Taking the plunge: Girard Tankless Water Heater

ClydesdaleKevin · October 16, 2013, 08:43 PM

So I came home from work today to check on the puppies, and discovered a huge line of heavy soot all up the side of my RV above the water heater!

As all of you who read my crap know, this is the original Atwood from 89 that I replaced just about everything on to keep it going.

Enough I say!

I've read mixed reviews on the Girard tankless water heater, but most of the negative reviews are about the first generation of them where they didn't have a gas flow modulator.

I decided to take the plunge and buy the new model with the modulator. I bought one, a new model, for 581.00, and that includes the door and the install kit and the Fed-Ex shipping. Should be here in a few days.

I think I'm forging new ground here, since I don't recall anyone else actually installing and using one of these newfangled on demand tankless hot water heaters.

I'll let you all know how it works out, take pictures of the install, and let you know of any issues with the system.

Kev

DonD · October 16, 2013, 10:14 PM

There's some info on IRV2, mixed results.

HandyDan · October 16, 2013, 10:18 PM

Well, so much for winter vacation funds. Seriously, I'm interested in your result. Good luck with the demolition and install.

ClydesdaleKevin · October 17, 2013, 07:02 AM

It should be an interesting experiment if nothing else. From all the research I've done, if used correctly they work very well, and save a ton of propane.

Looks like the biggest challenge will be getting used to adjusting the gas flow according to outside temperatures.

Kev

Oz · October 17, 2013, 01:54 PM

Wow, this is good stuff. Lots of people have been wondering about the tankless model. It'll be good to have our own member eval.

Would also like to see that conversion up as a separate, stand-alone topic. I believe that's a great option for those who don't have or aren't necessarily willing to part with almost $600 for a tankless water heater but would like to be able to get away from LP consumption.

ClydesdaleKevin · October 17, 2013, 04:21 PM

Just got the email that it was shipped, so it should be here in a few days, according to FedEx tracking.

We can still use our old one, but I don't trust leaving it on anymore...just fire it up to use it when we need it, and wait for it to heat up...then shut it back down.

I'm pretty excited about the project! It should save us a ton of money over the years if it works like its supposed to.

A direct replacement for ours, with the engine heat exchanger option, was even more expensive, around 750.00, so I'm hoping this pans out. The second generation model is supposed to work a lot better and be more user friendly.

Kev

gary19734 · October 20, 2013, 08:19 PM

Installed about 100 residential one's. Only one in a motor home. The big things to look for if its not working correctly are restrictions such as those installed in shower heads remove these. Also you get any surges when using your pump it will drive the flow switch crazy on off on off. An accumalator tank from shurflo will usily remedy this. down side is with more flow more water which is a bummer when dry docking. Good Luck Gary

ClydesdaleKevin · October 21, 2013, 08:47 AM

Thanks Gary. I just checked all our hot water faucets and the flow. The kitchen sink was fine already, at just over a gallon a minute. The bathroom sink and shower head were flowing too slow, but removing the diverters brought them both up to over 1 gpm.

According to the Girard manual, water flow has to be at least 1gpm, so that is now all set. Phase one of the install done, and its not even here yet...lol!

Fortunately our water pump is new and flows pretty smooth without pulsing. If it does cause any problems though, adding an accumulator tank would be pretty easy as I have lots of room in that compartment.

As far as using more water, I doubt that will be an issue for us when boondocking, as we are pretty conservative. It just means the coffee pot will fill faster, the dog's water dishes will fill faster, etc. Same amount of water used, just faster. When we boondock, we always to the Navy type shower thing, so again, it just means we'll get wet faster and rinse off faster, with similar water usage.

Still hasn't arrived. Fedex tracking says its still enroute from Oregon.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · October 24, 2013, 08:39 AM

Fedex tracking finally updated, and the water heater is on the truck for delivery today...SWEET! Just as planned!

Install will happen tomorrow!

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · October 24, 2013, 05:51 PM

So the best laid plans of mice and men usually get SNAFUed...lol!

The water heater arrived in perfect condition, and came with the door and install kit...for new installs or as a direct replacement for Suburban 6 gallon water heaters.

Who would have thought that Suburban 6 gallon water heaters had a different cut-out size than Atwood 6 gallon tanks?

I sure didn't!

One would think the industry would standardize the sizes to make things easier on coach builders and end users...not!

I didn't even think about a size difference between Atwoods and Suburbans. I know there is a size difference between 6 gallon and 10 gallon heaters, but never even considered there would be a difference amongst makers of the same size water heater.

Ah well.

So what to do?

I made big plans to fill in the gap with aluminum sheeted plywood, painted to match, drew it all out, and was about to go to Home Depot for the materials...when it dawned on me: Maybe Girard makes different install kits for direct replacements?

Yep! They do!

I got the part numbers, and then searched around, and found the cheapest place to get one on eBay. Ends up being more or less a drop in replacement with the kit, just have to add a brace on one side.

Anyhow, I'm into it for another 68.00 for the Atwood 6 gallon door and install kit. That included fast shipping at least, so it should be here from Tennessee on Tuesday.

So the install will commence on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

I could have fabricated something that looked okay, but it still would have looked somewhat homemade instead of factory, and cost about the same.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · October 28, 2013, 04:55 PM

Fedex tracking finally updated, and the Atwood door and install kit will be here tomorrow. SWEET! I'll be doing the project this Wednesday.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · October 29, 2013, 07:28 PM

The door kit arrived, so the install will commence as planned in the morning! Lots of pictures will be taken, although I'll probably move this over to the "projects" board for the actual install.

Kev

revmadre2 · November 30, 2022, 01:34 PM

Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on October 16, 2013, 08:43 PMSo I came home from work today to check on the puppies, and discovered a huge line of heavy soot all up the side of my RV above the water heater!

As all of you who read my crap know, this is the original Atwood from 89 that I replaced just about everything on to keep it going.

Enough I say!

I've read mixed reviews on the Girard tankless water heater, but most of the negative reviews are about the first generation of them where they didn't have a gas flow modulator.

I decided to take the plunge and buy the new model with the modulator. I bought one, a new model, for 581.00, and that includes the door and the install kit and the Fed-Ex shipping. Should be here in a few days.

I think I'm forging new ground here, since I don't recall anyone else actually installing and using one of these newfangled on demand tankless hot water heaters.

I'll let you all know how it works out, take pictures of the install, and let you know of any issues with the system.

Kev