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NichoII · 06-16-2018, 03:14 PM

Just returned from 1st trip in our new (to us) 2015 Renegade Villagio. Loved everything but hot water heater which was hard for us to adjust temperature in shower. Full on hot gave scalding water quickly but when mixed with cold water seeking comfortable bathing temp the heater seemed to stop heating & water turned cold. After some experimenting I was able to find a middle setting but wasted a lot of water doing it. There must be a trick some of you pros have discovered to make this type of heater work well. It was listed on original invoice as a “not cheap” option over conventional hot water tank. Would appreciate any tips from anyone who has experience with them. Thanks in advance!

BFlinn181 · 06-16-2018, 05:53 PM

It's never been an issue for us, we have an Oxygenics low flow showerhead that gives a good spray with little water consumption. If you are going through all your hot water, perhaps there's no restrictor in the showerhead to reduce flow. The water shut off at the shower hose also allows the water temp to be adjusted, then the shower is shut off when flow isn't needed, but it gets turned on quickly without need to readjust the hot and cold valves.

guestPacer · 06-16-2018, 07:32 PM

Welcome to the forum NichoII

with Brlinn181 on restrictor. Tankless/instant hot water heaters are like heat pumps and forced air it take a little to. How come heat pump isn't getting warm I'm standing right on top of it

and with tankless, installer (DIYers) don't read where they need restrictor for flow rate and temp response. they only can make hot water at a specified rate, their all different set by factory. If you don't have the paper work you might call the manufacture. They want you to use it properly.
Enjoy your travels

NRR · 06-16-2018, 08:49 PM

Hum… “It was listed on original invoice as a “not cheap” option over conventional hot water tank.”. I have never seen anything like that on an original invoice. Normally they just state the options.

Teamfoxy · 06-17-2018, 05:43 AM

I have used tankless water heaters before, but I don't see the need for one in our RV. We light ours up about 15 minutes before we need hot water and shut it down afterwards. You quickly learn where to set the handles for the temperature you want and it takes very little time for the hot water to reach the tap.

cyberdude · 06-17-2018, 06:38 AM

We have a Girad 2 tankless water heater in our Quantum PD 31. The whole trick is not to touch the cold water, just use the hot water only and set your temperature. We set ours on 115 degrees and daughter uses 112 for her showers. Again don't use cold water to set temp or you will get a cold blast of water until the heater can catch up.

JohnBoyToo · 06-17-2018, 06:45 AM

We had an early adopters penalty when we bought a 5'er with one... Had a grand daughter get a very bad scalding in it - so I HOPE they are better than they used to be...

They depend SO much on incoming water pressure and incoming water temp ours had a difficult time every time, even after a Girard vice president came to work on ours at a local dealer... After the temperature rheostat was installed it was a bit better, but going to be a long time before I get another one... good luck and be careful with it...

NYBobbo · 06-17-2018, 07:16 AM

I have a Truma instant water heater. It works great for the most part.

The hot water circulation (when used) on comfort setting allows hot water to be in the water lines at all times. Very little waste running the water till it gets hot. The temps did start to fluctuate and that was fixed with a new water pump. Yes they depend upon a proper flow rate.

They do have to be "descaled" at intervals dependent on water quality.

The only downside I see is that it is only LP fired. Not really an issue for me since my gen is diesel, LP is for stove top, heater and water heater. LP tank still lasts me over a month.

luvlabs · 06-17-2018, 07:39 AM

A tankless water heater is not going to help you with your temperature control problem. If your unit is equipped with an outside shower, make sure bot valves are shut off. If some units, leaving them both open results in the results you are seeing.

Doesn't your shower have a single mixing valve? Most RVs are set up with a single mixing type valve for the shower. If you have the old fashioned two valve system there isn't much you can do.

NichoII · 06-17-2018, 09:32 AM

I appreciate help comments but plan to call Renegade Customer Service to find out if I can adjust/lower water temp coming from heating device. I do have flow restrictor plus on/off button on shower head. Tankless system requires a specific minimum flow to activate heater & that is working well when hot water flow meets minimum. Problem is water is far too hot unless I add cold to overall flow & it seems that when I do that the reduced volume of water coming thru hot side results in heater/burner deactivating due to lack of minimum flow. I’m sure there is an answer but my experimenting after reading your posts hasn’t resolved issue. Thanks

guestPacer · 06-17-2018, 09:02 PM

NichoII glad to hear your contacting Renegade CS. I've had the luck of installing a few whole house systems and in my class C conversion I have installed a EccoTemp i12 LP . sorry but the point is all Tankless and point of use hot water heater come from the manufacture preset and it's usually on the safe side but they are adjustable that being said I hope CS will help.
Let up know how it goes.