New Girard GSWH-1 Tankless Water Heater?

[robwok]

I'm looking at upgrading all my systems, and a couple hundred extra for my vintage trailer isn't a big deterrent. Any thoughts on these?

Thanks, Rob

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by robwok

I'm looking at upgrading all my systems, and a couple hundred extra for my vintage trailer isn't a big deterrent. Any thoughts on these?

Thanks, Rob

Hi Rob,

Check out the "New tankless water heater thread" by lewster.

Lew is a pro RV tech and is in the process of evaluating the Girard system. What (limited, at this time) knowledge about their water heater is in this thread.

[Jammer]

Just from reading the specs there are two major shortcomings to consider:

1) This appliance has only half the heat output of the widely used RV-500 water heater and will not produce hot enough water at standard shower head flow rates to take a shower in cold weather. In beachfront weather it might work OK because people want colder shower water in hot weather and the incoming water isn't as cold.

2) There is no modulating valve. Therefore, the output temperature will fluctuate depending on how much water is being used.

The RV-500 is rated for 55,000 btu/h while the GSWH is rated for only 34,000 btu/h.

Also, with any on-demand water heater, you give up the option of using electricity when circumstances permit.

[VintageRV]

Hi Jammer,
I think you have it about right, but it isn't that simple.

1) The usable BTUs in a travel trailer are about 80K btu/h. If you need more than 34Kbtu, you are probably in an environment where you are running your furnace too. So you are probably not going to have 55K available at the time.

2) The fluctuation in temp is controlled by the faucet or shower valve. More water is cooler water. Less water is hotter water. There are other issues to consider, but that's Girard's plan.

I agree to read the other thread for the details...

[masseyfarm]

MAREY RV CAMPER LP GAS TANKLESS WATER HEATER - 1.5 GPM on eBay.ca (item 130406025264 end time 27-Apr-11 19:22:46 EDT)

Has anybody used one of these?

[ALANSD]

I have investigated the Marey quite a bit, and for the money it does a fine job. It will not give you long showers, but should be adequate for most anything else. I will be replacing my cracked Atwood with one shortly after seeing it in a vintage Spartan.

[lewster]

There have been numerous threads pertaining to the Marey heater. A few points to remember:

* it is NOT RVIA CERTIFIED for use in any recreational vehicle.

* the RVIA creates the standards for installation and safety for the RV industry

* the ad says NOTHING about any other certifications like CE, UL, ITE, or others.

* I would NEVER use a propane appliance in any setting in which it was not specifically certified.

WHAT IS YOUR SAFETY WORTH??? SAVING A FEW BUCKS????????

[masseyfarm]

Thanks Lew for your always valued input. We see these things when shopping and they always look good until we do more research.
Dave

Originally Posted by lewster

There have been numerous threads pertaining to the Marey heater. A few points to remember:

* it is NOT RVIA CERTIFIED for use in any recreational vehicle.
--- --- --- --- WHAT IS YOUR SAFETY WORTH??? SAVING A FEW BUCKS????????

[lewster]

:d :d :d

[Globie64]

I've used Solar hot water panels from Heliodyne on several residential projects with great success. I wondered about this for an Airstream- I found this product, you'd need a tank hot water heater.. kind of interesting

[NJtoNC]

Originally Posted by masseyfarm

MAREY RV CAMPER LP GAS TANKLESS WATER HEATER - 1.5 GPM on eBay.ca (item 130406025264 end time 27-Apr-11 19:22:46 EDT)

Has anybody used one of these?

I installed one in 2010. I am shopping for a replacement now. this was a crap unit from the get-go; none of our tinkering could get this to work properly. hooked up to city water or tank, we tried all the settings; ie, low flame / high flame...

The ignition goes out in the middle of the shower or washing dishes and you have to turn water off then on again. You cannot mix in cold water b/c then there isnt enough water coming in to the unit to keep it on b/c it requires a min flow. so you can have burning hot water or cold water b/c when you mix in cold the flame shuts off.

This unit died this summer, about 2 yrs. i believe we were about 1 month shy of warranty expiring. We repeatedly tried to contact marey and left messages and emails and got no replies. So now we have no choice but to replace it. I won't waste my $$ on this.