Tank less water heater not working

[SageIBEWtramp]

We just purchased our 2020 Alpine in January. There isn't a lot of places open by us and my husband is currently using the camper for work to sleep in.
Our tank-less Suburban on demand water heater isn't keeping consistent hot water. Is this normal? What do I need to check. Online information for trouble shooting isn't helpful.
I know it is under warranty, but since so much is closed because of COVID we are not able to make an appointment to come in.

[flybouy]

Can you elaborate on how it's not consistent? Does is start hot then go to warm? Does it work 2 times but not a third time? More info would help.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum :wlcm:

First thing to check is consistent water pressure. After that I would turn the hot on all the way and adjust temp using the cold side. If he is showering, understand that if he stops the flow a the shower head like we normally do, the heater will sense no flow and shut off. This is one time that I would open the gray tank and just let the shower run.

[SageIBEWtramp]

When getting into the shower it works initially. Then it goes out for over a minute. I have to turn on the sink's hot water for almost 30 seconds for the hot water to come back. I have turned off the water for the 7 seconds that is recommended to kick the gas back on to light. The shower was the only place we had issues but now it's all the sinks.

I took the water saver out of the shower head and cleaned the shower head as well. It was new so it wasn't too dirty.

[chuckster57]

So if you turn on the HOT side only, it quits after how long? Most on demand systems need to sense flow to ignite and there are a few different ways of that. I would call Suburban and ask if they will reimburse a mobile tech. It needs some professional looking at IMO.

[SageIBEWtramp]

It quits after a min or two. I will give them a call! Thank you so much for your help! Such weird times! Stay safe and healthy!

[chuckster57]

Your very welcome and you stay safe also. We will get through this :)

[JRTJH]

It sounds like the input water flow sensor is not working properly. It may be "calcified" or "sandified" if your water is extremely hard. Are you using a filter on the city water connection? If not, you may have some "trash" from the water supply and/or it's possible that there was some "construction debris" in the water system when you bought the trailer and it finally worked its way to the flow sensor in the water heater....

This may not be your problem, but is one of the issues with demand water heaters.

[flybouy]

My experience with "on demand" water heaters was with large units in the restaurant industry. The one statement I'll make about them is that "demand water heaters demand a lot of maintenance and clean water."