Furrion Tankless Water Heater - Important: Please Read

[TucsonJim]

Note: Jim' post below was extracted from a longer thread here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ow-makes-sense

I felt Jim's note is too important to be "buried" in the middle of the other thread. -Howard
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Just a heads up for anyone with a Furrion tankless water heater. They have no cold weather protection and according to the Furrion manual, they need to be winterized when the outside temperature is expected to be below 39°F. Failure to winterize may cause the heat exchanger to rupture if it freezes. This can cause very expensive repairs and water damage to the RV.

Jim

[TucsonJim]

Good idea on giving this it's own post Howard. We only have a short period to get the word out before summer winds down and cooler temperatures prevail.

Jim

[gbkims]

I hadn't known till the Texas freeze in February that a lot of new houses have tankless water heaters mounted on the exterior wall.
Saw some of the photos of water spraying out the tankless water heaters in Austin.

[Guest]

Guys,

Can this be taken literally where you cannot use the unit at all below 39F or that the unit should be winterized below 39F if unused? In other words, is there some residual heat to protect the unit while being in an off cycle during a camping trip at say 30F?


Jim

[flyfshrockies]

TucsonJim Thanks for the heads up. Was considering trying one of these in the future should the existing WH fail. Now it is out as we camp in weather down to 25 degrees or less at times in the spring and fall and even the summer some mornings. The tankless systems seem like a good idea except for that little caveat. I wonder if the ducting to the belly area could be tapped and directed to the tankless system or if it is otherwise too exposed? I wonder what could happen going down the road in cold weather. Perhaps a couple of fittings could be added to the plumbing allowing easy blowout? Maybe a pilot light type heater? These systems are nice but seem to have a number of considerations that need addressed to make them truly usable, particularly for boon dockers. The 6 gallon water heaters are not the best for a long shower but they retain heat and I have never had an issue in cold weather.

Dave

[TucsonJim]

Guys,

Can this be taken literally where you cannot use the unit at all below 39F or that the unit should be winterized below 39F if unused? In other words, is there some residual heat to protect the unit while being in an off cycle during a camping trip at say 30F?


Jim

After taking a good look at one of these units at the factory, the heat exchanger will be very exposed to outside temperatures. And when the flame is off, it won't take long for the core to cool down completely. I wouldn't take a chance.

Jim

[ckreef]

GD forces everyone to purchase a "Artic 4 Season protection package (mandatory)" but the reality is that tankless water heater takes away the ability to camp all 4 seasons.

What is GD planning on doing about this? Are they going to say sorry we have the right to change specs, if so do we get a refund for the Artic 4 Season protection package?

[TucsonJim]

GD forces everyone to purchase a "Artic 4 Season protection package (mandatory)" but the reality is that tankless water heater takes away the ability to camp all 4 seasons.

What is GD planning on doing about this? Are they going to say sorry we have the right to change specs, if so do we get a refund for the Artic 4 Season protection package?

I'm not sure of how they will proceed, but I know they are working with Furrion on a couple of proposed retrofit solutions. Both of the solutions I've seen seem viable.

Jim

[Guest]

A small electric heating element would solve this issue but would not help the boondocking experience with respect to battery life. A retrofit pilot light perhaps?

Jim

[JBill9694]

Hmm, interesting. In 2017/2018 when I was researching tankless heaters, Furrion didn't show up on my radar, so this must be a fairly new product for them. I just checked the manual for my Suburban Nautilus IW60 and it has freeze protection in that the burner will come on when the water temp drops below 40F and kick off at 50F, provide electricity and propane are available. For storage, the heater would get drained and filled with anti-freeze like the rest of the system.

[TucsonJim]

I heard back from the GDRV team. Furrion is developing a source for a 12V thermostatically controlled heating pad that will be able to be placed into new and existing units. As soon as I get details such as part numbers, I'll share.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

I heard back from the GDRV team. Furrion is developing a source for a 12V thermostatically controlled heating pad that will be able to be placed into new and existing units. As soon as I get details such as part numbers, I'll share.

Jim

For reference . . . I have a Generac back-up generator at the house that has a "battery warmer". This is a 50W pad that the battery sits on. The small black thing in the wires is a thermal switch. Something like this could be incorporated into the Furion water heater, but at 12V, that 50W would be a 4A load. It is interesting that this "tankless" water heater still holds a litre/quart of water (taken from the amount of antifreeze needed) so there is a significant volume of water that could be kept warm with an immersion type heater . . . perhaps on the cold water inlet?

Rob

[Guest]

X2 Rob,

I assume these units utilize a staged or PWM controlled burner in order to regulate the flame based on the thermostat set-point. Or the thermostat controls a mixing valve...not sure. But if it controls the burner output based on demand, is seems they could fire it periodically based on its water temp at rest. I suspect this is how the Truma can function at very cold temps where they also have this small tank.

Jim

Moderator Note: For discussion on the Truma please see comment in this thread: Truma -- Furrion Tankless Water Heater Option

[theboss17]

Any updates on this. Just got a new 303rls and it has a tankless by furrion. I camp in below 40 all the time

[TucsonJim]

Any updates on this. Just got a new 303rls and it has a tankless by furrion. I camp in below 40 all the time

Let me check into it.

Jim