Does anyone use a tankless water heater?

[cruzn57]

in a travel trailer?
we have a 20 ft, travel trailer, and are considering swapping to a tankless water heater,

we have one in the house, and its the best thing since ice cream!
thx

 

[DennisT]

Don’t have one but know people that do. One of the issues I’ve heard is getting the flow required to get it to work properly.

If the flow is enough then they seem to work well from what I’ve heard. If the flow is hard to get enough then they have issues.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Don’t have one but know people that do. One of the issues I’ve heard is getting the flow required to get it to work properly.

If the flow is enough then they seem to work well from what I’ve heard. If the flow is hard to get enough then they have issues.

I second that. Maybe in a pusher they are a good option but not where small tanks, and water conservation is important!

Edit:

I have installed and used two of them through the years. My campux is on a bench waiting to find a better use!

 

[DKRITTER]

I have one in our motorhome and love it.
If we have water pressure issues we turn on the 12v pump to supplement the city water.

 

[rvkev]

I have a hot water loop. Both hot water faucets in my camper get hot in four seconds. The kitchen hot water is about 50 feet away from the tank. With the tankless you will be wasting water till the hot travels and also warms the piping.

---

You should also consider the amount of rise the system will put out. In the case of 50-degree rise, your output water would be 105 degrees. Calculated from 55-degree ground water plus the rise. Water at 105 degrees is not hot enough for me. Rise will also vary by flow rate.

 

[newmarokie]

And don't forget that tankless heaters really dislike hard water. You need to allow space for a portable water softener.

 

[sanda]

We have a tankless water heater in our RV. The temperature is hard to regulate and requires using a lot of water to get and maintain a constant temperature. This is a major issue for us as we dry camp often. I can't wait until it craps out so I can replace it with a tank heater that I can run on propane and power.

 

[MFJ]

I'm a little late to this discussion, but our TT came with one installed. So far I prefer the tankless over the traditional tank heater we had in our old trailer. Never had an issue with temp regulation and water pressure has never been an issue. If there's low pressure we can always fill up the potable tank and run the pump. Takes just as long for the water to heat up as it does for the hot water to get through the lines in a normal tank. Very efficient system too with propane usage, and much less to set up compared to a normal tank.

 

[RVThereYet]

I have a hot water loop. Both hot water faucets in my camper get hot in four seconds. The kitchen hot water is about 50 feet away from the tank. With the tankless you will be wasting water till the hot travels and also warms the piping.

---

You should also consider the amount of rise the system will put out. In the case of 50-degree rise, your output water would be 105 degrees. Calculated from 55-degree ground water plus the rise. Water at 105 degrees is not hot enough for me. Rise will also vary by flow rate.

Have not seen a HW that you can set the "rise". Most that I have seen lets you set the temp. Usually 122-124 is max tem that you can set.

 

[Jonf254]

in a travel trailer?
we have a 20 ft, travel trailer, and are considering swapping to a tankless water heater,

we have one in the house, and its the best thing since ice cream!
thx

Tankless are great in RV but create challenges if your boon docking.So it really depends how you use your RV.

 

[redbaron]

I’ve installed the one on my parents Canyon Star l, my sons 5th wheel, and daughters travel trailer. The unit is made by furion and has a small tank but meant to be a on demand heater.

It works very well, and freed up a power leg for a 3rd air on my sons 5th wheel, and a extra kitchen outlet for the skillet in the canyon Star.

 

[Jonf254]

I have a hot water loop. Both hot water faucets in my camper get hot in four seconds. The kitchen hot water is about 50 feet away from the tank. With the tankless you will be wasting water till the hot travels and also warms the piping.

---

You should also consider the amount of rise the system will put out. In the case of 50-degree rise, your output water would be 105 degrees. Calculated from 55-degree ground water plus the rise. Water at 105 degrees is not hot enough for me. Rise will also vary by flow rate.

Wow! I have not seen a hot water loop in an RV, is the circulation pump tied into the 12 volt system? What company was used for the system ? A loop is great solution for boon docking.

 

[MaraZen]

in a travel trailer?
we have a 20 ft, travel trailer, and are considering swapping to a tankless water heater,

we have one in the house, and its the best thing since ice cream!
thx

I had one in my house it almost burnt the house down! still looking for real estate attorney.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

We have one in our Grand Design 392M. It works great, but does take a few seconds to warm up. Since we never boondock, this is not an issue for us.