Keystone On Demand Water Heater

[Jnich17]

Looking at buying a 2021 Alpine 3851RD. It comes standard with an on demand water heater. I hear some dealers are experiencing troubles with these water heater units. What are some of your problems if you have had any?
We lost our 2019 Avalanche 375RD last month to Hurricane Sally and a big oak tree. Looking to upgrade alittle bit.

[chuckster57]

Do you know which brand of on demand water heater?

[ChuckS]

The on demand war heater for the Alpine is the Suburban IW60 model... there have been a few issues I’ve seen on the Alpines ... two owners had leaks that were corrected with a complete new unit...

Overall it seems to be an OK on demand system but for my money I’d stay with conventional water heater.

The in demand is going to use more water to heat with because it has to displace cold water in the lines..

Also...it is propane only so be aware that your propane consumption will be higher... if at RV parks with full hook ups then not so much an issue...due to more water being used

My observations and opinions.

https://www.airxcel.com/rv/suburban/...d-water-heater

[chuckster57]

My son installed the Suburban on demand in a fifth wheel that was donated to his family after the parodies fire. It’s still working as far as I know.

[Jnich17]

This is only option on Alpines this year. Thanks for info.

[falconetti]

Originally Posted by Jnich17

Looking at buying a 2021 Alpine 3851RD. It comes standard with an on demand water heater. I hear some dealers are experiencing troubles with these water heater units. What are some of your problems if you have had any?
We lost our 2019 Avalanche 375RD last month to Hurricane Sally and a big oak tree. Looking to upgrade alittle bit.

Tankless water heaters work on a flow switch, if you have a constant supply of poor (hard) water you can cause this to fail and or clog the heat exchanger tubes and cause failure. heat exchanger failures are the majority of warranty claims in residential heaters, not sure of RV types, but same design on a smaller scale. as mentioned above they are propane only. If you have 2 people you will use little propane, if you have 8 you will potentially consume more propane BUT you will not hear anyone complain about not having hot water.

[hardinrob]

I have had my 2018 Montana 3921FB (with Suburban IW60 Tankless Water Heater) for just short of 3 years. We love our tankless water heater. My model has a bath tub in the front bath which is why we got the tankless Suburban unit from factory. I have only had one issue with my Suburban unit and that was actually due to my dealer winterizing my unit. The control board had to be replaced because of improper winterization. Other than the control board the unit has been flawless for us.

[Kopy kat]

The great part of this model is the recirculating system...it keeps warm water near each faucet WITHOUT any wasted water...I find that with my new unit as compared to my old 6 gallon tank unit I waste VERY little water down the drain.

The winterizing is also much easier without having to pull the anode rode and flush the sediment out of the tank. JMO of course.