opinions and experience with l.p.tankless water heAter

[rock649]

I'm going to install a propane tankless water heater. Don't know anything about them really. I'm thinking interior install outside of the shower, with a chimney. Perhaps connected to the fridge cabinet for exhaust purposes. I have a 2gpm water pump. I was thinking about an L10.I'd like to hear from anyone who has a tankless water heater. What are your experiences....things you could have done better...all that kinda jazz....

[Defjr333]

I am surprised no responses yet. I have seen many use them here. Unfort with my experience of them at work and many mentions here, the temp output fluctuate a lot. As in cold for a few sec then HOT, then cold again. Hard to dial in. I went with an RV style 6 gallon Suburban with LP and 120AC elements for that reason. Good luck
Doug

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I only know the ones that I install at work.
There are several here that have them and should be along shortly.
Don't forget it should come with a safety pressure relief valve that is best to be piped outside to a safe location away from people but you need to see it leak if/when it does.
I can explain more on that if you need me to.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Also if you plan on it running while on the road you need to make sure the exhaust cap or louvre outside is capable of that.
Some units are not capable of that because the wind from being on the road overcomes the exhaust air coming out and either blows the flame out or the exhaust can bac up into the house/bus.
But that specific manufacturer can help you with that aspect.
Maybe a sidewall vent kind of like a dryer exhaust turned away from the wind while on the road would be cheaper than the manufacturers options.

[o1marc]

Reading this made me reconsider my options:

https://www.fasterhotwater.com/Tankl...n%20pump.shtml

[brokedown]

I have an ecotemp l5, but haven't installed it yet. My friend also has one and loved it until a flash freeze ruptured a part. It seems to work pretty darn well overall but be wary of cold temps!

[Tango]

All I can say is I LOVE the Ecotemp I installed at home. Just be sure you get a model engineered for indoor use (it will have a vent to the outdoors). Ol' Trunt managed to install an outdoor unit in his '35 Chevy, but he built a cabinet that is sealed to the interior and the gasses go out and away.

[rock649]

I found an L10 at costco for pretty cheap. I'm gonna have to redo my water lines and put in a roof vent with a fan. It's gonna be a busy weekend. Plus I have to decide chimney stuff....exciting stuff.

[dan-fox]

The tankless hot water preheat recirc pumps have been a thing in residential construction for some time. The difference is, they are usually marketed/ installed as "Just push a button when you walk into the bathroom. In the few seconds that it takes you to get ready to step into the shower, hot water is ready for you!". I.e., the water doesn't get there any faster, you just have a robot "turning on the faucet and waiting for the hot water" for you, and you don't blow water down the drain while waiting. The better ones will shut off when a preset temp is measured.

I have a tankless at home and love it. I wait; it's not a big deal. I would think that the distances involved inside a bus would make the wait even shorter, but perhaps the lower flow rates at the various points of use counteract that. I'd love to hear about some real world experience with it.

[Tigerman67]

A couple of people have mentioned a form of recirculating pump, and I just thought I would mention that I had a model in my home for the master bath that was farthest from the hot water heater. It was the type that basically on a timer, and pushed water from the 'hot' to 'cold' side in the sink next to the shower. It was nice to not have to wait for the shower, but the side affect is that when you go to brush your teeth or fill a cup to take your vitamins or whatever, you got luke warm water. I personally dislike drinking anything but COLD water, so I found that annoying. So your other option was to turn the cold tap on long enough to dump that luke warm water out of the tap, and then you are basically back to wasting water.

Also, I had whatever home depot was selling at the time, and it died within a few months. I replaced it, and that one died within a few months as well. If you could get a more commercial grade one, then I hope they would be better quality.

I believe if you are constructing a house, the other option is to put in a third recirculating pipe, to feed the luke warm water back to hot water heater so you don't have the annoying thing I mentioned of luke warm water in the cold tap. That would seem to be superior, but in a bus, not sure how long your hot water runs are going to be to make something like that worth it, and it would be one more pipe to have to winterize if you live in a cold area and don't use it in the winter.

[rock649]

ya, well I'm thinking I'm gonna mount it right inside the shower so the only cold water will be in the shower head hose. Water conservation is at a premium cause my water tank is only 80 liters. Probably gonna mount a barrel with a second water pump under the frame. I'm also gonna vent the chimney out the window insert. The only problems I foresee are mounting it properly so it doesn't crack the fiberglass shower shell from travel vibration, and heat from the chimney being shielded properly. I'm also gonna give it a test run pre install to make sure it doesnt heat up and need shielding so it doesn't melt anything...

[Ronnie]

I did not see it mentioned but I have been using a"Marey" hot water heater meant for showers. Hot water takes about 5 seconds. Has water flow and water temp controls. Have been using i about 5 years and it has been great. Only weak point is it uses two "D" batteries for lighting the propane, and sometimes after driving they will be loose and not light, so need to push up on the battery door to make contact.