Tankless vs. Tank Water Heaters: Real-World RV Experiences & Fixes

[MtnGuy]

We bought a new 2024 Imagine XLS 22MLE last year. We like most everything about the camper except for the confounded tankless water heater.

IMHO, I much prefer the old tank style water heaters. I never had a problem with them, they provided constant hot water, and you could use the campground electricity instead of your own propane.

I thought I would start a poll to gauge other people’s ideas on this new system.

 

[GaryMGg]

I voted for it.
Anything else you don’t like about it other than the power source?
We’ll see how we feel a year from now.

 

[Soundsailor]

The tankless water heater we have works much better than the electric/propane tank model (Dometic) we had in our previous TT. It uses very little propane and has been reliable for us, with no issues running out of hot water.

 

[more tired since retired]

You might want to check out this video by Changing Lanes. They tested a tankless vs the old style tank heater. After watching it, there is no way I would go tankless. It does give a lot of good information.

And Rigor Repairs released this video about issues with tankless water heaters last week. The issues he talks about can be a surprise.

 

[Hit Factor]

I'm really liking the tankless heater in our 2500RL. I have it set for 109 degrees, turn on the water, wait a few moments for hot water, jump in and stay as long as you like! I don't use cold water in the shower. I don't think I have to wait any longer than I did in my old keystone TT with a tank heater.

The problem of scalding while in the shower disappears, when you are not using cold water in the shower.

 

[MtnGuy]

I voted for it.
Anything else you don’t like about it other than the power source?
We’ll see how we feel a year from now.

Our tankless water heater does not give us constant hot water. I shaved this morning, and it gave me a cold water burst. Washing dishes yesterday, it did the same. When taking a navy shower the same thing. I know you are to run it at full stream when flowing, and I do. But, geez, it is impractical to leave the water on the entire time when using.

My tanked water heaters did not give me cold burst.

 

[18CrewDually]

Our tankless water heater does not give us constant hot water. I shaved this morning, and it gave me a cold water burst. Washing dishes yesterday, it did the same. When taking a navy shower the same thing. I know you are to run it at full stream when flowing, and I do. But, geez, it is impractical to leave the water on the entire time when using.

My tanked water heaters did not give me cold burst.

Make sure your outside shower or wetbay quick connect faucet has both knobs turned OFF. Verify they're off with the hose connected. If they're open even a little it will allow mixing of cold and hot water causing what you described. It is often overlooked and ends up being the route of the issue.

 

[COGrandDes]

Our tankless water heater does not give us constant hot water. I shaved this morning, and it gave me a cold water burst. Washing dishes yesterday, it did the same. When taking a navy shower the same thing. I know you are to run it at full stream when flowing, and I do. But, geez, it is impractical to leave the water on the entire time when using.

My tanked water heaters did not give me cold burst.

We swapped out our shower head to the oxygenitics head, set the water temp to 109* and never add cold water. Works awesome. No cold bursts unless you turn it off. With that shower head, you can leave it on the whole time without using allot of water and we only boondock and depend on the water in our freshwater tank. We like it allot over the propane. The one downside that we live with is the time it takes to cycle hot water to the kitchen sink since it's pretty far from the TWH. When my wife does dishes, she heats water on the stove, adds it to a smaller container in the sink to wash the dishes with very hot water. It's a small inconvenience but very minimal.

 

[more tired since retired]

The way we get around the tankless issue is with this thermostatic shower faucet valve. Works exactly like at home. Installation is easy, then run water and when it gets to the temp you want, setit.

Then when you want to take a shower, run the water until it is at your temp and shower. Turn it off, soap up, turn on to rinse off. Temp is what you set it at....no cold blast. We found it dependable and great for water conservation while boondocking. Water measurements I've made show we save about 12% of the water we used to use with the faucet valves that came with the trailer. Once you get your water temp mix, it doesn't change. No more running the water after soaping up, waiting for it to heat up again.

https://www.amazon.com/MISSMIN-Centers-Thermostatic-Clawfoot-Bathroom/dp/B098NGP43C/ref=sr_1_1_pp?crid=2SJQXNKFJTKHP&sprefix=rv+faucet+m%2Caps%2C295&sr=8-1

 

[MtnGuy]

Make sure your outside shower or wetbay quick connect faucet has both knobs turned OFF. Verify they're off with the hose connected. If they're open even a little it will allow mixing of cold and hot water causing what you described. It is often overlooked and ends up being the route of the issue.

I will check that

Update: Valves were off

 

[redfernclan]

Ours does not give a constant temp either. Outside shower valves are both off. Not a fan but we make do.