Tankless water heater

[Mefree]

We have decided on a GT23FBT and the only upgrade we think is needed is a tankless water heater. Are there any issues with the current water heater/tank that would warrant this upgrade, or are we over thinking a good thing?

[overlander63]

Umm, the new Airstream trailers will have on demand tankless water heaters factory installed. Is there a reason you want to remove that, and install another one?

[RV4Mark]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Umm, the new Airstream trailers will have on demand tankless water heaters factory installed. Is there a reason you want to remove that, and install another one?

Thanks for posting this! I’d like to confirm this, as it’s something that I just noticed reading the 2021 Globetrotter owners manual. Will all the 2021 model year globetrotters have this on-demand tankless water heater? Or will it be an option?

[Tiny Cloud]

Tankless Water Heater.

Good:

Endless hot water, for those extra long showers.
Less weight.

Bad:

Not a good option for boondocking or smaller trailers. Excessive runtime to get water hot.
Propane usage might become a factor.

While I enjoyed the tankless system in my former Sprinter Chateau, it took a bit of a learning curve to understand the "flow demand" issue to keep the water warm. Often I wondered if I was gaining anything by using a lot of water to get it warm. With that long flow, I was also filling up the gray tank more than I desired to do.

Water tanks are more economical in my opinion for smaller airstreams, especially if you are off the grid for a few days. Mil Showers work satisfactorily better than singing in the shower with endless hot water.

[Mefree]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Umm, the new Airstream trailers will have on demand tankless water heaters factory installed. Is there a reason you want to remove that, and install another one?

I thought it was only FC models with tankless std. Thanks for the info!

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum, Mefree. [ . . . freeRus2? . . . ]

Inline water heaters are an imperfect solution IMO, including their poor operation for low-flow hot water use, as in boondocking.
[edit -- as Tiny Cloud said in Post #4 with a good summary of the details/complications IMO.]

[click on orange arrow to go to this post in another thread]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Bingo!

. . . especially for folks boondocking and conserving water . . .

Not for everyone IMO.

"Tankless water heater" search results FYI: https://www.google.com/search?q=tank...=airforums.com

Happy trails,

[overlander63]

2021 Globetrotter.

[GettinAway]

Our 2020GT 25FBT has the water tank type heater. It works fine, as it did on our 04 and 11. I like that it gives you another 10 gal of fresh water when boondocking. We don’t leave it on all the time, even when hooked up to 30 amp service. Just have to remember to turn it on a few min before you shower or wash dishes. The old water heaters have been used in RVs for years. Work well and are reliable. It may be just me, but I’d be worrying about a tankless system, just like I worry about the power awning. Ha!

[Mefree]

Originally Posted by GettinAway

Our 2020GT 25FBT has the water tank type heater. It works fine, as it did on our 04 and 11. I like that it gives you another 10 gal of fresh water when boondocking. We don’t leave it on all the time, even when hooked up to 30 amp service. Just have to remember to turn it on a few min before you shower or wash dishes. The old water heaters have been used in RVs for years. Work well and are reliable. It may be just me, but I’d be worrying about a tankless system, just like I worry about the power awning. Ha!

GettinAway,
Is there a manual backup on the power awning?

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by Mefree

GettinAway,
Is there a manual backup on the power awning?

Well, I haven’t had to use it, but they gave us a little bag of “stuff” during our walk through, that’s supposedly the manual back up. I’ve read here where folks have used it to get the awning closed. I think I’ve also read where some have had the awning out, and no way to close it. There’s a lot of “power awning problem” threads here on the forum. Leave the power button on all the time, once it’s open. Hit the close button before you do anything else to “reset” it. It’s got to have full power coming from the batteries or it may not function properly. Keep the arms lubricated etc.. Just seems like a problem waiting to happen. Although ours has worked fine so far. (Since February. Ha!)

[Rocinante]

Regarding low flow hot water and on-demand water heaters: our Truma actually has a small tank (really small). On one particular setting, it will keep that reserve hot so you can literally get instant hot water as it also fires up and prepares to deliver a sustained flow of heated water should you need it. It’s insanely great, seems very efficient, and does *not* put dry campers / boondockers in the position of having to waste good cool water to get hot water.

This reserve feature may not be in other brands of on-demand water heaters, and it may have been added in recent years so that prior users weren’t aware that it existed, but it exists in the Truma, and having having replaced our original water heater with a Truma and used it a couple of seasons, we love our Truma.

[Mefree]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Regarding low flow hot water and on-demand water heaters: our Truma actually has a small tank (really small). On one particular setting, it will keep that reserve hot so you can literally get instant hot water as it also fires up and prepares to deliver a sustained flow of heated water should you need it. It’s insanely great, seems very efficient, and does *not* put dry campers / boondockers in the position of having to waste good cool water to get hot water.

This reserve feature may not be in other brands of on-demand water heaters, and it may have been added in recent years so that prior users weren’t aware that it existed, but it exists in the Truma, and having having replaced our original water heater with a Truma and used it a couple of seasons, we love our Truma.

The new globetrotter tankless is a Giriad. I am use to a home tankless heater and with the new composite floor in the 2021 models, I think we will enjoy the travels. Thanks for your input.

[Pahaska]

My 2018 Interstate came with a Suburban tankless water heater that is now sitting in my workshop, waiting for me to put it on Craigslist.

The Suburban takes 7 seconds to turn on the flame each time the faucet is turned on. With the long PEX run to my galley faucet, it took full flow to get enough flow to get it to fire. I timed 11 seconds to the first feel of warmth and 13 or 14 seconds to get appreciable heat. With my small tanks that was not acceptable.

Again, with small tanks, we take "Navy showers." That means a blast of cold water again before rinsing off. We were wasting more water than we were actually using.

I replaced the Suburban with an electric-only Bosch with a 2.7-gallon tank. I can turn on the Bosch WH and, by the time I get myself and the shower ready, I have hot water. No blast of cold when rinsing off. I have never needed more hot water than the Bosch provides.

I installed a separate 20-amp outside outlet and use an extension cord to the 20-amp outlet on the RV park service. I installed an isolating rotary switch so that I can power the water heater from the separate 20-amp or from the internal 30-amp. I really only need the extra extension cord in the hot summer when the AC is on.

[RV4Mark]

Originally Posted by Mefree

The new globetrotter tankless is a Giriad. I am use to a home tankless heater and with the new composite floor in the 2021 models, I think we will enjoy the travels. Thanks for your input.

Are you sure all 2021 models have the composite floor? Or is it only 2021 models built after Jan 2021? The dealership told us it was the latter. Now we are contemplating delaying our order until next summer...

[Life is a Highway]

Our good ole 6 Gallon Gas/Electric would heat up and COOK them cooties that may be in the water. Then you could blend hot/cold for your shower.

Now we have the on-demand ( THING ) because I believe Truma has the best design and answer and whatever Airstream installed is low budget-

That said you cannot blend Hot and Cold you have to turn it full Hot and hope your settings in the bathroom are perfect. If you blend they say it does not work.
So I'm asking those of you with the new system what temp works for you? According to specs any temp under 120 bacteria will live. I may be over thinking this.



Noticed the YouTube channel All about RV's, he ripped his out and installed the Truma which has the holding tank and can have water blended. Did a nice compassion of the two systems.


Thanks all-

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

Now we have the on-demand ( THING ) because I believe Truma has the best design and answer and whatever Airstream installed is low budget-
Thanks all-

I ripped out the Suburban water heater disaster that Airstream installed and installed a simple under-counter electric water heater in its place. It has a small tank, heats up in just a few minutes, and has plenty of capacity for dishwashing and navy showers.

I installed a 20-amp receptacle in the former exhaust vent and use a separate 12-gage extension cord to the 20-amp socket on just about all RV park posts. I have a rotary switch that allows me to use the added 20-amp cord or else connect to the internal 120v supply. When not using the AC, I just use the internal 120v and skip hooking up the additional cord.

The Suburban filled my tanks far too quickly, waiting for hot water. It also was a disaster on navy showers, waiting for the water to get hot again to rinse off. The Suburban required that I run my taps at full flow to ever get it to turn on.

The Suburban is sitting in my workshop and it is free to anyone who wants it.

[ted7495]

how to turn on tankless water heater 2019 interstate 24’

[ricjones]

We, too, dry camp most of the time and our 2022 has the Girard tankless water heater. We made it work by installing the ShowerMi$er diverter valves. They work by diverting water back to the fresh water tank while you wait for it to heat up, and keeping the heater running while you navy shower so you don't have to wait for it to heat up each time you turn the water off and back on.

The only problem is that you need access to a cold water line that runs back to your fresh water tank. Our shower and bathroom sink were easy to install the ShowerMi$ers, the kitchen sink is on the other side of the trailer. Working on that.

The other issue is the tankless heaters require a certain amount of pressure and steady pressure to some extent. So on campground water hookups, when we do have hookups, the pressure is not enough to ever get hot water at the kitchen sink. If I turn on the hot water in the bathroom, the heater starts, and then I can get hot water at the kitchen faucet. Solution is to always run the pump. But that seems to require water in the fresh water tank on the new models.

The bottom line for us is:
Old technology worked fine. No issues.
New technology does not work well. Multiple Issues.
Why did they try to solve a problem that does not exist, and then not solve it?

[Birddogbob]

In the past year we traded in our Basecamp 16 for a new Basecamp 20X. Everything about the 20X is great except for the water heater. I have had to pull and push back in the fuse for the inline water heater almost daily because of "low flow" issues. Airstream dealer suggest that we set the hot water temperature so that we can shower or use the sink at an acceptable temperature and never blend the hot and cold. If so why does the sink have a faucet that is intended to blend hot and cold water. Their suggestion essentially makes Airstream's problem my problem. In addition, the Basecamp is intended for boondocking and the inline water heater wastes a precious resource for all of the reasons suggested in other posts.
Maybe the engineers were out to lunch when this decision was made but anyone planning on buying a Basecamp (or perhaps other models that I have no experience with) should reconsider until Airstream comes up with a solution to this issue.
If there is no solution I wonder when the first class action suit will be filed on behalf of disgruntled owners.