Vented tankless water heater-Atwood,Suburba,Girard?

[Dr C]

Anyone willing to share the good, bad or ugly on vented tankless water heaters? Specifically the experience with the brands available.

Having a Cabin at 7,000 feet our tankless has been a great addition. We had a problem during a hard freeze and the cabin was vacant. The power went out and the unit coils froze. Now we drain the unit in the winter.

We are considering a tankless water heater for our Bigfoot trailer. After my initial research the list is narrowed to Atwood, Girard and Suburban. Any experience or insight would be appreciated.

[Wayne Collins]

I was introduced to TWHs in the 1950s
In order to heat water quickly, they require a tremendous amount of energy in a short time. Therefore, a larger gas line to supply a big flame.
If electric, a high amperage supply for a heating coil.
I doubt that either one would be suitable in a camper.

What would help a lot with the 6 gal LP or electric heaters would be a hand operable drain valve. Removing a large plug with anode rod is a pain.

[Jon Vermilye]

If you boondocks, you may find you have to run a fair amount of water through it before it gets hot, resulting in waste. A second problem that some have is they don't "trickle". Low flows are not enough to fire them up or keep them running.

[Seaross]

I purchased this one at Costco web site for $159.00 for my trillium, will be mounting near my propane tank with shower outside and also heat going to washroom inside. Waiting for spring to install, but reviews are good.

[Gerry]

I run a older AquaStar in my house and it needs not electricity and runs off a standing pilot, but as said it takes a full 1/2 inch propane line. Also to get the gas valve to turn on, it has to have a minimum of 40lbs of water pressure. this may be a problem in some camper plumbing.

[Bryvia]

I put in a girards (Have to double check brand) on demand tankless hotwater heater. Its induction vented and electronic start so no pilot. As soon as you turn the tap it fires up. Really easy to install. I rebuilt a 79 17' boler and this unit fits right in the exact hole the old tank version came out of. They sell you a adapter exterior door for whatever trailer you are installing it into. So far have been really happy with it.

[Nor Cal Mike]

I've used two tankless water heaters at each end of my house for 25 years so I have been around the fence on water heaters. Some work well. Some are junk.

The key to successfully using a heater of the appropriate size. Bigger is not always better. A quick look at Campingworld showed me that they carry two including the smallest, an Ecotemp L5 EccoTemp L5 Portable Tankless Water Heater - Eccotemp L5 - Water Heaters - Camping World It is advertised to put out 1.4 gal per minute at down to as low as 20 PSI of water pressure. That's all good if you are in a campground with a city water hookup but what about when you are boondocking? The question that needs to be answered is are the small 12v water pumps capable of 20 PSI at a flow rate sufficient to reliably fire the heater. The stats on the website don't tell you what the minimum flow rate that is. If the water supply is insufficient, my experience tells me that the heater may fire up initially but will drop out intermittently which means hot and then cold water at the shower head. Not fun!

I once owned an Ecotemp that I purchased off of Ebay. It was advertised for use in places like out in a corral for washing down horses. It came with its own pressure regulator that was pretty small in size and a flexible rubber hose that connected the heater to a propane tank. I am pretty sure that hose wasn't any larger than 1/4 inch so I am not worried about the gas piping size in our trailers for a unit this size.

[Seaross]

Nor, I had no water pump in my trillium so I also purchased a flojet water pump on Costco web site for $107 dollars and it’s capable of delivering 50psi.

[Nor Cal Mike]

That looks like it should do it. For me, it helps to read the links that you are posting a little more thoroughly. It does have a minimum slow rating just below the PSI rating. "Low flow rate start (0.5 GPM / 1.3LPM)" This is for the Ecotemp L5.

Another comment was made that these flow rates are too high for the amount of water that we have capacity and would be wasteful. I think the answer is using the heater as you would use one anytime you ration water. Turn the heater on to get wet. Turn it off to soap up. Turn the water on again for another short burst to rinse.

[RV Doctor]

Being in the RV Service industry along with my own experience maybe I can give my two cents worth.
Tankless Systems are very progressive and new technology but some factors for proper operation are 1) Your propane system from tank to water heater must be in optimum condition especially the tank to regulator hose and the regulator.
2) In almost every case, priming the hot water to the faucet uses a lot of water. This is mainly a concern when dry camping as water conservation is important.
3). Due to the complexity of these systems there can be more issues.

I have installed many of these. In all cases these units always would have spikes in delivered water temperature. This could result in cold and then hot showers etc.

The only on demand RV water heater which has accomplished solving this problem is the Truma line. Their products are outstanding.
They have the Aquago for side wall mounting in an RV but their Combi system installs inside the RV and not only provides tempered and steady water temperature but also heats the interior of the RV. It is very popular in Europe and is starting to make its way to North America. I believe the first trailer built in North America to get the Combi is from Airstream. The BaseCamp and soon to be released Nest.
It is perfect for small RV’s as you no longer have a water heater and furnace. Just the Combi!

[thrifty bill]

Like the concept of the Combi!

[RV Doctor]

At this point Truma is only providing the Combi as an installed system. This is at the OEM or manufacturer level.
I have tried in every way to purchase Combi Systems and all related components for a complete install. They just won’t do a cash and carry system - only Manufacturer installed.
I did have a productive conversation with the North American Sales and Marketing manager in Düsseldorf and he simply said “speak to all OEM’s you feel should get the Combi - Once we get them set up, they are good to go”.
Like I said, Airstream is doing it but with the beauty of the system and the compact components, I really hope to see more Fibreglass trailer manufacturers installing these!

[RV Doctor]

Not that it is a FG trailer but the group building TABs are also using! They build and market the TABs in the UK and Europe amongst other countries. Thus the demand for the Combi.

[Gompka]

Originally Posted by RV Doctor

Not that it is a FG trailer but the group building TABs are also using! They build and market the TABs in the UK and Europe amongst other countries. Thus the demand for the Combi.

My idea was also to use the ecotemp style mounted on the tongue, i too have looked into the truma combi and found its not available as a stand alone unit. I believe i have found units in europe for sale with a price in the $1,500 ish.