Bandit23ce@mail.live.com Report post Posted September 6, 2009 Anyone installed a tankless water heater? Does it work? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted September 7, 2009 Thanks for asking such a great question. I'll be interested in the responses. I have used tankless water heaters at commercial locations and find them to work very well. There is the initial period (a matter of a few seconds) that it takes for the heater to switch on, triggered by the water flow. After that there is endless hot water. As long as the water runs the heater runs. These heaters would seem to be ideal for RV's as they also save weight. No more hauling around 10 gallons of water that you can't use except in an emergency. In terms of the space required, they may be difficult to fit into a confined space. The models I have seen are flat. I'm not sure they would fit where my 10 gallon water heater is. We will be facing replacement of our hot water heater in the not too distant future. I planned to investigate the various models available at that time and install one if possible to get them to fit. I think that they make models which are powered by gas or electric. I believe that choice is an either/or choice as these are currently manufactured for the home market. I haven't heard of a dual fuel model being developed. I would prefer gas but if not that, could certainly use an electric model. Manufacturers could install these and make plumbing simpler. They could put one under the kitchen sink or in the basement to feed a shower and washing machine and another under the bathroom sink to feed the sink and shower. They would only need a cold water pipe to feed each location saving running dual lines to each water use location. For the RV'er, this would have the advantage of not having to run water for a minute or so to get hot water from the tank to the faucet. It would reduce our water use. I think that tankless water heaters are more expensive than the usual home water heaters but I would guess they are similar to RV water heaters in cost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit23ce@mail.live.com Report post Posted September 7, 2009 Here are a couple I'm looking at; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT The top one is a 5L, 1.5 GPM unit. It will fit witout any problems. The bottom one is a 10L, 2.6 GPM unit. It will fit in the space the current heater is in but it will be tight, will require a couple of 90^ elboes. There is this one that will also fit but it is on the pricey side; http://www.tanklesswaterheatersdirect.com/...termainpage.asp My current heater is the Hurricane insta hot that has been neglected for the first 8 years of life, I bought it last year. Lets hope someone has had experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoggyDaddy Report post Posted September 7, 2009 I noticed the Marey Heater Corp is based in Puerto Rico. The have been in business for over 40 years but I am unable to find Underwrite Labs (UL) or Met Lab Certification for Product Safety. If it has it, great, if not, then if their was ever an accident or fire the insurance company could hold up their payment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit23ce@mail.live.com Report post Posted September 7, 2009 I noticed the Marey Heater Corp is based in Puerto Rico.The have been in business for over 40 years but I am unable to find Underwrite Labs (UL) or Met Lab Certification for Product Safety. If it has it, great, if not, then if their was ever an accident or fire the insurance company could hold up their payment. The web site says they are UL listed. Quality control We make special quality control of our products. Our products have reputable recognitions as ISO 9001 and UL which warrantee the user the products are safe and long life. http://www.marey.com/english_/home.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramblinboy Report post Posted February 17, 2011 Heres the skinny on 'em from Consumers Report 2008: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/applian...-heaters-ov.htm The web site says they are UL listed.Quality control We make special quality control of our products. Our products have reputable recognitions as ISO 9001 and UL which warrantee the user the products are safe and long life. http://www.marey.com/english_/home.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smokeater75 Report post Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Mike, the Precision RV 500 looks like it takes the spot of the existing hot water tank, I would imagine it is like a large insta-hot system, they say it will heat 940 gallons on 20lbs of propane. I've been looking at them for the last couple of years and like Tom, I think that I will probably lean that way when our hot water tank bites the dust. Smokeater75. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted February 17, 2011 Heres the skinny on 'em from Consumers Repor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted February 17, 2011 Heres the skinny on 'em from Consumers Report 2008:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/applian...-heaters-ov.htm This article is based on a fixed home as opposed to an RV. That said, their considerations are worth considering. I believe that the hot water usage of RV'ers is much lower than the typical family home. Not only that, the typical RV usually has 2 occupants. Families traveling are in my experience relatively rare except for a few months in the summer. The cost factors would have to be re-evaluated based usage differences and on the cost of an RV water heater vs. the cost of a similar sized model tankless heater. The concerns about the fluctuating water temperature due to input water temperature would be the same when drawing directly from the city line but when using the on-board fresh water storage the incoming water temperature wouldn't fluctuate as much. Quality of water and how it affects the life of the tankless water heater are a concern and as the article mentions, a water softener is the likely solution there. Since moving about we encounter all kinds of water there is only one answer there, we would have to protect the investment and install some kind of water conditioning system. The advantages as I see them is conserving weight and possibly space. Both these would likely be offset by the need for a water softener. But you would get an endless supply of hot water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingfr Report post Posted February 18, 2011 Manufacturers could install these and make plumbing simpler. FYI, Tiffin is offering tankless water heaters as an option on the Phaetons and Allegro Buses. They are LP fired. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deenad Report post Posted March 3, 2011 My parents had one in their 1957 KenCraft travel trailer. It was a very special order and worked very well with the exception of some metric two part screws that would break (made to do that) if the unit froze. It was impossible to find replacements. Personally, if I were ordering a new unit I would order one if offered although our Dutch Star has the motor aid option so we have hot water in transit. Wish we could have gotten the Hydo-Hot though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thomasrv Report post Posted May 10, 2011 I am actually using one at home-- one similar to this tankless water heater. Do you want to use it at your permanent home? or on your RV and traveling a lot? If for the RV, make sure you use a gas one, not the electric. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon796 Report post Posted May 10, 2011 I know several people that have tankless hot water heaters and they do work. They all used one like this one. http://www.aquahstore.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=40 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
