Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

Arkansasoffgrid
Arkansasoffgrid Solar Expert Posts: 117 ✭✭
Having read some of the older post, I'm curious about any recent and/or long term experiences of specific Tankless Propane Water Heaters. I'v got about 4-6 wks to decide on one, this is a off grid home for 2 adults & 1 child. It will be mounted in laundry room and vented through wall.
8-420AH US Battery L-16s, Midnite Classic 150cc, Whiz Bang Jr, Magnum MS4448PAE inverter/charger,  4590w Canadian Solar panels. Honda EU2000i generator.

Comments

  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    I'm going on 2 years with a Eternal tankless water heater. Been feeding it clean inverter power, and no troubles. it has multistage burner and handles solar preheated water fine. All Stainless innards.

    Any tankless will require a larger than normal gas pipe.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • vtmaps
    vtmaps Solar Expert Posts: 3,741 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???
    Having read some of the older post, I'm curious about any recent and/or long term experiences of specific Tankless Propane Water Heaters. I'v got about 4-6 wks to decide on one, this is a off grid home for 2 adults & 1 child. It will be mounted in laundry room and vented through wall.

    Make sure you have soft water... otherwise they are nothing but trouble because of mineral scale buildup. Also, be sure you have adequate water pressure... low pressure gravity systems do not work well with tankless heaters.

    --vtMaps
    4 X 235watt Samsung, Midnite ePanel, Outback VFX3524 FM60 & mate, 4 Interstate L16, trimetric, Honda eu2000i
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    I have a Bosch tankless with turbine ignition (no external electric power required). Will start off 2 psi or more. It has been in for ten years now. It gets fed filtered (5 micron) lake water. No problems at all.
  • ramloui
    ramloui Solar Expert Posts: 109 ✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    The tankless water heater (Bosch) at my cabin operates on propane and has a standing pilot. It works great. My biggest complaint is around the minimum flow required and the fact that I have single lever faucets for the shower and kitchen sink. This is especially annoying when trying to get warm water. If the faucet is turned completely to hot, no problem. But as the handle is turned toward the cold side, less and less water flows from the hot side to a point where it does not meet the minimum flow of the water heater and turns off. That will be fixed with faucets that have separate controls for cold and hot.

    The other thing that is a little annoying is that turning on the hot water for short bursts ends up supplying... cold water. I found that out while shaving... Guests at the cabin experience this while trying to help out doing the dishes and rinsing suds off the glasses. So I tell them not to do that. For me personnally, it is easily fixed but wasteful, I just leave the hot water on while I shave:blush:.

    If I was starting from new, I would install the water heater as close as possible to the users.

    Cheers!
    Off-grid cabin in northern Quebec: 6 x 250 W Conergy panels, FM80, 4 x 6V CR430 in series (24V nominal), Magnum MS4024-PAE
  • Alaska Man
    Alaska Man Solar Expert Posts: 252 ✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    I use a Shurflo: http://www.amazon.com/Shurflo-Motorhome-Demand-Replaces-2088-422-444/dp/B00AZ8ATYY/ref=sr_1_10?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1406229914&sr=1-10&keywords=shurflo+pumps with the expansion tank and a Girard http://greenrvproducts.com/girard-tankless-rv-water-heater/ On Demand Water heater.

    I have a Tigaki Jr sitting up stairs, but have yet found a need to hook it up. It's the wife and I, but even with guests visiting my comparatively inexpensive system works just fine. The little propane tank, like the one in your barbecue, lasts us months. I change tanks about three times a year.

    Saved a lot of cabbage using off the shelf R.V. stuff. We shower and do dishes everyday, even wash the hound now and again.

    In the interior of Alaska lots of us haul water so water economy is important, especially at -40°

    I realize this system may be too small for many people, but it is an option.
  • zoneblue
    zoneblue Solar Expert Posts: 1,220 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    There are several kinds.

    There are those that can regulate the gas flow, and those that can not. The former will cope with reduced tap flow better. The latter when you turn the tap down low, the water just gets hotter until the cut off threshold is reached. These units tend to be cheaper ones.

    The former (Bosch etc) grade tend to cost around 1K or so.

    There is also a range of ignition methods. Battery (cheaper models), mains (common), hydro/turbine (bosch), pilot, (older ones).
    My experience is that pilots use quite a bit of gas. Mains is not ideal for small off grid systems (maybe).

    Lastly you might want to consider preheat with solar or wetback etc. For preheat you need one that can throttle the gas back to avoid overheating warm water to very hot water. Even so most people report a zone where the tankless still overheats the water, and a temper valve is required.
    1.8kWp CSUN, 10kWh AGM, Midnite Classic 150, Outback VFX3024E,
    http://zoneblue.org/cms/page.php?view=off-grid-solar


  • Hill_Country
    Hill_Country Solar Expert Posts: 96 ✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    We have purchased two Excel America Tankless Hot Water Heaters (1.6GPM, LPG (propane)). We have not installed them, nor have we used them yet, but they appear to be the perfect fit for our needs. We will be operating off of rainwater catchment, so we need to be fairly conserving on water usage. We'll be using a pressure booster pump and pressure tank to ensure that we have adequate household water pressure (30psi to 50psi). The Excel America 1.6 GPM are vent free and do not require a flue, plus they use a battery ignition, so no electrical connection is necessary. Furthermore, there is no pilot light that is on all the time...which saves propane! However, that being said, they do require adequate ventilation and standoff distances, despite the vent-free nature.

    I will post back a review once we get these units installed and start using them in real-world conditions...hopefully this fall!
    100% Off-grid with: 8 Solarworld 275 Watt Panels, 8 Concorde SunXtender 405aH 6v AGM Batteries, MS-4448PAE 48v Inverter, MidNite Solar Classic 200 Charge Controller, 10,000 gallon rainwater collection system, etc.
  • Plowman
    Plowman Solar Expert Posts: 203 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???

    I've been using a little Eccotemp L5 for a couple months. Took a while to get it dialed in, but it works adequately when taking a shower, a bit spotty when doing dishes. I'm using it with a Shurflo 12V pump, guessing it would probably work better if I had an accumulator tank.
  • vtmaps
    vtmaps Solar Expert Posts: 3,741 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Propane Tankless Water Heater Reviews???
    Plowman wrote: »
    I've been using a little Eccotemp L5 for a couple months.

    We used one of those for 5 months while we were 'camping' in our house under construction. They are for outdoor use only (not vented). --vtMaps
    4 X 235watt Samsung, Midnite ePanel, Outback VFX3524 FM60 & mate, 4 Interstate L16, trimetric, Honda eu2000i