When dry camping the hot water almost never kicked on unless the faucet was on full. After about 5 or 6 outings they had a 12 gallon gas/elec installed (no charge) and have never looked back...

 

[GonOuttaHere]

I suspect your speculation is accurate.

 

[Second Chance]

I suspect your speculation is accurate.

Forum hint: If you use the "Reply With Quote" (next to "Reply") as I have here, everyone will know to whom you are replying and that person will get a notification.

Rob