Community Forums

charliez · 05-05-2016, 05:31 AM

We have a big one in our house. Made by Renai or something like that. It wasn't cheap in price or quality. It's a beast. In our situation, we are on a propane tank. The propane savings per year, along with the federal tax rebate you get that most people don't know about, paid for itself in about a year and a half. The one drawback that we still have is the master bath is pretty far away from it. We've debated adding a smaller one in there. The problem then comes to get anything worth a hoot, you need a bigger one. The little 120 volts ones just don't have the power to do the job. So you kill any possible savings with installation costs. Another propane powered one is still too cost prohibitive. I've thought about adding a small one to our 5'er but I dont think we will be satisfied. Instead, I'm looking at adding a hot rod element to our gas only w/h. You do loose your anode rod, but you can break one up and push it in. It will eventually self destruct, so once a year push another hunk in. Then make sure you drain the w/h after every use. if your staying for awhile, just every few weeks, let it cool down then drain and refill it.

steamyb · 06-30-2016, 08:57 AM

Well, I swapped out the 6 gallon with the On-Demand Water Heater. Took it to Camping World because of the wiring issue and they said they had it fixed. They also did the 'scalding' recall and replaced my 2.5 GPM water pump with a 4.5 GPM water pump (they said it needed more water). Got to the campground- No Hot Water and they broke the faucet under the kitchen sink which flooded the RV. I then took it to Bill Plemmons and they said I needed a new LP Leak Detector (out of stock) so I ordered and installed it and solenoid that came with it. Had Hot Water at the house! Got to the campground- No Hot Water. A neighbor with 37 years RV experience said I had a bad ground and he will fix for free. Makes sense- worked at home but road vibration could effect the ground. After a year with no hot water, camped 3 times and wished I had known then or listened to the complaints about the On-Demand Atwood. I was just trying to make the wife happy!

MtnTrek · 06-30-2016, 02:00 PM

Hi,
We have the "Truma" which was factory installed.
We frequent mainly CG's with varying water pressures (we always use a pressure regulator & filters). We also occasionally use coach pump & potable system. We usually travel with approx. 15-25% fresh water. Stop for overnight, meal or a quick re-fresh, valve on the LPG, there is HW.
We've had no issues or problems at all, zero. No complaints thus far. The Truma operates exactly as advertised. Very well engineered product.
On the few occasions we've exhausted the LPG supply (red LED) there is a very simple reset by powering the unit off, then right back on. Just like the prior coaches Suburban 10 Gal. would have done. Likewise, on occasion we might forget the water valve is off. We usually turn off the CG water spigot when away from the coach for an extended time, a safety thing. No reset required. The heater is very quiet, with a whisper quiet blower.

BTW, DW has a very thick long mane and she loves the Truma, enough' said!

We'd also had a couple high capacity on-Demand units in S&B homes with no complaints. One was LPG, the other was NG.

Happy motoring.

Tugboat · 06-30-2016, 02:35 PM

Just put a electric unit it our mountain house works great but would not work in a RV takes 3 220V-40amp lines to power it. I would take a shower and dim all the lights in the CG.

RangeMaggotBob · 07-02-2016, 12:29 AM

We just have a 6 gal. water heater, and I am able to take a pretty normal shower without running out of hot water. Thought about the tankless, and decided nah, what we have is fine. You know what they say- if it ain't broke...

Johnf1951- is that a picture of you or Frank Zappa?!?

Verlyn · 07-03-2016, 11:49 AM

Smart move. You don't want a Atwood tankless.

steamyb · 07-06-2016, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steamyb

Well, I swapped out the 6 gallon with the On-Demand Water Heater. Took it to Camping World because of the wiring issue and they said they had it fixed. They also did the 'scalding' recall and replaced my 2.5 GPM water pump with a 4.5 GPM water pump (they said it needed more water). Got to the campground- No Hot Water and they broke the faucet under the kitchen sink which flooded the RV. I then took it to Bill Plemmons and they said I needed a new LP Leak Detector (out of stock) so I ordered and installed it and solenoid that came with it. Had Hot Water at the house! Got to the campground- No Hot Water. A neighbor with 37 years RV experience said I had a bad ground and he will fix for free. Makes sense- worked at home but road vibration could effect the ground. After a year with no hot water, camped 3 times and wished I had known then or listened to the complaints about the On-Demand Atwood. I was just trying to make the wife happy!

Well, no problem with the ground. It has a Green Lug that the ground wire runs to, so no problem there.
What I did find was a mud dauber had plugged the little tube (they call it an 'air sampler') and once I cleaned it out- Blasting Hot Water!
Will it work next time I go out? God only knows- but at least I know more now than I did when I started this project. Avoid Camping World, Bill Plemmons, 'free' neighborly advice and just jump in and fix the thing. I may be retired on disability, but there are still some things I can do.
Would I recommend the Atwood On-Demand Water Heater- No. I replaced a 6 gallon Atwood with cut wires, so If you need a new water heater, I would recommend a larger capacity (6 gallon to 10 gallon), dual fueled (LP and AC) unit. The On-Demand is too finicky (LP pressure, water pressure, batteries at full charge or hooked to AC, and the operation of it (especially with kids) is kinda iffy (full hot and then add the cold to adjust to where you want it).
She wanted On-Demand unlimited hot water- she has it now! Next time I will say 'take it or leave it- your choice'. Happy Camping Folks!

Roy Somers · 10-09-2016, 05:24 PM

Hi there, we had one in our brand new Winnebago Journey 40R. We just spent $3,000.00 Canadian to have it changed out to a tank model. I now have the Atwood On Demand heater for sale cheap!! It is absolute garbage, a water waster, and you can't have a shower with it either (scalding hot then freezing cold)!! As well, the washing machine is only five feet away from the water heater and it never even got warm water to it let alone hot. It wouldn't supply hot water to the kitchen sink either! All the tech that I talked to said they never ever should have put these in RV's as they don't work in that application.

Kennest6 · 01-02-2017, 11:39 AM

Hott Rod works great on our 6 gal.Suburban WH. Added a standard on/off switch between dedicated outlet and breaker. Diamond group who makes it also sells an Anode for it SBA34 3/4"Reducer so you don't have to throw in chunks of anything. After first season of use ,I removed element and attached anode to rinse,drain in order to winterize and can see the wear. I'll probably get 2-3 seasons with it. Best thing to fire up LP heater if back to back showering or to heat tank up in a hurry as the electric element takes about 1-2 hours from cold.

Verlyn · 01-04-2017, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davnan

We have just gone full time in our 5er and we are contemplating replacing our water heater with an Atwood on demand water heater any one done this or heard any negative outcomes from doing this. In our home we had an on demand system and loved the endless supply of hot water were looking forward to the same luxury in the 5er

We had so many problems with our Atwood tank less water heater that we replaced it with a 6 gal tank water heater. We got burnt taking showers, wasted water every time you turn water back on and impossible to adjust water to warm. Go tank.

Roy Somers · 01-04-2017, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Verlyn

We had so many problems with our Atwood tank less water heater that we replaced it with a 6 gal tank water heater. We got burnt taking showers, wasted water every time you turn water back on and impossible to adjust water to warm. Go tank.

Exactly, we had one in our brand new Winnebago Journey 40R. We spent $3,000.00 Canadian to have it changed out to a tank model. I now have the Atwood On Demand heater for sale cheap!! It is absolute garbage, a water waster, and you can't have a shower with it either (scalding hot then freezing cold)!! As well, the washing machine is only five feet away from the water heater and it never even got warm water to it let alone hot. It wouldn't supply hot water to the kitchen sink either! All the tech that I talked to said they never ever should have put these in RV's as they don't work in that application. They are garbage!!!

nothermark · 01-05-2017, 05:47 AM

All tankless heaters have problems with adjusting to different water flows. It's the nature of the beast. The folks who are happy are running at the right combination of flow. Fine for them. Not so fine if you only want a trickle to rinse a dish or similar. Not so fine if your pressure varies a lot. Probably not so good if you are trying to conserve water as it encourages usage.

olinandellie · 01-05-2017, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davnan

We have just gone full time in our 5er and we are contemplating replacing our water heater with an Atwood on demand water heater any one done this or heard any negative outcomes from doing this. In our home we had an on demand system and loved the endless supply of hot water were looking forward to the same luxury in the 5er

Our '16 Fleetwood Southwind came with the 50k BTU Atwood. We've had zero good experience. MH was in shop several weeks while Dealer, Atwood, Fleetwood, and I argued over how it should work and how it did not. Fleetwood replaced the unit with a newer version of the same model when the original burned up (debris in supply line cut off flow while the fire was lit).

We still can't properly adjust temp. Shower gets too hot, increasing cold/hot ratio shuts off flame (flow falls below minimum), and most recently it has run away to the point of blowing the pop-off and tripping overtemp switch (NOT fun opening box to reset while covered in soap).

If not in full hookup site, you will be dumping grey tank daily (2 occupants).

azpete · 01-05-2017, 08:29 AM

i have a girard tankless water heater. it had a digital thermostat. i have used it from outside temps of 110 degrees to 12 degrees. it works flawless,
if you set it right. i set my thermostat at 107 degrees, and turn the hot water in the shower on full force. it provides evenly heated water all thru the entire shower. dont try to mix the hot and cold . it just doesnt work that way.
you need to have at least 40 lbs of pressure for any of them to work.
i have a flowjet water pump with the pressure set at 50 lbs.
like i said, its a girard, not an atwood. ive had both. even the earlier girards had a problem because of flow pressure, and a thermostat problem. they have now fixed those problems.
i do not wirk for girard, and have no financial interest in their company. just recommending their product.