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Old 11-15-2010, 02:48 PM   #11
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Budget permitting, consider the flatplate heat exchanger. No tank or fuel required. Of course, the engine must be warm to get warm water, but I find that the 6.0L retains so much heat that I get hot water for a long time after the engine is stopped. I installed an inline coolant pump (from Greg @ lubrication specialists) which circulates the hot coolant when the engine is off. Main drawback is no hot water on cold mornings when you awake. Then, I wait until I've driven a bit before washing, or I throw a wet cloth into the microwave for instant washing of face and body parts. (your parts may vary).

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Old 11-15-2010, 06:10 PM   #12
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

I can wash with cold water; but drive before coffee? That's just crazy talk!
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Old 11-15-2010, 10:29 PM   #13
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Viejo
I can wash with cold water; but drive before coffee? That's just crazy talk!
If you're making your coffee out of the sink tap, I'm not sure you get to complain anyway!
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Old 11-16-2010, 12:37 AM   #14
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

I'm trying to sort out the water heater options available and the pros & cons to each. There seems to me a lot of discussion on Espars in several threads.

No experience RV camping so sorry if my discussion seems ignorant.
Maybe I'm missing something but it seems to me that since you're in water conservation mode when dry camping then why would you want to be heating 6 gallons of water in a tank since you won't be using that much water at one time, unless two people are showering, for a while. You would just be wasting a lot of propane heating up this type of water heater. The basic uses for hot water would be washing up, cleaning dishes, showering.

Based on what I've read so far, I see four options that I listed below. If I'm missing any, please advice. I guess in choosing a system a lot depends on the type of camping you're doing. To me it would seem ideal not to have to start the engine and idle to produce hot water unless you plan to drive away right after since I read on another post that idling and turning off the engine is a bad practice. The tankless heater using propane seems to have a lot of merit but would like to get more feedback from users, specifically if the water gets hot enough when the water temp in the freshwater tank gets cold.

(1) Tank - Propane - 4-16 gallon capacity - eg Suburban
(2) Tankless - Propane - on demand - eg PrecisionTemp
(3) Tankless - Electric - on demand - eg Eemax
(4) Tankless - Diesel - on demand - eg Espar Hydronic - independent of engine
(5) Tankless - Diesel - on demand - flatplate heat exchanger - dependent on engine
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Old 11-16-2010, 07:56 AM   #15
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

I'd say you have a good grasp of the subject. I agree with your observation about a water heater with tank. On the other hand I can't find a single tankless option that I'm totally happy with. I've drawn up plans for a custom built solution that should work (in theory). Have gathered all the parts. Just need to find the time to build it.
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Old 11-16-2010, 08:40 AM   #16
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Dave, I envision a Doc Brown "Back to the Future" design going on in your head
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Old 11-16-2010, 06:31 PM   #17
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

While it won't have a flux capacitor if it works as designed, big if, it will have it's own microprocessor.

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Old 11-17-2010, 09:47 AM   #18
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Quote:
Originally Posted by WVvan
While it won't have a flux capacitor if it works as designed, big if, it will have it's own microprocessor.
ha ha. If you told me your system runs off of the black water tank waste then I'd be very impressed

has anyone done an analysis to compare the cost efficiency of operating a system with propane vs diesel for hot water and a heater? How much energy or use do you get out of one gallon of propane vs one gallon of diesel and what's the average cost of diesel vs propane? Fuel costs would depend on where you live/travel. I think that's one factor of many but it would be interesting to know.
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Old 11-17-2010, 09:52 AM   #19
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Quote:
Originally Posted by WVvan
I can't find a single tankless option that I'm totally happy with.
what are the major issues you have with the off-the-shelf systems you've researched?
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Old 11-17-2010, 09:56 AM   #20
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Re: Anyone using a tankless water heater?

Here is the one I will probably install. It is a tankless on demand hot water heater and the same one Jimapal is using. I saw his in action and it is a small little box that takes up no space under the sink. No outlet and no other fuel source. Wires into electrical panel easy enough. Made for a boat or RV. I was really impressed by it.


http://www.eemax.com/EX2412M
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