Can On Demand Water Heaters Survive Cold Weather

I don't think a tankless will do well in prolonged exposure to below-zero weather. I don't camp in the winter, but I've thought about it a bit, and I think the whole coach would have to be set up well for winter weather. My Reflection 150 has thinner walls and less insulation, so it is NOT set up for winter weather. As [MENTION=38571]llr2800[/MENTION] said, the newer models of the TWHs are better able to survive cold temps. But I would want the TWH's compartment to have extra insulation. And a bilge heater would be a plus, the yachting types have been dealing with cold for a long time.

My wife and I spent the majority of this winter outside Omaha, NE. We were in our previous fifth wheel, a Jayco. (can I say that here in a GD forum? :) ) We were there during that polar vortex that dropped the temps to -20, with a wind chill of -40. We live in Florida! But, we had done some prep, got AirSkirts, Reflectix for the windows, heated fresh water hose. I can say we had no trouble with either the tankless water heater or the furnace. Yes, we went thru propane like crazy, but the unit did well, and we only made a few mistakes. By the time we left in Feb., the onboard water pump had crapped out. The 5er was less than a year old. We have since just recently upgraded to a 2024 Reflection 362TBS and will be winter camping again this winter, as we are going full-timing, hence the switch in units. I pray the Reflection does at least as well as the Jayco did.
My 2-cents worth!
Thanks,
Papaz8
 
The Furrion uses propane and 12VDC for the control board. I was just mentioning the location in regards to my opinion that the water heater location could have an effect on its freeze resistance too.




The Furrion water heater relies upon the gas burner to keep warm and not to get into the should you, could you will not be running when you drive. Travel mode was one of the questions I specifically asked and the Furrion rep said the anti freeze protection is not available while driving. From what I have seen Truma is the only one that has a travel mode anti freeze option with their optional 12VDC heater/pump assembly.
Yes, my model TWH has that anti freeze type of protection (turning on the heater briefly when the temp drops below a certain point) - and it operates on 12vdc and propane (and sitting in my driveway I've confirmed that it works when not on shore power - as it should if you expect to be boondocking...). So, I've read many notes here on this forum where folks leave their heating systems running while travelling... Why can't you do the same for the water heater ? The power draw is fairly minimal and with a decent battery bank, some solar and the 7-8 amps it gets from my truck what's the problem ?
How would it know that you're in 'travel mode' ?

Thanks
 
Yes, my model TWH has that anti freeze type of protection (turning on the heater briefly when the temp drops below a certain point) - and it operates on 12vdc and propane (and sitting in my driveway I've confirmed that it works when not on shore power - as it should if you expect to be boondocking...). So, I've read many notes here on this forum where folks leave their heating systems running while travelling... Why can't you do the same for the water heater ? The power draw is fairly minimal and with a decent battery bank, some solar and the 7-8 amps it gets from my truck what's the problem ?
How would it know that you're in 'travel mode' ?

Thanks

As I said in my post I was not going to get into the should I/could I leave the water heater on while driving. People tend to have very strong opinions when it comes to using gas appliances while driving and I did not want my post to cause the conversation to get sidetracked. Furrion's official stance is there is no freeze protection nor appliance option to provide protection while driving (as they expect the appliance to be turned off while moving).

We've already had to replace the water heater under warranty for the E5 error. In our case the blower froze due to the water that enters the appliance via the exhaust. I suspect the new water heater being of the same design will last about a year and a half like the original one. When the new one does fail we've talked about going to a Truma or back to a gas/electric tank style heater but will have to see how big the cost differences really are before we decide.
 
As I said in my post I was not going to get into the should I/could I leave the water heater on while driving. People tend to have very strong opinions when it comes to using gas appliances while driving and I did not want my post to cause the conversation to get sidetracked. Furrion's official stance is there is no freeze protection nor appliance option to provide protection while driving (as they expect the appliance to be turned off while moving).

We've already had to replace the water heater under warranty for the E5 error. In our case the blower froze due to the water that enters the appliance via the exhaust. I suspect the new water heater being of the same design will last about a year and a half like the original one. When the new one does fail we've talked about going to a Truma or back to a gas/electric tank style heater but will have to see how big the cost differences really are before we decide.
Ok, I'll make my own determination on running the heat & TWH while traveling.

Thanks
 
A few posts claim the Furrion does not have freeze protection and that is not true. As long as it is turned on and has a supply of propane, when not being actively used, it will randomly cycle and kick on to warm itself when temps drop into the 40s. I've witnessed mine doing it.
 
If was looking at a trailer and it had a TWH, I would figure in the cost of replacing it immediately as part of the price of the trailer.
A conventional HWH also helps keep the basement warm and helps prevent pipe freezing, it's like a radiant heat source..... which a tankless isn't. If you only camp in warm weather the tankless is probably better, but if you see freezing temps, a regular water heater is far better.
 
If was looking at a trailer and it had a TWH, I would figure in the cost of replacing it immediately as part of the price of the trailer.
A conventional HWH also helps keep the basement warm and helps prevent pipe freezing, it's like a radiant heat source..... which a tankless isn't. If you only camp in warm weather the tankless is probably better, but if you see freezing temps, a regular water heater is far better.

My current and last 5er has the water heater under the kitchen cabinets. No where near the basements, plus the basements are ducted heat.
Also the conventional water heaters, like my previous 5er had, are insulated and surrounded in a block of Styrofoam. It didn't keep under the sink any warmer than the heat ducts running through the back of the cabinet.
So far as a family the on demand is preferred, especially for showers. It's been great and it didn't freeze since it cycles on to prevent that. It's been in the upper 20s so far on the coldest mornings. And there's ice on the pond so I'd think if the WH was going to freeze it would of by now.
But everyone's needs are different.
 
I have run the furnace while on the road. It works fine. The first time we were crossing the continental divide in Jan. I saw -4 on the dash, and knew we were gonna freeze up if I did not turn the heat on.

Set the tstat on maxx so it does not shut off, and pay the propane bill.
Nothing about cold weather camping iis cheap and easy.
 
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