Mini Electric hot water heater

[Travel time]

If I can chime in. I believe you would get a 50-50 split if you went around and asked people about the pros and cons of each. When we traveled with our DRV Mobile Suites 5th wheel we only stayed at private RV resorts with FHU and IF we had a tankless water heater it would have been great. Plus propane fill stations were close by and we were charged for electricity so propane was a little cheaper.
Move forward and when we traveled the ALCAN to Alaska we boondocked with a truck camper and if he had a tankless water heater my wife would have left me on the side of the road in some back woods location. We went days (a lot of them) just using propane to heat food and run the water heater for a quick shower. Once we got back to civilization it was nice to use electric to heat the water and save some propane. It was kind of like how people get now with electric cars (worrying is the charge will make it anxiety).
Now with this camper we do a mix of boondocking, State and Provcianal Parks and National Parks. We kind of like the idea of having an option. Gas or electric

 

[Lantley]

For the record I have a tankless heater at home and understand their advantages.
However I have a standard tank heater in the RV and have never desired anything else.
I never run out of hot water in the RV. 12 gallons is always enough hot water for me. Even when we take back to back showers the RV tank heater keeps up. I don't see where a RV tankless can make my experience any better? Maybe it can free up some extra space for storage?
I'll revert to, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." LOL

 

[Lantley]

If I can chime in. I believe you would get a 50-50 split if you went around and asked people about the pros and cons of each. When we traveled with our DRV Mobile Suites 5th wheel we only stayed at private RV resorts with FHU and IF we had a tankless water heater it would have been great. Plus propane fill stations were close by and we were charged for electricity so propane was a little cheaper.
Move forward and when we traveled the ALCAN to Alaska we boondocked with a truck camper and if he had a tankless water heater my wife would have left me on the side of the road in some back woods location. We went days (a lot of them) just using propane to heat food and run the water heater for a quick shower. Once we got back to civilization it was nice to use electric to heat the water and save some propane. It was kind of like how people get now with electric cars (worrying is the charge will make it anxiety).
Now with this camper we do a mix of boondocking, State and Provcianal Parks and National Parks. We kind of like the idea of having an option. Gas or electric

What are the cons of a tank heater? Is the cost of electric the con?

 

[Travel time]

I guess the weight. I'm really not sure. I would have loved to have the option when we purchased

 

[Lantley]

While this is all conjecture I have no real knowledge or insight. I believe the popularity of tankless is that the tankless is smaller and gives the RV floorplan designers more flexibility and creativity with floorplans and layouts.
I also believe the design aspects led to the popularity of the More Ryde style flip up steps.
The steps or more importantly the stair box was no longer a consideration when building frames, this allowed the same frame to be used across more models without concern for door position. The door became part of the box on top , which drastically impacted the overall build process.
To a lesser degree tankless heaters are also popular with the RV builders not do to their function but do to the flexibility they allow in the building and design process.

 

[M and E]

The real fallacy with RV tankless heaters is that they can provide unlimited hot water. However a RV's do not have unlimited supply water or unlimited waste tanks so how can they provide unlimited hot water?

I think it is understood that “unlimited” is qualified. If you have sufficient flow, it’s heating. They’re not making presumptions on waste management, tank capacity, etc. That is not their industry and could care less if it goes in a tank, out to a sewer or overflows into your rig.

Furthermore the biggest benefit of tankless heaters in a house is energy savings which translate into cost savings on your utility bill.

Respectfully, you are applying your personal bias to this position. There are hundreds upon hundreds of reasons other than energy savings. Large families no longer need multiple tanks for example. When runs are too long for hot water lines, etc.

I have solar and batteries in my house. Electric instant heaters make sense in that application as well.

However a RV tankless does not provide cost savings because they use LP only.

Maybe. But there are other reasons. Most tankless water heaters for RVs are not that efficient. No disagreement, but there are a lot of reasons cost savings are just not there. I’d also say they are more expensive so the ROI just may never be there.

Savings is the whole point of all tankless

Nope. Hundreds upon hundreds of reasons other than cost savings and because they are more expensive than tanked solutions they may never save any money.

From my position, the value is the volume of hot water available. I could care less about any efficiencies.

My next heater on the house is going to be a heat pump hot water heater.

 

[Socal-Paul]

Really don't care which type of heater you have the length of the run from the heater to the faucet or appliance you're using will be the largest source of water waste. We get hot water to the shower almost immediately to the kitchen sink it takes awhile. Also, I remember a time when campgrounds charge extra if you were going to use an AC or electric heater now they just figure you will and charge accordingly.

There are companies that make products that mount under the sink that loop the hot and cold water. The hot water is turned on and off starting a pump which then circulates the water until it reaches temperature and then you can turn on the hot water wasting only a cup or so of water. No I don't know what type of modifications would be necessary nor do I know how much of a draw would be put on the batteries.

 

[Lantley]

Really don't care which type of heater you have the length of the run from the heater to the faucet or appliance you're using will be the largest source of water waste. We get hot water to the shower almost immediately to the kitchen sink it takes awhile. Also, I remember a time when campgrounds charge extra if you were going to use an AC or electric heater now they just figure you will and charge accordingly.

There are companies that make products that mount under the sink that loop the hot and cold water. The hot water is turned on and off starting a pump which then circulates the water until it reaches temperature and then you can turn on the hot water wasting only a cup or so of water. No I don't know what type of modifications would be necessary nor do I know how much of a draw would be put on the batteries.

Sure you can install a recirculating line, but why add that complexity when a tank heater works well enough without it.
Yes there maybe some delay with both types of heaters. But tankless heaters have a longer delay simply because they have to heat the water. The hot water is not already hot like a tank heater. Tankless heaters do not heat the water instantaneously it take time for the water to flow thru the coils and become hot. You notice this heating up the water delay at your faucet.
Ultimately my question remains. Why is a RV tankless heater better for the end user?

 

[Socal-Paul]

Whoops, I never stated RV tankless was better nor do I care the end result is both deliver hot water. Both heaters waste water and neither is instant. When we had a tank heater it was turned off at night so I didn't have to listen to it go on at night or heat water when I didn't need it. In the morning it would be turned back on so I could wait while it heated 10 gallons of water. Both heaters have good and bad points which will determine which unit is better for a user. In my opinion both types of heaters work "well enough" without recirculating lines.

 

[Midnight Rider]

Whoops, I never stated RV tankless was better nor do I care the end result is both deliver hot water. Both heaters waste water and neither is instant. When we had a tank heater it was turned off at night so I didn't have to listen to it go on at night or heat water when I didn't need it. In the morning it would be turned back on so I could wait while it heated 10 gallons of water. Both heaters have good and bad points which will determine which unit is better for a user. In my opinion both types of heaters work "well enough" without recirculating lines.

One thing lots of people don’t realize when they get a tankless hot water heater is that if your tank water is cold like it gets in spring and fall overnight? Your tankless system only heats the water another 30 degrees hotter than temp of water! So when it’s cold out you can never get water really hot. But like in summer in Vegas, a tankless system can scald ya!

I have had both and prefer the hot water tank to the tankless?

 

[Socal-Paul]

Before taking my shower I'm watching the digital display thermostat on the wall go from 60 degrees to 113 degrees the thermostat is lying because the temperature is really 90 degrees. What company would run the risk of scalding someone by automatically boosting a temperature by 30 degrees? Would love to know where you found this information. You prefer the tank I think that's wonderful, as I said before both have good points and bad.

 

[Lantley]

Before taking my shower I'm watching the digital display thermostat on the wall go from 60 degrees to 113 degrees the thermostat is lying because the temperature is really 90 degrees. What company would run the risk of scalding someone by automatically boosting a temperature by 30 degrees? Would love to know where you found this information. You prefer the tank I think that's wonderful, as I said before both have good points and bad.

I think the issue is not what the digital display says but how well does it actually work. If you are using the heater in the winter and the input water is really cold often the tankless cannot heat the water to set temperature fast enough. The water flows through the coils but it does not get fully heated to the set temp. because it was too cold to start with. The heater can only heat the water so fast, now it can slow the flow of the water through the coils but that creates other problems like low pressure or a longer delay.
There really isn't a safety issue because the water is not hotter than the digital set point it will only be colder because the heater cannot get the water to set temp. fast enough because the input water or ambient temp. is too cold for peak efficiency.
I'm won't be surprised if the fine print in the manual doesn't mention ambient temperature for peak efficiency.
The fact is tank heaters take longer to heat very cold water as well, however we all understand the tank heater basically has all day to get the water hot....or Its only real time requirement is that it get it hot enough for the next person to take a shower! LOL
But the tankless must get it hot right away so that the current user has hot water.
When it's really cold the tankless often can't keep up. This is also why flow rates and pressure are critical with tankless. Getting the water hot enough as it passes through the coils is not always as simple or precise as it seems.
There are flow and pressure parameters that tank heaters don't have to deal with.
For the record I'm not against the idea of tankless heaters I have one in my house. But for RV use,we are still in the Guinea pig stage' The future of RV water heaters will likely be tankless, but at this point we have not figured it all out yet'
In time all the issues will likely be solved but until then RV tankless maybe a good concept, but in reality there all lots of bugs to be worked out.
.

 

[Socal-Paul]

Lantley, I agree the flow rate and the incoming water temperature has a lot to do with the efficiency of the tankless as does the BTU provided by the burner. Our experience is not in extreme cold, we have been in close to freezing weather and not had any problems.

 

[Midnight Rider]

Before taking my shower I'm watching the digital display thermostat on the wall go from 60 degrees to 113 degrees the thermostat is lying because the temperature is really 90 degrees. What company would run the risk of scalding someone by automatically boosting a temperature by 30 degrees? Would love to know where you found this information. You prefer the tank I think that's wonderful, as I said before both have good points and bad.

What Langley Said!