Tankless water heater

[Carl Brooks]

Howdy y'all,
Was at Home Depot today picking up some insulation for the Tri-Fab project that now consumes most of my off time and saw a small 110 tankless water heater for 197 bucks.
Has anyone else tried one of these in their egg and if so how well does it work?
I realize that it will limit boondocking but seeing as I have removed the LP system anyway I don't see that as a problem.
Carl

[blodn1]

Although I'm a fan of the electric tankless for home use, I don't think it would work for an rv. You need a minimum flow of around .50 gpm, and it has a higher wattage than a microwave - sometimes as much as a regular oven. The propane tankless heaters cost much more, but are made for the application.

[steve dunham]

I wired several 110 volt tankless water heaters when I was working . Most have a minimum flow rate of 2 Gal /Minute to activate flow switch , require a 30 amp /120 VAC electrical branch circuit and have a limited temperature rise IE; the temperature of the incoming water and the flow rate affect the output water temperture. Most of the ones I wired were used for a small bath sink or for a small bar sink (limited use) Plus they tend to lime up and need to be back flushed periodically (Midwest has very hard water)

[Carl Brooks]

So would you suggest I stay with the tank water heater instead?

[blodn1]

The home water heater will not work (well) in an rv, so yes, the heater with a tank that's made for an rv would be the way to go.

[JMS]

We have an Eemax electric demand heater in our Burro and it works just fine although the water doesn't get "hot" but it does make it warm. It takes it's own 20 amp breaker and with the a/c and other things we have to have a 30 amp connection. In the rare case that 30 amp isn't available, I just turn off the breaker for the demand heater so not to damage it

[blodn1]

Here is the sizing chart for an Eemax: http://www.grainger.com/ec/pdf/Tankl...zing-Guide.pdf

Their stated application (Eemax SS023240TC) would need a 240V power supply. It "would be best suited for the single sink and a standard shower with an incoming average water temperature of 58°F. So the climate where you are is a determinant. I've used tankless water heaters in my houses for 20 years, and love them, but in the winter, when the incoming water is colder, I have to reduce the flow greatly to have hot water. When my present unit stops working, I'll replace it with a larger 240V unit so I don't have to do this, but that's not an option for a trailer.

As I stated, if you want hot (not warm) water, either an rv heater with a tank, or an rv tankless heater would be the way to go. Both pieces of equipment are more expensive than your on-demand unit, but you will have to install a dedicated circuit for it, which will cost some money, and you probably won't be able to use it off-grid.

If you do want to go with an on-demand, PrecisionTemp, Atwood and Girard make them for rv's. PrecisionTemp is very pricey, and I believe the others have prices about twice those of replacement tanked heaters.

[Carl Brooks]

I thank all of you for your input. With all the information you have supplied I believe I will just install a new element and reinstall the old one.