Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > MOC Technical Forums > Additions & Improvements
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-15-2010, 09:56 PM   #1
MAMalody
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pasco
Posts: 986
M.O.C. #5972
Tankless Hot Water

I am interested in putting in a tankless hot water tank on a 3575RL. Any input?
 
MAMalody is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 01:06 AM   #2
NCFischers
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: New Bern
Posts: 4,369
M.O.C. #8728
Send a message via Yahoo to NCFischers
It would have to be a 120 volt heater and not a 240 volt one. I'm not sure it will provide you with enough hot water when needed like when you are showering.
NCFischers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 02:25 AM   #3
washley1
Montana Master
 
washley1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Land O Lakes
Posts: 932
M.O.C. #9053
How about a gas fired one?
__________________
Walt and Carol Ashley, with fond memories of Bailey the Chesapeake! Land O Lakes, FL
2009 Big Sky 365REQ 10th Anniversary Edition
2008 Ford F350 King Ranch Super Duty
washley1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 05:02 AM   #4
Mrs. CountryGuy
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: _
Posts: 5,238
M.O.C. #6337
IIRC, this subject came up a few times here
in the past at MOC, and the conclusion was that the expense just was not justified.

Maybe that has changed.
Mrs. CountryGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 06:39 AM   #5
SlickWillie
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 2,376
M.O.C. #6575
Sounds great, but, I looked at one that draws 20 amps; only 33* heat rise in the water. That tells me in winter, if city water is 65*, I don't have but 98* hot water. Too cool for me.

I don't think I would want to go over 20 amps. Seems the water heater draws about 12 amps now. They do make propane ones, but IIRC, they are very expensive.
SlickWillie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 01:06 PM   #6
Exnavydiver
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Land O Lakes
Posts: 2,751
M.O.C. #7753
Send a message via AIM to Exnavydiver Send a message via MSN to Exnavydiver Send a message via Yahoo to Exnavydiver
We have a Bosch Tankless water heater in the stick house. It is propane and works great. It has a default temp of 122 but can be set either up or down. We usually keep it around 110 as that is just comfortable. It is a propane fired unit and cost us 1200 dollars. It was the largest one they made at the time. It was a very easy install. You need 120 volts ac for the electronics but that is a tiny draw. They make smaller units for point of use like under the sink or in the bathroom. For an RV I would think the smaller ones would be fine. Being propane fired they do require a chimney vent and an intake vent. They have a sealed combustion chamber so they draw combustion air from outside and exhaust to the outside.... Dave
Exnavydiver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 02:44 PM   #7
SlickWillie
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 2,376
M.O.C. #6575
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Exnavydiver

We have a Bosch Tankless water heater in the stick house. It is propane and works great. It has a default temp of 122 but can be set either up or down. We usually keep it around 110 as that is just comfortable. It is a propane fired unit and cost us 1200 dollars. It was the largest one they made at the time. It was a very easy install. You need 120 volts ac for the electronics but that is a tiny draw. They make smaller units for point of use like under the sink or in the bathroom. For an RV I would think the smaller ones would be fine. Being propane fired they do require a chimney vent and an intake vent. They have a sealed combustion chamber so they draw combustion air from outside and exhaust to the outside.... Dave
Did I mention expensive?
SlickWillie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 05:27 PM   #8
Exnavydiver
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Land O Lakes
Posts: 2,751
M.O.C. #7753
Send a message via AIM to Exnavydiver Send a message via MSN to Exnavydiver Send a message via Yahoo to Exnavydiver
Will, if you will go back and read my post a little closer I said that we had gotten the largest unit they made at the time. The smallest can be gotten at Lowes for 432.60. Here is a link to the site. There are also two Ariston point of use electric models for less than 200 dollars. The Suburban replacement tank style heaters run between 399.99 to 629.99.
The Atwood tank units list from 579.99 to 799.99 these are available at CW. So the price of a tankless is very competitive, plus you don't have to constantly heat 6 to 12 gallons of water and keep it hot. When you want water you turn on the hot water faucet and wait about ten to 15 seconds and it stays hot until you turn it off....Dave
Exnavydiver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2010, 07:58 PM   #9
MAMalody
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pasco
Posts: 986
M.O.C. #5972
I am thinking of a gas unit. The ones I have seen so far are around $1200 which is kind of expensive, however, if the "little lady" wants, what do I care what it cost. I just measure one cost against the other cost...and money generally looses out. I will have to check out the Lowe's unit to see if it works. All I have found on the Internet so far are Atwood replacement units. I have not found one yet that is designed to replace a Suburban unit. Those with search skills, let me know what you think. Oh, yes. The unit I am looking for should probably be propane fired so I can use it anywhere.
MAMalody is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2010, 02:57 AM   #10
SlickWillie
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 2,376
M.O.C. #6575
Problem I see with electric is excessive current demand for an RV; where there is limited availability.

I would only use the RV type propane tankless heater due to safety concerns. Another issue could be available propane supply. I noticed in the specs that on hi-burn, the RV 500 puts out 56,000 btu's. That takes a lot of propane flow. I know folks with generators have issues with supply to the generators. Perhaps the guy Rich mentioned at Marshall Brass (or Marshall whatever) could advise if the current regulator set up will provide enough gas.

I not trying to rain on the parade. I think the tankless heaters are an excellent idea for the RV. You can take a nice long shower. Rather, just pointing out issues I see might need to be addressed.
SlickWillie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2010, 03:30 AM   #11
nailbender
Montana Master
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Oakland
Posts: 887
M.O.C. #5811
We have a tankless water heater for our house and really like it. As others have said, be sure to get a heater specifically designed for a RV and be aware that it will take a huge amount of propane. I found a heater on line that is designed for replacement of a standard RV water heater.
Replacement RV tank

Scroll down to the RV 500 Heater
nailbender is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2010, 07:10 AM   #12
Art-n-Marge
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 5,816
M.O.C. #9257
Send a message via MSN to Art-n-Marge Send a message via Yahoo to Art-n-Marge
Thanks for the link Don (nailbender)!

When I clicked on it I got an "invalid page error", but was able to click on "Water Heaters" on the left side column which got me to the correct link and was able to scroll down to the RV 500 water heater. I went a little further into it and found the price for this unit is $1,054 and it looks like it is designed to slip right into where the existing RV water heater is located. I can't tell but it looks like the venting is also provided. I'll check the specs and installation links later.

I just replaced my 50 gallon WH at the stickhouse and wanted to replace it with a wholehouse instant water heater, and the cost was WAY too high (3-4 times the conventional WH) but I wonder if it's because I live in southern California where gouging seems to be allowed. So I replaced it with a 48 gallon conventional water heater (long story on the difference in capacity but 2 gallons is no big deal). Admittedly, I was unable to search for competitive pricing because this was an emergency since our WH had just failed and I needed a quick replacement.

But for the RV the cost difference is much closer percentage-wise making this a viable option. Propane is ONLY used when demand occurs unlike the RV WH that keeps on heating even when idle. And this unit runs off 12v which allows for boondocking.
Art-n-Marge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2012, 11:36 PM   #13
rono
Established Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hawkins
Posts: 39
M.O.C. #6606
Girard Tankless RV Water Heater.

This is a propane unit that can be had from AdventureRV.net.

They can be found for under $500 from several places. Check them out.

Ron
rono is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2012, 12:32 AM   #14
seahunter
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 1,284
M.O.C. #11675
Just received this aricle about hydronic heating for both climate and hot water needs for the RV so I thought I would pass it along.

What is hydronic heating? At its basic level, it's a system of heating with water, providing on-demand hot water for both interior heating and other hot water needs like showers, laundry and dish washing. A pioneer in the field of hydronic heat for RVs, Aqua-Hot Heating Systems of Lupton, CO began in 1984 under the leadership of Hap Enander, an RV enthusiast who was looking for a better way to heat his coach.

While Aqua-Hot has been around now for a while, its systems have predominantly be available only in very high-end motorhomes like Tiffin, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, etc. It is only recently that the Aqua-Hot application has been utilized in boats, over-the-road truckers, off-road enthusiasts, and in fifth wheels.

Over the years, however, several SOB owners have seen the potential for this type of innovation in their own fifth wheels. SOB Ambassadors Debbie and Roger Rauch were one of the early advocates of Aqua-Hot when they asked to include the system in their 2010 SOB. Roger researched the diesel powered system, and upon learning they were introducing a new propane-powered system (Model 375-LP), he decided he wanted to include it in his new coach.

According to Debbie, "We both love our Aqua-Hot, but for different reasons. Since I was giving up my soaking tub at home for a shower, I was horrified to think I would also have to limit my time in the shower due to running out of hot water. When Roger told me I would have continuous on-demand hot water with this system . . . I was sold!"

Other features that the Rauchs have come to appreciate are the moist heat, the quietness, and lack of odor. "It's so quiet I have literally had to place my hand by a vent and feel the air flow to know for sure it was running," said Debbie. Roger likes the fact that the system's heating vents are installed under cabinets rather than in the floor giving a more residential feel. There are also no cut-outs on the exterior that are normally required to vent the furnace and hot water heater (since these items are eliminated) giving the exterior a sleeker look. Another factor that sold Roger was the more "even heat" produced by the system using electric power for light duty or utilizing fuel for heating in colder temperatures.

The Rauchs also feel hydronic heating is a safer option than heating with a standard RV furnace; it is virtually maintenance free.

Exceptional customer service at Aqua-Hot is also stellar. The Rauchs related an experience where the company contacted them regarding a potential problem, provided the part to avert the problem and even did the installation after hours. The quick and courteous response of a knowledgeable factory certified technician greatly impressed them.

While the Aqua-Hot is a rather expensive option, the Rauchs feel the cost is offset by the many benefits they have enjoyed. "We believe in the superiority of the Aqua-Hot system and have been so pleased with the performance we are having it installed in our SOB 2012 currently under construction." Now that's a testimonial.

We encourage you to learn more about Aqua-Hot through their website at www.aquahot.com



seahunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2012, 01:23 AM   #15
Tom S.
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterford
Posts: 3,693
M.O.C. #7500
Link didn't work for me.

Here it is: http://www.houseneeds.com/shop/heati...v/rv500buy.asp
Tom S. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2012, 03:19 AM   #16
1retired06
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Lake Gaston
Posts: 8,773
M.O.C. #12156
We also have a tankless at the house, and it runs on propane. Takes minimal propane because it only fires up when you turn on the hot water, and instantly heats. When hot water shut off, propane shuts off. My propane bill for six months at the house, for the heater, my grill, fireplace, and stove runs $200 for a once a year fill. Required some custom plumbing work and as indicated previously was expensive, three times the cost of a standard hot water heater.
__________________
Mike and Lorraine
2002 3655 FL, 2005 3650RK
2010 3665RE, 2015 3910FB
F350 crew cab dually 6.7
1retired06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2012, 07:34 AM   #17
Carl n Susan
Site Team
 
Carl n Susan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Carmichael - CA
Posts: 7,323
M.O.C. #4831
One of our members has the diesel powered version of Aqua-Hot. While it does produce unlimited hot water and interior heat, don't believe the quiet or odorless claims. I have camped next to him enough to know you can hear and smell it when it runs. He has added venturi stacks to pipe the exhaust from the Aqua-Hot and their diesel generator up over the top of the coach to reduce the pollution.

Perhaps the new propane version is different - I sure hope so.
__________________
Carl (n Susan)
There is more to life than fuel mileage.
2012 Montana 3700RL Big Sky Package towed by a 2015 Ford F350 6.7L PSD 4WD CC LWB

Carl n Susan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2012, 07:58 PM   #18
mmrxboss
Established Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Spokane Valley
Posts: 43
M.O.C. #1425
Check out the Sportsmans Guide at
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/s...0heater&eMode=

They have three different models and are very reasonable in price, IF, one of the tamks works for you.
mmrxboss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2012, 03:43 AM   #19
RickW
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Wylie
Posts: 532
M.O.C. #9139
While doing some remodeling here on the S&B this past year we looked in to a tank less water heater. Our home is natural gas. The problem we ran in to is the gas delivery line size. It was too small. While a tankless system uses less gas overall, it uses more gas when it is actually firing. My plumber was fearful that we would not be happy with the tankless unless we replaced the gas line. So even for the RV make sure the gas line can deliver enough gas to reach the water temps you are looking for.
RickW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2012, 06:26 AM   #20
01RAMer
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Gardners
Posts: 183
M.O.C. #7316
RV-500: 1K bucks is still pretty salty, but at 2.55 pounds of LP per hour @ 8.5 WCI max isn't too bad service wise.
01RAMer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Tankless water heaters Ozz Additions & Improvements 21 12-15-2019 03:55 AM
tankless water heaters fulltimerv General Discussions about our Montanas 29 01-11-2018 04:40 PM
Tankless Hot Water MAMalody Additions & Improvements 48 02-21-2011 12:43 AM
tankless water heaters dejama General Discussions about our Montanas 7 08-23-2008 11:26 AM
Anyone using a tankless hot water heater? Longwell General Discussions about our Montanas 10 09-11-2007 06:01 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.