Girard tankless water heater

by sib434 on 9/21/2010, 1:33 pm

We just purchased a 32 qbt and it comes with the above mentioned water heater. I was just curious if anyone has had any problems or issues with this water heater. We upgraded from a TT and had a 6 gallon water heater, so that is the extent of my experience. Thanks

by Admin on 9/21/2010, 6:38 pm

Wow , that should be pretty nice. I assume its gas ? I wish I had one in mine.

welcome to the forum.

by Sean on 9/21/2010, 7:48 pm

It's a on demand water heater. Another upgrade coming on

Here is a link for the water heater
http://greenrvproducts.com/WH-Flyer-FINAL1.pdf
Sean

by ScottandGrace on 9/22/2010, 3:35 am

I didn't see any temperature-rise specs in that pdf. Thats a bit concerning to me since a common problem with some home demand systems is that they can't keep up.
You'll have to let us know how it does.

by Scruffy and Tater on 9/22/2010, 6:51 am

If our water heater ever breaks down, maybe we'll replace it with an on-demand system. It really would be nice.

Tater

by sib434 on 9/22/2010, 7:50 am

We will keep you posted on the performance. We bought it at the Hershey show and the Forest River rep that was there said they been using them in motorhomes for a while and that they just started putting them in their Wildcats, so we will see how it works.

by MountainMan on 9/22/2010, 10:49 am

The only thing I see right off that I do not like is always using propane to heat water. We always use electric to heat our water if available. We've already paid for the use of electric in the campground fee....

I'm sure the park owners will love the new all gas water heaters. They pay a smaller electric bill and get to sell their customers more LP. Wink

I see the advantage for boondocking but I'd rather have the electric option since 90% of the time we at least have an electric hookup.

by sib434 on 9/22/2010, 12:36 pm

I agree with you MountainMan as far as the campground fee. Right now we are parked as seasonals until I purchase a truck, so the wife is really looking forward to having continuous hot water. Im sure when I start traveling more I will look at things more from your perspective. My main concern was that if this is a new product if there was going to be problems with it. Thanks for the replies.

by Rhino on 9/22/2010, 2:54 pm

I have had the tankless hot water system in my house for over two years and not a problem. I have the stat set at 125 and will provide all the hot water for two baths and dishwasher at the same time. My gas bill this month is $19.78 and under the old system with 40 gal tank would have been around $50.00. When a code appears you have to back flush the system with 5 gals of white vinager. Then flush it with fresh water and good to go. The people that live in LA have to do this often since the water is not that good. My system is made in Japan and cost me $lK after rebates.

by Sean on 9/22/2010, 11:30 pm

Rhino wrote:I have had the tank less hot water system in my house for over two years and not a problem. I have the stat set at 125 and will provide all the hot water for two baths and dishwasher at the same time. My gas bill this month is $19.78 and under the old system with 40 gal tank would have been around $50.00. When a code appears you have to back flush the system with 5 gals of white vinegar. Then flush it with fresh water and good to go. The people that live in LA have to do this often since the water is not that good. My system is made in Japan and cost me $lK after rebates.

Look at the cash you are saving , I have the same type of boiler in my house and in the two years it has been installed I have saved enough cash to pay my house Insurance for one Year.

by Rhino on 9/23/2010, 2:25 pm

Japan has had this system for over 30 yrs. Germany had it in some homes I visited. Yes it is great to save the $$. I do upgrades every chance I get.

by jrnert on 11/26/2010, 5:41 am

If any of you new Wildcat Owners have the new Girard Tankless Water Heater and have any questions or concerns please contact:
Girard Products LLC
866-559-1221
OR
Visit their web site: www.greenrvproducts.com
OR
Email Jerry Rennert @ jrennert@girardrv.com

Girard has built their reputation on superior products and customer service.
They are ready to ensure you have a positive experience with their Tankless Water Heater!

by Admin on 11/29/2010, 2:54 pm

Welcome to the forum Jerry R. , Always glad to have a rep present to let us in on any information about new gadgets for the RV's.

by BobnPi on 11/29/2010, 3:32 pm

Welcome to the forum Jerry R. , Always glad to have a rep present to let us in on any information about new gadgets for the RV's.

DItto, and welcome

to the forum.

by DON R on 11/30/2010, 1:57 pm

WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH OURS, WE ONLY BEEN ON TWO TRIPS THIS YEAR. WITH A FAMILY OF 5 AND ALL OF US TAKE A SHOWER ONE AFTER THE ANOTHER, IT'S GOOD TO STILL HAVE HOT WATER!

by Rvhiker on 12/24/2010, 3:52 am

How do below freezing temperatures affect this tank-less hot water heater? Obviously if it the RV is not in use the water heater would need to be winterized somehow or drained. What if it is 20 degrees and you want to use your RV and water heater? Would its intermittent operation lead to potential freezing and damage to the heater?

by Wildcat Chris on 12/25/2010, 8:07 am

Rvhiker wrote:How do below freezing temperatures affect this tank-less hot water heater? Obviously if it the RV is not in use the water heater would need to be winterized somehow or drained. What if it is 20 degrees and you want to use your RV and water heater? Would its intermittent operation lead to potential freezing and damage to the heater?

The tankless water heater only holds approximately a pint internally at any time, but winterization is still recommended. Check this thread for more on winterization of the tankless water heater:
http://www.wildcatcamperforum.com/t3546-winterizing-a-2011-wildcat-with-a-tankless-water-heater?highlight=water+heater

All Wildcats have a cold weather sensor (kicks in around 36º-37ºF) built in that runs the system to prevent freezing --and then hot water gets circulated back to the fresh tank.

by Mopar_Earl on 12/25/2010, 9:31 am

I don't like the idea of changing the water flow to adjust the temp. It would take a while to get use to not mixing cold water with this water heater set-up. Guest would have a hard time with it too. I would think you'd have low shower pressure to get the correct temp by backing off the flow to make the water hotter. Are home units like this?

http://greenrvproducts.com/operating-tips/

Earl

by Rvhiker on 12/26/2010, 10:50 am

What I don't understand is what the advantage of a tankless hot water heater is to RV'ers who usually do not have a sewer hookup. The problem we have with water usage is to reduce it, not to increase it by taking long showers. If you don't need or don't want to use a lot of hot water, why put up with the increased complexity of the system and difficult to adjust water temperature of a tankless hot water heater? What am I missing in my understanding?

by BobnPi on 12/27/2010, 3:02 am

Fulltimers and those who usually get full hookups would benefit from this. As Rvhiker suggests, the rest of us may not see the benefit of continuous hot water. Unless you shower outside. affraid

by Wildcat Chris on 12/27/2010, 7:28 am

Rvhiker wrote:What I don't understand is what the advantage of a tankless hot water heater is to RV'ers who usually do not have a sewer hookup. The problem we have with water usage is to reduce it, not to increase it by taking long showers. If you don't need or don't want to use a lot of hot water, why put up with the increased complexity of the system and difficult to adjust water temperature of a tankless hot water heater? What am I missing in my understanding?

The tankless water heater provides hot water on demand -- when you need hot, it makes hot water. It does this very efficiently, using 60% less propane than the standard hot water heaters used in most RVs today. Usage amounts aren't always an issue, but since Wildcat has some very popular floorplans for multiple campers and/or families, it's very convenient to be able to have more than one hot shower in a row (without waiting for your water heater's tank to heat up again -- commonly called "recovery"). We've had great consumer response to this new system due to this very fact -- no more "submarine" or "Navy showers."

I'm unsure how to address your question about complexity -- while different, it's really quite simple. See this page for more:
http://greenrvproducts.com/faqs/

by jrnert on 12/31/2010, 5:43 am

Mopar Earl:
The adjustment of the Hot Water flow to adjust temperature is very minimal. You will not go from a full force stream to a trickel. The adjustment of flow on most RV faucets/fixtures are very small even though you can turn the knob several rotations; the actual adjustment (from full flow to OFF) is maybe 1/4 to and 1/2 rotation. One important note: Guests or non-RVers find it real easy since they have no history of how seasoned RVers had to take short/Navy Showers due to limited Hot water. Of course with anything new there is a learning curve but for the benefits (for most RVers) the education is minimal. Hope that helps answer your question. Happy Camping!

by Mopar_Earl on 12/31/2010, 9:26 pm

jrnert wrote:Mopar Earl:
The adjustment of the Hot Water flow to adjust temperature is very minimal. You will not go from a full force stream to a trickel. The adjustment of flow on most RV faucets/fixtures are very small even though you can turn the knob several rotations; the actual adjustment (from full flow to OFF) is maybe 1/4 to and 1/2 rotation. One important note: Guests or non-RVers find it real easy since they have no history of how seasoned RVers had to take short/Navy Showers due to limited Hot water. Of course with anything new there is a learning curve but for the benefits (for most RVers) the education is minimal. Hope that helps answer your question. Happy Camping!

Thanks for the info! I'd have to try one out. I dry camp 99% of the time so I'd run out of water. How was does it work during navy showers when you have no city water connection? Does it handle the stop and start/trickle you have during the navy showers ok?

Earl

by jrnert on 1/1/2011, 6:35 am

Hi Earl,
The Girard Water Heater needs approximately 1 gallon per minute flow to operate properly so "trickle water" could cause the Water Heater to limit out (burner is set to limit out at 122 degrees F) which would cause the water to be "Hot, then Cold, then Hot,....".
Intresting thing to consider; most peopel think they are getting more flow (Gallons Per Minute) from their RV faucets/fixtures because they have a pump rated at 2.5 GPM or higher and a faucet/fixtures rated at 2.0 - 2.5 GPM. When in fact the flow from most RV faucets/fixtures are no more than 1.5 GPM. Most RV showers are only producing a 1.00 - 1.25 GPM flow so if you just take a 3 - 5 minute shower you may use 3 -5 gallons of water. If you do the Navy shower you usually have to re-adjust the water temp. so you really are not saving much, if any water. Plus with a "tank" model water heater you are using both Hot and Cold water to acheive the proper temperature. With the Girard Tankless you only use Hot water and adjust the flow to achieve the desired temperature. In reality water consumption between the two should be minmal. Please keep in mind; as with all new products there is a learning curve so it may take a few showers to get use to the operation and desired resiults.
Regards,
Jerry

by Rvhiker on 1/3/2011, 4:50 am

Can any of the 2011 Wildcats be ordered with a propane/electric water heater?

by Scruffy and Tater on 1/3/2011, 8:20 am

After reading MountainMan's and RVHiker's comments, I'm changing my mind about thinking the propane tankless heater would be a good idea. Why pay for propane if we are already paying for electric in the campground? We don't dry camp, but we do stay in parks that have water and electric only, so to keep the grey water tank from filling, we're used to taking Navy showers.

We don't have to readjust the water temp when taking Navy showers - we use the little shut-off valve on the shower head. The burst of cold water is minimal and doesn't use very much water.

Tater

by Rvhiker on 1/3/2011, 8:39 am

Scruffy and Tater,
I have to agree with you. I just don't see the advantage of a tankless hot water heater unless you have full hookups. Even when we have full hookups and using all the hot water we want, it is unusual for us to run out. Ours will run on electric and propane at the same time; the recovery is pretty fast. Further, reading the owners manual for the Girard discourages me from using it, due to complexity and an unusual way to adjust the temperature of the water.

I would really like to consider a Wildcat for reasons of quality and floorplan, but not one with a tankless hot water heater.

by jrnert on 1/3/2011, 1:20 pm

RV Hiker and Tater:
With your GAS/Electric Tank Water Heater so you use both power sources (Gas and Electric)?
If yes, you are using Gas when the Water Heater recovers from use and the electric is just maintaining the water temperature (the electric heating element is a 1500 watt element).
Even if you are using both energy sources for recovery your Gas consumption will be no more with the Girard Tankless Water Heater. The only time the Girard is ON is when you turn a HOT water faucet ON. No energy consumtion of any kind/source when the faucet is OFF and no "pretty fast" tank water heater recoveries.

by c04678 on 1/6/2011, 4:32 am

Just purchased a new 2011 32QBT with the tankless water heater. My wife’s and I's first impression with the tankless while dry camping is poor. The main problem that we have is getting hot enough water. Let's say for washing dishes, to get really hot water you have to really restrict the water flow. Which when dry camping uses the water pump. This causes the water to pulse and makes the water toggle from hot to cold. So we end up wasting water trying to find the sweet spot on water flow to get maximum hot water. However the biggest waste of water is taking showers. First is the long run from the water heater to the shower, then trying to get the right temp without having the water heater limit out and blasting you with cold water. We have not used the system when hooked up to city water, so I will not completely bash the system. But if I had it to do over again, I would stick with the regular system. Other than that, I love my Wildcat.

by jrnert on 1/6/2011, 4:59 am

Dear C04678
Please contact Girard Products regarding your experience.
You can contact AJ or Jerry at 866-559-1221.
They will arrange to have someone from the factory get with you to check you unit and go over the operation.
Thanks.

Wildcat Owners from around the world. 5th wheels and TT's. A place to share your Thoughts, Mod's and Idea's.

Girard tankless water heater

Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Girard tankless Wtaer Heater Questions

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater

Re: Girard tankless water heater