Furrion Tankless water heater regulator adjustment

[gundealer]

Currently on our maiden voyage with our 2023 337RLS. Our Furrion tankless water heater does not hold temp. When set at 115 degrees the temp will go as high as 130 degrees. In checking I found the burner flame to be bright orange instead of blueish. I would assume this means the regulator is running lean and the water heater can't keep up with demand. Does anyone know if there is a way to adjust the regulator. Stove top and oven run fine. Plenty of propane etc. No kinks in gas line that I can see. Sorry if this is posted elsewhere.

[JBill9694]

No direct experience with the Furrion, but doubt it has its own regulator. You most likely have a master regulator downline of your propane tanks that regulates the pressure to 11" water column. If all the other devices have a blue flame (the stove is probably the easiest to check) then the problem may be a pinched line to the WH or an obstruction in the line or at the tip. If not familiar and comfortable with working with propane systems, and since you're probably under warranty, it may be time to take it to your dealer. If you can't get to you dealer, call GD customer service (wouldn't hurt to call them anyways) and they may authorize a mobile RV tech. You would have to pay for the service call, but GD would pick up parts and labor.

[howson]

Currently on our maiden voyage with our 2023 337RLS. Our Furrion tankless water heater does not hold temp. When set at 115 degrees the temp will go as high as 130 degrees. In checking I found the burner flame to be bright orange instead of blueish. I would assume this means the regulator is running lean and the water heater can't keep up with demand. Does anyone know if there is a way to adjust the regulator. Stove top and oven run fine. Plenty of propane etc. No kinks in gas line that I can see. Sorry if this is posted elsewhere.

Check the water control valve on the heater and ensure it is set at "MAX". You'll find specific info in the owner's manual.

[gundealer]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have the water control valve set to max. Water pressure entering rv is 48 pounds which is well within furrion guidelines. No matter what I try I get the orange burner flame. Side note: Grand Design has contacted Furrion on my behalf with the issue. Furrions reply was to send me a ridiculous two page warranty checklist that I would have to hire a professional installer to fill out. We'll see where this goes. Many thanks to Grand Design for picking up the ball on this.

[howson]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have the water control valve set to max. Water pressure entering rv is 48 pounds which is well within furrion guidelines. No matter what I try I get the orange burner flame. Side note: Grand Design has contacted Furrion on my behalf with the issue. Furrions reply was to send me a ridiculous two page warranty checklist that I would have to hire a professional installer to fill out. We'll see where this goes. Many thanks to Grand Design for picking up the ball on this.

To rule out that it's not a propane supply issue after the regulator, consider hooking up a temporary line from an independent propane bottle (with appropriate two stage regulator that provides 11" of WC) and connect the other end to the Furrion. Check for leaks--if good then fire up the water heater.

If the problem is exactly the same, the issue is likely associated with the appliance. If the flame burns correctly, the issue could be between the distribution block and the flex hose that feeds the Furrion. ("Flex hose" is assumed based on older GD models...your newer model with the Furrion could be different.)

Howard

P.S. Please keep this thread updated--we're learning along with you on these new Furrions.

[gundealer]

Thanks Howard. Will check that out. Great idea. Will keep you posted.

[gundealer]

Well, well, well. After hiring an RV maintenance tech who has installed numerous tankless water heaters (TWH) I have some info to pass along. Number one. The bright orange flame that I saw thru the view port was in fact the thermocouple. Under the thermocouple hardly visible is the blue flame. My bad. It seems that the TWH is almost entirely dependent on water pressure to function properly. (One of its faults). The tank is very small on the TWH so it can super heat the water quickly. Its needs an adequate amount of water flowing thru it to maintain temp.(Don't know the number for adequate). Too low water pressure (Don't know what number too low is)and the super heated water really gets heated. Hence the water temp going up 15 degrees. So your in the shower and the water is just right, then the water pressure in the rv park drops, the water heats up to a higher temp, what do you do. Turn down the hot water. Wrong. You just restricted the hot water even more. The answer seems to be to lower the hot water temp on the thermostat to begin with say from 115 to 106, open her up full blast then temper with some cold water if you need it. Clear as mud right. Good luck finding an RV park that has constant water pressure. The maintenance tech said while its a good idea in theory, he wouldn't have one. Just his opinion. Hope this helps. I'm going to try it tonight.

[Jlawles2]

gundealer So our camper came with a note taped to the wall next to the HWH controller. It says 'set water temperature, turn on hot water". After a few attempts, I figured out exactly what you are saying. Dial down the temp on the controller, leave the cold water off, and turn on just the hot to shower.

Now the kicker to the whole thing: navy showering SUCKS. As soon as you kill the water, guess what, you got it, the HWH turns off. SO, you keep getting blasted with cold water every time you restart the water.

[gundealer]

Well I just got my shower. Dang it works. Set temp on TWH to 108 turned it on full blast and tempered with a little cold. Temp stayed at 108 the whole time. Nice if they would tell you this stuff in the owners manual.

[howson]

Why not fill the fresh water tank and use the water pump to get a consistent pressure?

The exception seems to be the Truma when it comes to satisfaction with a continuous HWH. ncitro has documented the success his clan has with the appliance.

[ncitro]

Yeah that was my first thought, if I was having issues with water pressure I'd fill my tank and run the pump. We continue to love the Truma. It's got it's own circulation pump, so it's probably why it does not have this issue.

[Jlawles2]

It's not so much the pressure, but constant flow. The Furrion HWH cannot tone down the flames enough to keep a constant outlet temperature of the water at low flow rates.

[gundealer]

Yes constant flow but there has to be a minimum water pressure also. Minimum water pressure = ??. Too low of a water pressure and the water overheats.

[JBill9694]

Our Suburban TWH has a minimum FLOW (volume of water over time) of 1.2 gpm, not a minimum PRESSURE (a measure of force). There is, of course, a relationship between the two. Basically, you need enough force (pressure) to push water through the piping fast enough to get the minimum flow. Operating faucets or the shower with the hot water valve full open maximizes the area for the water to flow through, minimizing the velocity needed to maintain the minimum flow, and therefore minimizing the pressure needed to maintain that velocity.

Using the cold water valve to regulate the temperature of the hot water at the faucet will decrease the velocity and therefore the flow of the hot water somewhat. After all, there is only so much water entering the system and so much pressure available. So as the system adjust to the change in flow through the TWH, some further, minor, adjustment of the cold water valve may be necessary. Add to this that the TWH is trying to maintain a constant temperature, and even if the flow is constant the TWH may be adjusting the flame to avoid overheating and then underheating of the water, especially if the incoming water temperature fluctuates, much like a furnace kicking on and off.

We use a pressure reducing valve on our water hose because the park water pressure is usually higher than recommended for the trailer. A secondary benefit of the PRV is that it buffers us from any swings in pressure in the parks system, as long as it doesn't drop below the PRV setting. So, the park's water pressure swings have little impact on the performance of the TWH.

Something that can impact a TWH is buildup of scale from hardwater. When we do have problems with the TWH, not related to a bad control, descaling has, so far, ben successful in correcting them.