I know this topic has been beat to death, but drawing on memories of endless hot water in our travel trailer when I was a kid, I have my heart semi-set on an on-demand propane water heater. (We have good convenient outside space for storing the propane tanks and venting the heater.)

The question is this: I Googled on-demand RV propane water heaters, and found several models for RVs in the range of $800, and a marine one for most of $1800. After a back-n-forth on usage, etc, I asked the online chat salesperson specifically what the extra thou for the marine unit bought me, and got hung-up-on for my impertinence. Hmph. Anybody here know what the difference is, and do I care? Space won't be the sort of major consideration it is in a sailboat, nor, I think, will salt-air corrosion. Anybody use an on-demand water heater, if so, what brand, and do you like it?

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Amelia
Edenton, NC

Bosch is generally considered to be among the best. They offer reconditioned units with the same warranty as a new one (12 years on the heat exchager inside) - take a look:

http://www.cpotanklesswaterhea...ters/1000p-lp-re.html

Remember me?

Vic Willman, aka the Head Master

Thanks, Vic- I'll bookmark that site for future reference.

When it says 'point-of-use' does that mean you can only hook it up to one outlet, and thus need one at the kitchen sink, and another at the shower? Or is it a flow-capacity thing, so that if somebody's taking a shower and somebody else turns on the hot faucet in the kitchen, there'll be a howl of anguish from the suddenly-chilled occupant of the head? And does the pilot light run continuously on these things, or does it have some sort of piezo starter?

(Remember you? Why, soitenly. You ARE coming to admire the azaleas, or, more likely, administer last rites to them, aren't you?)

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Amelia
Edenton, NC

Edited: 01/25/2008 at 02:59:34 PM by Amelia

They have both types - point of use is for a single water outlet (shower, sink, whatever), as you thought. And they also offer "whole house" units. Most of them have a piezo igniter so that the pilot light isn't on all the time.

Yep, that's me, the azalea lover. I seem to have misplaced your e-mail address. If you'd be so kind as to send it to me at techsupport@raritaneng.com, I'll love ya forever....

I'm hoping to head south sometime in May, before the big Memorial Day weekend. Once that hits, I'm pretty much chained to my desk at work until after Labor Day. But finances are a problem this year, so we may have be staying close to home until we get some bills caught up.

Well! The nerve of some people's kids! Surely you must know that the "marine" designation means that using the water that comes from a "marine" heater will eventually turn your blood blue! Goodness sakes alive! Isn't that worth another "grand"?

As to the hot water issue, we originally had a propane Paloma heater on our cruising boat. Good little unit provided that you didn't want too much hot water, flow wise. The shower in the head was OK because it was a low-flow unit. When I installed our swimgrid shower, I had to change the water system to add more water delivery to be able to balance the hot and cold for a comfortable shower.

Then, when we moved on to the Black Swan, I had to evaluate the hot water issue based on fuels available, how much water we would "need" vs. "want" and the prospect of running out of propane at any given time. I opted to install one 30 gallon stubby electric HWT, hooked up on 115 volt shore power, which is pretty adequate fo most of our needs. Then, I added another 20 gallon electric when I put the soaker tub on the top deck. They are hooked up electrically on a relay system which first heats the 30 to temp and then brings the 20 up. The cold water enters at the 30 and it feeds hot to the inlet of the 20, giving us a total of 50 gallsons of hot. Even when we're using the clothes washer, and both of us showering, we have yet to run out, and I don't ever have to schlep propane tanks down the dock. If necessary this system can be separated and either (or both) tanks run from our generator.

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Alec and Joan Living Aboard the "Black Swan"
1972 Alcan "Sea Patio" 14 x 40
Rebuilt 2001 and 2007
70 HP Evinrude - "Does it plane?"
Mission, BC Canada

Google Paloma water heater, i have these in my boat they are compact, take a look and see

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"Come OOON Back............