Anyone install new Atwood Tankless Hot Water?

[CA_Tallguy]

Hi folks - been searching high and low but can't find a lot of info on the new Atwood tankless/on-demand hot water heater. I think that I've seen some people say they were going to get one but I have not been able to find any first hand accounts of anyone having yet installed them.

I've read that they were made in partnership with Precision Temp and so they may be using the same technology. There are two models - 45K and 50K BTU units. The price difference isn't much at all. One post I read said that the larger has cold weather freeze protection. But again, I can't figure much out as Atwood's product info is lacking.

From what I can gather, the "pros" of the Atwood for me are that they may be a better fit for my existing opening. My 77 Excella 500 seems to have the original Bowen (Atwood) G6-10B with an opening roughly 12.5" high and 16.5" wide".

For the Atwood, one note on a merchant website says it is setup for 12.5" high by up to 16" wide... so close but maybe not on the money. Though it sounds close enough that maybe it is going to be a perfect fit.

On the other hand, installation instructions say the rough opening for the theRV500 should be 13.75” wide x 14.625” high. I have not been able to find out if it comes with flanges that would fill my wider opening, and if the door would be big enough to cover that extra 1.5 inches or so on the left and right sides.

So, the Atwood sounds like a better fit though people on the forums have been able to make the RV500 work in a lot of trailers. In my trailer, however, I have a heater duct immediately on top of the hot water heater running through my middle bath. It might be a pain to adjust the duct to make the RV500 fit (the ductwork is already funky enough in its routing).

The biggest drawback to the Atwood is that I think it only comes with a painted white door. Perhaps I could repurpose my existing door for the unit?

The Atwood is a few hundred bucks cheaper, and even more inexpensive if the larger unit has cold weather features compared to the Precision Temp unit with the cold weather package.

Can anyone provide any advice on these units, and confirm if they are indeed using the Precision Temp technology with similar features?

[vreten]

Originally Posted by CA_Tallguy

Hi folks - been searching high and low but can't find a lot of info on the new Atwood tankless/on-demand hot water heater. I think that I've seen some people say they were going to get one but I have not been able to find any first hand accounts of anyone having yet installed them.

I've read that they were made in partnership with Precision Temp and so they may be using the same technology. There are two models - 45K and 50K BTU units. The price difference isn't much at all. One post I read said that the larger has cold weather freeze protection. But again, I can't figure much out as Atwood's product info is lacking.

From what I can gather, the "pros" of the Atwood for me are that they may be a better fit for my existing opening. My 77 Excella 500 seems to have the original Bowen (Atwood) G6-10B with an opening roughly 12.5" high and 16.5" wide".

For the Atwood, one note on a merchant website says it is setup for 12.5" high by up to 16" wide... so close but maybe not on the money. Though it sounds close enough that maybe it is going to be a perfect fit.

On the other hand, installation instructions say the rough opening for the theRV500 should be 13.75” wide x 14.625” high. I have not been able to find out if it comes with flanges that would fill my wider opening, and if the door would be big enough to cover that extra 1.5 inches or so on the left and right sides.

So, the Atwood sounds like a better fit though people on the forums have been able to make the RV500 work in a lot of trailers. In my trailer, however, I have a heater duct immediately on top of the hot water heater running through my middle bath. It might be a pain to adjust the duct to make the RV500 fit (the ductwork is already funky enough in its routing).

The biggest drawback to the Atwood is that I think it only comes with a painted white door. Perhaps I could repurpose my existing door for the unit?

The Atwood is a few hundred bucks cheaper, and even more inexpensive if the larger unit has cold weather features compared to the Precision Temp unit with the cold weather package.

Can anyone provide any advice on these units, and confirm if they are indeed using the Precision Temp technology with similar features?

Hi,
I just finished installing mine today and took a very long glorious hot shower (after 2 weeks with just cold water brrrrrrr).
If you have a mid bath you probably have a 6 gallon tank, the 4500 is the replacement for the 6, the 5000 is for the 10 gallon, at least that's how I understood it. The hole dimensions are different depending on the model as well. I think the freeze protection was an add on, that's what I read in the manual that came with mine. It will probably fit, those dimensions are pretty close. Regarding the white door I plan on getting some silver spray paint to paint it. The old door doesn't appear that it is going to fit. The new door is an pretty exact fit so it does not stick out very far on either side. The unit itself it smaller than the older water heater and has flanges that come out so it gives you some room to fit and wiggle things around. On the furnace hose, I just bungied it up out of the way while I was working, that worked well. I took some pictures during the install and can post them later on if you are interested. Very happy with the purchase and the installation.
Patrick

[CA_Tallguy]

Thanks so much for the info! Would love to see photos and know more details. Did you get the smaller unit then? All the specs I've seen say the dimensions are the same for both. If I could trouble you to measure the depth of your installed unit I would be very grateful. I'm leaning towards getting of these myself but info is hard to come by since they are new.

[Wolfe]

Hi had a long talk with a teck eng at atwood, my take is the cold weather is worth the extra money. if weather goes frezeing valve off feed water and drain water in heat exchanger, just to be safe
Some day they may stamp some covers in Al just for air stream's, in the mean time try an auto paint store that can match paint and put in spray can.
I will wait about a year for mine, no round fuzzy ears on me.

[RickDavis]

Is the white door steel or aluminum??

If aluminum just strip the paint of and polish it if need be.

[CA_Tallguy]

Originally Posted by Wolfe

Hi had a long talk with a teck eng at atwood, my take is the cold weather is worth the extra money. if weather goes frezeing valve off feed water and drain water in heat exchanger, just to be safe

So is the 50k btu unit indeed the one with cold weather package? I have not seen anything in official marketing materials or merchant websites that says that, just a random post somewhere on the web. Price difference between the two units is small so I would get that if it is.

[vreten]

Originally Posted by CA_Tallguy

Thanks so much for the info! Would love to see photos and know more details. Did you get the smaller unit then? All the specs I've seen say the dimensions are the same for both. If I could trouble you to measure the depth of your installed unit I would be very grateful. I'm leaning towards getting of these myself but info is hard to come by since they are new.

13 1/2 as measured from the back to the back of the flange. The gas and water nipples do stick out another 1 inch and maybe 2 inches once you put your pipe hookups on. Yes, I went with the 4500, figured the other 5k will not make a difference.

Here is the link to the brochure, your right the dimensions are the same, I must have been thinking about the 6 and 10 gallon. http://www.atwoodmobile.com/images/ODWH.pdf

The incoming water temp 72 or so here, so this until heats it up no problem. There is also a adjustment from summer mode to winter mode, I have it on summer right now and it's almost too warm to shower.

patrick
1983 31' Sovereign "Beatrice"

[CA_Tallguy]

Originally Posted by vreten

13 1/2 as measured from the back to the back of the flange. The gas and water nipples do stick out another 1 inch and maybe 2 inches once you put your pipe hookups on. Yes, I went with the 4500, figured the other 5k will not make a difference.

Thanks for the measurements. I agree, the 5k btu difference seems like so little it would make no difference to most people... So why would they bother with two models so similar? That is one reason I wonder if it has the extra winter freeze protection that some have referenced in forum posts. But I can't see any marketing info talking about such a feature. I am going to call Atwood to try to get to the bottom of it.

Maybe the 5000 extra simply means it will work in lower temperatures since these basically work by increasing the temp a certain amount over incoming.

[CA_Tallguy]

Just got off the phone with atwood - tech support people are having a meeting on friday to educate them more on these units. Person I spoke with asked the one person who knows a bit about them and they said that the larger unit does indeed have some kind of winterizing or cold weather kit preinstalled. I hope it is a cold weather kit as these units don't need much for winterizing from what I understand. I asked them to email me the manual. I may just order the 50k btu as it is only $50 more.

[CA_Tallguy]

I got the manual and it talks about an OPTIONAL cold weather package. Guess I'm not convinced that if I order the 50k unit that it will be installed. I don't care very much about 5k btu but I do rather want the cold weather stuff just as a precaution. S not sure where that leaves me. Maybe I'll just order the 50k and see or maybe I'm going to be calling atwood again to really press the question.

[CA_Tallguy]

Ok so I talked to atwood again and although they do still sound unfamiliar with it as it is new, I asked her to triple check about the winter kit being installed in the 50k unit and she put me on hold and came back sounding confident that it had it. And she said it is much better to get it preinstalled on the 50 than to get the optional kit for the 45k. I should have asked what it included but forgot. I'm going to just order the 50k now.

[vreten]

Take a look at this page in the manual, that might help. I'm hoping to not be camping in -15 anytime soon.

[CA_Tallguy]

Originally Posted by vreten

Take a look at this page in the manual, that might help. I'm hoping to not be camping in -15 anytime soon.

Ha! Well thanks so much for posting that page as it clears EVERYTHING up. I did order the 50k unit as I recently had a scare when I unexpectedly drove through some freezing weather. Some lines did freeze but thankfully nothing burst or was damaged that I know of.

Unfortunately, the freeze protection uses some battery juice but of course it would. I also see there is a blower in these units so it looks like that is also an added drain on the battery bank over the standard tank water heaters.

[adonh]

I installed the RV 500 from Precision Temp in my 1976 31' Sovereign to replace the old Bowen 10 gal heater a few years back. Looking at some of the pictures of the Atwood the inside works look very similar to the RV 500. On the RV 500 the cold weather or freeze protection only works when the unit is operational with gas, power and the water turned on. It works on the basis that as the temp gets closer to freezing it heats the water in the lines just enough to keep them freezing. The main part that is subject to freezing is the plastic flow meter. The flow meter controls the operation of the heater. When it senses water flowing it turns on the gas and lights the burner to heat the water. It stays on as long as water is flowing, When the water turns off it turns everything off. When the water flow starts again it turns back on. You have hot water in a matter of seconds. For dry storage they recommend draining the water lines and using RV antifreeze. As I said the plastic flow meter is subject to freezing and cracking. You may want to check the flow meter setup in the Atwood. I have attached some pictures of installation I did on the RV 500 which should be about the same for the Atwood. I will be interested in see how this works out for you.

Don

[lewster]

Originally Posted by adonh

I installed the RV 500 from Precision Temp in my 1976 31' Sovereign to replace the old Bowen 10 gal heater a few years back. Looking at some of the pictures of the Atwood the inside works look very similar to the RV 500. On the RV 500 the cold weather or freeze protection only works when the unit is operational with gas, power and the water turned on. It works on the basis that as the temp gets closer to freezing it heats the water in the lines just enough to keep them freezing. The main part that is subject to freezing is the plastic flow meter. The flow meter controls the operation of the heater. When it senses water flowing it turns on the gas and lights the burner to heat the water. It stays on as long as water is flowing, When the water turns off it turns everything off. When the water flow starts again it turns back on. You have hot water in a matter of seconds. For dry storage they recommend draining the water lines and using RV antifreeze. As I said the plastic flow meter is subject to freezing and cracking. You may want to check the flow meter setup in the Atwood. I have attached some pictures of installation I did on the RV 500 which should be about the same for the Atwood. I will be interested in see how this works out for you.

Don

Atwood licensed the technology from Precision Temp.......hence the similarities......

[adonh]

The flow meter that I mentioned above can be seen in picture # 12 of the attachment to my previous post. It right in the middle in the back and has a clear cover that looks like it has spokes but these are just ridges in the cover and a white molded plastic housing. How does this compare to the Atwood.

Don

[CA_Tallguy]

Thanks for posting your install photos Don. I thought at first that I was going to do the same install but my unit is only 6 gallons and I think you had a 10. Otherwise, I also have a similar mid bath layout. On mine, a heater vent lays directly across the top of the unit at 12.5 inches high which made the Atwood unit attractive as it should fit exactly the same space. I suppose that raising the vent an inch wouldn't be insurmountable. Almost tempting since the aluminum door on the precisiontemp is far more attractive than what I am getting with the atwood. I'm going to probably paint mine for now and hope that aluminum doors become available in the near future.

I can't speak to the differences yet between units but I surely will be comparing photos closely when mine arrives and will update this thread with detailed pics. I am hoping that this is essentially a precision temp unit in a different form factor.

[CA_Tallguy]

I sure do wish that these manufacturers would allow for some flexibility in where the power and water line hook ups came out of the units! These rear attachments encroach into my bathroom space and I'd much rather be able to run things in from the side, perhaps connecting up in the main cavity. Oh well.

[CA_Tallguy]

Just found out my unit is out for delivery with UPS less than 24 hours after I placed the order! I seem to be near the distribution center. So I should be installing and posting detailed pics of the unit tomorrow.

[CA_Tallguy]

The atwood arrived today... 25 hours after I pressed a button to buy it on the web. Wish all my deliveries came that fast! Looks very interesting and I will post a bunch of pics. Strange things here and there, like a warning label on the outside door that is entirely in French.

I've been gathering materials, gearing up to dig into the install in the morning. The hardest part may be removing the old vulkem as it looks rather straightforward. Just little things to do like extend the gas line to reach the back as it now is routed to the front/outer part of the cabinet. I will probably plumb it without a bypass as I don't think it needs one. But I am already set up with it so may not hurt to leave it that way. The other thing is it needs power, and I may just hack into the 12 volt I can find nearby for the time being. I double checked with atwood and they said 18 gauge is fine for the run - even with the winter heat blocks/pad on it.

As I brought up in another thread, I will also likely put in a recirculating line so that I can take navy showers, which normally you wouldn't be able to do with tankless type heaters. This will be a simple valve I can crack under the sink to let water return to the fresh tank from the water heater. So if I am concerned about conserving water more than propane, I will run that to pre heat the water in the line and to keep enough water flowing during the shower to keep the heater on even if I stop the flow in the shower. Seems simple enough to plumb so I figure ... Why not?

I'm also hoping this unit will encroach into the bathroom less than I was thinking it would. I knew the depth of the cabinet was 13.5 inches plus plumbing on the back. But that is from the outer skin and I had been mistakenly calculating from the inner skin. My current unit encroaches about 14 inches plus plumbing from the inner. And looking over the atwood, it might be possible to hack and reroute the plumbing to come out of the heater cabinet from the sides instead of the back. Should be no problem at all for the gas and cold water inlet. Not sure yet abut the hot outlet. May not hack it until I install it first normally for a bit just to make sure it functions well before I void the warranty with modifications.