It's A Tankless Job

[Scout_It_Out]

In order to get hot water in the kitchen sink, I have to go outside, deploy the outdoor water sprayer and run it for at least a full minute to"prime" getting hot water in the kitchen.
But even then, the water is lukewarm and varies allot - hot , then cold - up and down.
I took it in for a warranty claim and was told to set the temperature at 120 degrees. But the problem remains.
The hot water in the bathroom is 3 feet from the heater and it comes out hot pretty well, but again, you have to run it awhile to get hot water.

I don't want to run the water outside to get hot water to do the dishes and having to run it inside, filling up our gray tank.

 

[Riverbug]

I don't understand why people have so many issues with those tankless water heaters. There sure are alot of complaints. I haven't had one in my RVs yet, but I do have one on my boat. The difference is that I only use it with a shower wand for showers when we do boat-in camping. It works fantastically so I would have thought it would be a great solution if an RV came with one. But maybe not...

 

[Soundsailor]

You mentioned using the out door sprayer. Are you sure you fully turned off the outside faucets. If they are open, they will mix the hot water and it will be luke warm in the rest of the coach.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

What soundsailor said could very well be your issue. Make sure the hot and cold knobs are fully shut.

Depending on your DIY ability or desire you can build a recirc panel at the kitchen to reduce water in the grey tank but first need the HWH problem fixed. If the HWH continues to vary up and down in temp and takes a long long time to get hot water to the taps. Maybe take back to your dealer and insist they show you how to make it work properly instead of just taking an adjustment suggestion - assuming you just bought this recently. Maybe you will learn something you weren't doing properly or maybe the dealer will learn they need to replace or repair your water heater.

 

[MtnGuy]

We put the water used before we get hot water into a plastic milk jug. We then use that to flush the toilet when needed. We did that when we dry camped with tsnk type water heater also.

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

I have found you have to run the hot water at max volume for it to remain hot. I would not be a fan if I was a boondocker.

 

[retired_engineer]

On the suggestion to up the water temperature to 120 we have found we get more consistent water temperatures by setting the thermostat to the temperature we want to have at the faucet and only using the hot water. I'm not sure there is much you can do about reducing wasted water to the kitchen other than installing some type of recirculating system.

I think part of the problem with the Furrion tankless water heaters is the only hot water reserve is in the mixing bowl and pipes. This isn't a lot of reserve when the heating cycles starts up from the beginning whenever you turn the hot water on. I've not actually seen one but my understanding is Truma uses a small tank where it preheats the water to get around this problem. I know they also have a recirculating option that unlike the water miser type of products does not dump hot water into your fresh tank.

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

Retired-engineer makes a good point that failed to mention. Run only hot water. Do not mix cold and hot or you have erratic temperature.

 

[classicrockguy]

Knock on wood, we have had good results with our Furrion on-demand HWH. We mostly hang out for extended stays in nicer RV parks, so we always have shore water and sewer. Makes for nice long hot showers as long as there’s propane in the tanks!

Mixing is an issue for sure. The whole system is very sensitive to this, so we avoid using the sinks when someone is in the shower. Another issue is the kitchen sink is a good ways from the HWH, so it has to run a bit before the water is hot.

It’s worth noting there’s no benefit in trying to use hot water for short dish rinses or hand washes. All that does is fire the HWH while the faucet is not on long enough for the hot water to even get there. Best to just use cold or be wiling to wait a bit. We typically only use hot water for showers or longer kitchen cleanup.

There’s plenty posted about freeze protection of these Furrion HWHs. Best pay attention to getting it right, or you will be replacing it. We have stored ours for 3 winters with careful freeze protection and no issues. We typically get multiple nights in the high teens here in Southern Utah. Colder locations should be especially careful.

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

I have a Gerrard water heater and my experience has been the same as classicrockguy. It takes some getting used to.

 

[DougW9876]

I have been thinking about putting in one of the 1.3 gallon mini water heaters under the kitchen sink plumbed so the inlet is from the hot water line. They run on 120VAC and should provide enough hot water so that I would get hot water immediately and by the time it runs low on hot water the heated water from the on demand system should be getting there.

 

[4x4dually]

I have been thinking about putting in one of the 1.3 gallon mini water heaters under the kitchen sink plumbed so the inlet is from the hot water line. They run on 120VAC and should provide enough hot water so that I would get hot water immediately and by the time it runs low on hot water the heated water from the on demand system should be getting there.

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking of doing with this camper or at least at a bare minimum order our next camper with. The island is so far from the on-demand that it take several minutes of running water to ever get hot water into the kitchen sink. A small 120V tank under the sink would provide instant hot water and the on-demand can fill it and hopefully be providing hot water by the time it runs out. Not sure how it will work though because the on-demand will still be putting two minutes of cold water into the little water heater tank. I think all that cold water coming in will still kill what water is already heated up in the tiny tank. It will still be a roller coaster of temperature out of the faucet.

Oh, the first world problems we have. LOL Just wait until dark every night and dump your grey water on the ground. The campsite grass needs it.

 

[Terry.Machelle]

Google showermiser and sink miser. Fixed our problem completely. Also, make sure outside shower knobs are in the off position and only use hot water, do not mix with cold. We do 101 degrees for shower and then turn it up to 120 for dishes.

 

[SailingOn]

I have been thinking about putting in one of the 1.3 gallon mini water heaters under the kitchen sink plumbed so the inlet is from the hot water line. They run on 120VAC and should provide enough hot water so that I would get hot water immediately and by the time it runs low on hot water the heated water from the on demand system should be getting there.

Sure sounds tempting, but at $160-200 plus installation I can wait a while.

 

[RVing in Michigan]

I have been thinking about putting in one of the 1.3 gallon mini water heaters under the kitchen sink plumbed so the inlet is from the hot water line. They run on 120VAC and should provide enough hot water so that I would get hot water immediately and by the time it runs low on hot water the heated water from the on demand system should be getting there.

I did exactly that. It works very well! Instant hot water in the kitchen.
Bonus; Our 370DV came prepped for a dishwasher so the dedicated 120vac circuit/outlet was already there waiting for me. All connections come apart easily and the heater pulls right out for winterizing (connect the two water lines together and winterize as usual).
I would highly recommend this improvement.

 

[tdginctr]

Knock on wood, we have had good results with our Furrion on-demand HWH. We mostly hang out for extended stays in nicer RV parks, so we always have shore water and sewer. Makes for nice long hot showers as long as there’s propane in the tanks!

Mixing is an issue for sure. The whole system is very sensitive to this, so we avoid using the sinks when someone is in the shower. Another issue is the kitchen sink is a good ways from the HWH, so it has to run a bit before the water is hot.

It’s worth noting there’s no benefit in trying to use hot water for short dish rinses or hand washes. All that does is fire the HWH while the faucet is not on long enough for the hot water to even get there. Best to just use cold or be wiling to wait a bit. We typically only use hot water for showers or longer kitchen cleanup.

There’s plenty posted about freeze protection of these Furrion HWHs. Best pay attention to getting it right, or you will be replacing it. We have stored ours for 3 winters with careful freeze protection and no issues. We typically get multiple nights in the high teens here in Southern Utah. Colder locations should be especially careful.

This has been our experience exactly. We also winterize our tankless full of antifreeze, no problems so far.

 

[Retbass]

In order to get hot water in the kitchen sink, I have to go outside, deploy the outdoor water sprayer and run it for at least a full minute to"prime" getting hot water in the kitchen.
But even then, the water is lukewarm and varies allot - hot , then cold - up and down.
I took it in for a warranty claim and was told to set the temperature at 120 degrees. But the problem remains.
The hot water in the bathroom is 3 feet from the heater and it comes out hot pretty well, but again, you have to run it awhile to get hot water.

I don't want to run the water outside to get hot water to do the dishes and having to run it inside, filling up our gray tank.

Install this works great.

In order to get hot water in the kitchen sink, I have to go outside, deploy the outdoor water sprayer and run it for at least a full minute to"prime" getting hot water in the kitchen.
But even then, the water is lukewarm and varies allot - hot , then cold - up and down.
I took it in for a warranty claim and was told to set the temperature at 120 degrees. But the problem remains.
The hot water in the bathroom is 3 feet from the heater and it comes out hot pretty well, but again, you have to run it awhile to get hot water.

I don't want to run the water outside to get hot water to do the dishes and having to run it inside, filling up our gray tank.

 

[Retbass]

Install this and eliminate your problem

 

[huntindog]

On the suggestion to up the water temperature to 120 we have found we get more consistent water temperatures by setting the thermostat to the temperature we want to have at the faucet and only using the hot water. I'm not sure there is much you can do about reducing wasted water to the kitchen other than installing some type of recirculating system.

I think part of the problem with the Furrion tankless water heaters is the only hot water reserve is in the mixing bowl and pipes. This isn't a lot of reserve when the heating cycles starts up from the beginning whenever you turn the hot water on. I've not actually seen one but my understanding is Truma uses a small tank where it preheats the water to get around this problem. I know they also have a recirculating option that unlike the water miser type of products does not dump hot water into your fresh tank.

On my Momentum, the kitchen sink is right next to the WH.. But the HW line from it goes somwhere else before it comes back to feed the KS. It is a long trip, as HW did not appear for a long time. So I cut the line and installed a tee in it I capped off the orginal KS HW feed line, ran a line from the tee to the KS. The KS now has HW after 1/2 cup is run.

 

[RVing in Michigan]

I did exactly that. It works very well! Instant hot water in the kitchen.
Bonus; Our 370DV came prepped for a dishwasher so the dedicated 120vac circuit/outlet was already there waiting for me. All connections come apart easily and the heater pulls right out for winterizing (connect the two water lines together and winterize as usual).
I would highly recommend this improvement.

Here is a pic