Water heater question.

[Mannysplvd]

Howdy.

Has anybody ever installed a tankless water heater, into a travel trailer. By tankless i mean like the ones you get at HomeDepot or Lowes which are normally used on houses, they are instant hot water. My 6 gallon electric and gas water heater just went out and I am curious to see if i can install the other kind of water heaters.

 

[Parts guy]

They make tankless for rv’s the ones for homes are just that. They are not meant to run on 12v power. Girrard is an option and so I fagotti. What you need to be aware of is the water pressure. ALL campers are regulated at 40psi, tankless needs 50psi so you would need to get a water pressure reg with a gauge and control no. (Cheap part) I have them at about $750-$950

 

[FL-JOE]

If it were me I would stick with replacing your tank with the same RV type water heater. Also, I have never owned an RV that the water was regulated at 40psi. Not sure where that info comes from.

 

[rvkev]

I added a circulation loop to my water heater. The loop added about a half gallon of water to the system. I had to put two backflow preventers. There is a pump to circulate the water. I now have instant hot water at every faucet.

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The 12 volt pump is quiet. The pump draws 1 amp and pumps 3 gallon a minute according to the specifications. It is a wet rotor pump.

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The loop can be labor intensive depending on your layout. My circulation loop also pumps thru a flat plate heat exchanger to heat the floor during cold weather.