Tankless Water Heater Discussion

[Mburtsvt]

Hi Michael & Kelly,
Yes, I did see that on Amazon, I did not wanna wait 2 days if I didn't have to, it was worth the extra $100.00 for me to get it done same day. I hope you found your leak quickly to not damage that new floor you put in a couple years back ??

Save travels buddy,
Bobby A

So this may need it’s own thread - but has anyone been thinking “Truma Aqua Go” tankless yet?

Admin Note: This post was moved into it's own thread, from this thread.

 

[jbeletti]

Yes - I've considered Truma. I look at it very carefully at the Tampa show last January. They've done a great job with their unit. I had another brand tankless a few years back and it was not a great experience (they were new to the market - so Rev 1 product).

I took the then Landmark GM (Tom Montague) over to meet Truma and see the product. We called Engineering and they gave it a thumbs-down due to some engineering changes that we'd need to make.

I read Jack Mayer's test report on it. He loved it. I'd love to try one!

 

[Mburtsvt]

Six months with the Truma AquaGo confort and, next to the automatic satellite dish, this has been the best upgrade for my RV. I’m unaware of what the Landmark Engineering team was concerned about, but the system has been flawless.

I believe they may have been looking at the “comfort plus" model which would require a re-plumb for the “loop-back” feature. Not nessacary in most RV’s. It’s been great having all of the hot water you will ever need. My only concern is that if you boon dock a lot you will fill your grey tank quickly since you will be staying in the shower longer.

 

[Lynn1130]

Should not be a concern with boon docking since most times "sea showers" are necessary due to limited water capacity.

 

[2TrakR]

Should not be a concern with boon docking since most times "sea showers" are necessary due to limited water capacity.

Except the on-demand heaters don't work with sparing use of water. If you stop the flow, you'll get a cold slug when you turn it back on (water has to be flowing for it to be heated). We have a different brand tankless unit in ours. It's not been great due to one of the safety devices stopping it from working. Recently determined what it was by bypassing it and it's been working great since then. If it continues, I may change my opinion to "like it".

You burn more propane when boon docking with a traditional tank unit, since the whole 5 gallons or whatever needs heated. Not sure if the tradeoff on using a bit more water is good or bad with a tankless. The upside is, when it works, you have hot water "right now", no waiting for the tank to heat and no wasted propane during the day keeping the tank hot.

 

[Lynn1130]

Sounds like more of a PITA for boon docking. I just start the generator and heat with both electricity and gas.

 

[Mburtsvt]

Except the on-demand heaters don't work with sparing use of water. If you stop the flow, you'll get a cold slug when you turn it back on (water has to be flowing for it to be heated). We have a different brand tankless unit in ours. It's not been great due to one of the safety devices stopping it from working. Recently determined what it was by bypassing it and it's been working great since then. If it continues, I may change my opinion to "like it".

You burn more propane when boon docking with a traditional tank unit, since the whole 5 gallons or whatever needs heated. Not sure if the tradeoff on using a bit more water is good or bad with a tankless. The upside is, when it works, you have hot water "right now", no waiting for the tank to heat and no wasted propane during the day keeping the tank hot.

You bring up a good point. If my main camping experience was boon docking I would be concerned about the hot water surge when hot water is turned on and off from the shower head. There is a model that has a “loop back” system built in, but that would require an additional water line to the shower head. It would stop the “surge” effect.

At the end of the day I don’t think it would be really necessary in most RV’s. It would be good to have the loop back going to a radiator type heater for additional heat.