Which Tankless Water Heater did you purchase?

[Scott & Heather]

I have been shopping for tankless water heaters for the new coach. I was all set to go with the Takagi, but just realized I can't run it on a normal 20# cylinder. Anyone have a recommendation? I don't want a large propane tank in the coach because I like the convenience of swapping tanks at Walmart etc. 

[TomC]

I just had a weekend at a Christian camp in Idyllwild, Ca (very beautiful). The cabins had been changed to tankless water heaters. They had so much problem with them (gas supply, igniter, thermostats) that they switched all the cabins back to normal tank type. I would suggest you use a normal propane RV type water heater with electric stand by. Some are making tankless propane replacements.

I have 2-10gal electric water heaters (from Home Depot). One feeding into the next with the final water heater powered through the inverter for hot water going down the road. In the 22 years they have been in I've done virtually zero (except for draining once a year) to them. I like the set up so much I'm repeating on my truck. Good Luck, TomC

[thomasinnv]

I second Tom's statement. I have a tankless propane water heater in my off grid desert house and I hate it, it has been nothing but grief. I am eventually going to replace it with a standard tank type rv heater.

[Lin]

We once had  Paloma tankless heater, and it was okay.  Of course, the benefit was unlimited hot water. But on the downside, it was pressure and flow dependent, so if the water pressure at the heater dropped, it could cut out.  That wasn't a bit deal but worth noting.  We really never had any other problem with it.  We have a 10 gallon electric now and it's adequate.

[Seangie]

Scott -  Im kinda with Tom on this one.  I think the tankless heater is going to use more fuel than you think it is and you will have the job of constantly replacing and managing the propane.

Lets say based on the following calculation of the amount of propane it takes to raise the temp of 1 gallon of water from 65 degrees to 95 degrees = .004 gallons of propane. 

(1 gallon water * 8.4 lb/gallon water * (95 - 65) °F * 1 BTU/ lbm-°F * 1 gallon propane / 90,000 BTU * 100/70 = 0.004 gallons of propane)

So if you take a shower using 10 gallons of water your at .04 gallons of propane, wifey takes a shower, now your at .08 x 7 days your at .56 or half a gallon.  That gives you roughly 8 weeks of showers on a 20lb tank. (20lb tank ~4.5 gallons)

Now take into consideration that you wash dishes, wash clothes, wash Emma.  There is some more use.  Then you have a propane heater in the bus.  More use.  Also - keep in mind that if the water in the tank is less than 65 degrees then you exponentially use more fuel to heat the water.  Think what it would take to raise the temp of 40 degree water to 95 degrees and is your tankless heater designed to work at those low temps.  You could be on the 4 week instead of 8 week plan in the winter.

Now, how do you know when you are going to run out of Propane?  I can calculate exactly when that is going to happen.  Itll be in the middle of January on the coldest day in Michigan when it just snowed 3' of snow overnight and you just jumped into the shower to warm up before you go outside to shovel out the door to the bus.  And....   I know exactly when you are going to run flat on your propane tanks    

Im not saying dont do it, Id just do it as an add to an existing electrical hot water heater if you plan on carrying propane and are going to do some boondocking and dont want to run the generator.  As much as you guys are hooked to a pole Id go to electrical first.

We have a 20 gallon sealand hot water tank that heats off the engine.  After a days run (2+ hours of driving) We (all 6 of us) can all take a 5 minute Navy shower and have plenty of hot water.  When hooked up at the campground we can take (3) 15 minutes of showers with hot water without the temp dropping.  By the 4th shower its just a warm shower but it only takes about 20 minutes to heat up again.

Keep in mind that our tank heats to 160 degrees (190 off the engine) and we have a themistatic valve so a 20 gallon tank of hot water is like 40 gallons of hot water.  Ive got the valve set at its lowest setting so the hot water is as hot as we like it without burning us and no need to add cold water.

Keep it simple my friend.

-Sean

[eagle19952]

heed the flow rate and required pressure warnings and consider your on board pump accordingly... it is not an easy selection...

[Scott & Heather]

Ok, so the new generation of tankless heaters seem to be great. Lot's a great reviews, our church campmeeting has over 6,000 people in attendance for 11 days this week and they are using Noritz tankless units in the shower trailers. They work flawlessly and trust me, they are getting a workout. That being said, I am wondering if the inconsistent water pressure in a coach situation as well as smallish propane tanks etc might present an issue. You guys are killing me. I hate the amount of electrical dependency I have in our current coach soon to be someone else's in another 5 days. So I was trying to offload it a little with a better efficiency a/c and propane hot water...but now you guys are inserting such a dose of reality that I am back to square one on this. More research....

[eagle19952]

Ok, so the new generation of tankless heaters seem to be great. Lot's a great reviews, our church campmeeting has over 6,000 people in attendance for 11 days this week and they are using Noritz tankless units in the shower trailers. They work flawlessly and trust me, they are getting a workout. That being said, I am wondering if the inconsistent water pressure in a coach situation as well as smallish propane tanks etc might present an issue. You guys are killing me. I hate the amount of electrical dependency I have in our current coach soon to be someone else's in another 5 days. So I was trying to offload it a little with a better efficiency a/c and propane hot water...but now you guys are inserting such a dose of reality that I am back to square one on this. More research....

my biggest quandary with propane is it is not girl friendly...if you are always home then ok ...

if you select a good pump and have room for a pressure tank...

[lvmci]

I had a Paloma and then an ecotemp, both very good thin and easy to hookup, both propane, the ecotemp has a model that runs off two "D" cell batteries, tow power the valve and digital thermostat, lvmci...

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I don't know what all the hubbub is about I grew up with a Tankless Water heater because we was poor.

[bigred]

Our water heater developed a leak after about twenty five years ,and I let the gas company talk me into installing one of these tankless wonders. Absolutely the worst mistake I ever made .Well second worst mistake I ever made ,but we won't go there!!

[skihor]

Personally I like having a 6 gal rv water heater. More hot water = more water use. Less hot water= less used. Bigger fresh, and bigger grey tanks needed for longer showers. We can get 3 "navy" showers out of our 6 gal. Takes less time to re-heat also. We can boondock for 3 weeks on 100 gal fresh, 45 gal grey, 45 gal black. Rv water heater, propane, coach heat, propane, cooking, propane, fridge, propane, All run on 12V. Good batt bank, 2 hours of gennie use per day when boondocking.
10 Gal water heater = 15 gal shower. My grey tank would be full in 3 showers. Not for me.

[DoubleEagle]

I have another factor for you to consider: Propane can be dangerous, leaks can have devastating consequences. Many coaches are all-electric for that reason. Sure, many RV's have gas appliances, and they can be convenient when dry camping, but most RV's are built differently and have their tanks under the body with no enclosure. Considering the layout of both your MCI's with few windows and emergency exits, and lots of easily burned softwood, having the hazard of potential gas leaks is asking for trouble, in my opinion. 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I agree. Electricity is really safe. It can never hurt you like Propane....or can it?  

BTW, you don't need emergency exits if you have a Propane.  Everything becomes an exit!!!  

[DoubleEagle]

I agree. Electricity is really safe. It can never hurt you like Propane....or can it?  

It can, if you get creative and hook up the neutrals to the grounds; either you get electrocuted, or the sparks set off the leaking propane.