PDQ OWNERS FORUM

Hi All,
My Wolter water heater has "bite the dust". Does anyone know if they still are being repaired and what would that address be? If not, what is a reasonable alternative? Thanks in advance, it's no fun taking cold showers all the time!!!! Roger Wood

Check out the Excel heater as as an alternative. Inexpensive and easy to install and working good after 1 year. I think there are more details on the board already. $300Check with Lady of the Lake (Sam Densler).

I also installed an Excel heater (thanks to Sam for the info) to replace my newer version of the Wolter. Cost has risen slightly (about $325) when I purchased mine in June 2006. Although I don't have enough history to comment on reliability in the marine environment, so far I've been extremely happy with its performance and the install was simple.

THanks Guys - I purchased one today. Roger Wood

Just a note. I have had mine for a year and a half so far with no issues. It is holding up very well in our stbd stern locker, mounted just above the holding tank where our Wolther was. Pleanty of hot water on demand, very little propane use. Very happy customers. The only caution to report is the use of batteries to power the igniter. Make sure you install it high enough that you can reach under and fully open the battery door to change the batteries. I have not had to change them yet but I do check them occasionally and I have noticed a bit of corrosion on the ends so I clean them off and reinsert. Maybe I'll try some Corrosion-X next time. The engineer in me wants to install a 12V to 3V converter and hardwire 3V directly into the unit to eliminate the batteries but I have not gotten that bug yet...

We are very happy with ours... We use it year round... I did find that a lack ofvertical clearance caused some type of over-temp to shut it down.. I moved it lower and installed a small muffin fan to vent the heat to the rear compartment where the steering/rudder is located.

Just wanted to pass along some info on the Excel tankless instant water heater that I have been praising over the last year or so. The only issue I had with the unit was the goofy design that used 2 D cell batteries to power the igniter. In the marine environment, the contacts corrode a bit and needed to be cleaned occasionally. Not huge but inconvenient, especially where I had it mounted.

Good news. I ran into the vendor at the Miami Boat Show this weekend and told him he needed to find another solution if he wanted to sell these for boats. At that point, he opened the cover of the unit on display and showed me the new design that eliminates the D cells and uses a little mini generator that uses the water flow to create a spark to ignite the propane. They are more expensive but seem like a much better design. The unit is now $400 but I like the design much better and eliminates the one issue I had with the unit. He offered to give me a new unit for the $100 difference between what I paid and the new price with the new igniter as long as I returned the old unit to him in refurbishable condition. So I decided to go for it. I will replace the old unit and provide an update as I put some hours on the new one.

If you have one and want to do the same, send an email to Fernan Echavarria at sales@excelamerica.com or call him at 786-245-0018. If you are ordering new, make sure you ask for the Freedom unit. Price is $400 but if you are installing it in your liveaboard "home" you qualify for a $300 tax break from the IRS for an Energy Star compliant device. He will fax you the tax form and certification.


Sam

I couldn't reach Excel by phone, but when I cruised the Web for another number I found they are doing a LOT of business on Ebay. They are selling their "D-cell" heaters for $295 on buy-it-now and several have gone for $250 which is probably their reserve price. They had listed two of the newer heaters with "automatic gas ignition system" for $500, I bid $350 and won. It is a sweet looking piece of gear, and will be going in the boat soon. Thank you all for the advice!

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On the website, it looks like the ones with D-cell battery ignition are $299 and the ones with the automatic ignition is $499.

Link: http://www.excelonlinestore.com/servlet ... ategories
I need to look into the $300 tax credit - that would make the cheaper ones free. I am in fresh water, perhaps the D-cell battery ignition ones would be OK.

I think my Wolter is on it's last legs.

Yes, I bought my original one from him on ebay. Was around $300 including shipping. But when I saw him at the boat show and told him about my battery issue, he offered the replacement unit for $100 cash and my old unit back (since it was in very good, refurbishable condition). He told me to tell other PDQ owners about the new design and said that if we contacted him directly, he would make the same offer to any of us, that is, old unit (if you had purchased one from him) plus $100 for a new one, or $399 for a new one (even though they list for $499). If you cannot reach him by phone, try email, I had better luck getting him by email. I think he is on the road a lot. I was a bit skeptical at first but I have nothing but good to say. He gave me the new unit for the $100 upgrade price before I sent him the old unit back. I walked out of the boat show with the new unit, he never knew if he would ever see the old unit but he trusted me to send it back. I did pay about $10 for return shipping but I thought that was fair.

I did the switch to the new design but was charged $150. I have to say that the ONLY difference seems to be the self ignitor. I used the original unit year-round and never had to replace the batteries. Next time, I'll probably go back to the battery powered unit and save a few dollars.

I jsut replaced my Wolter water heater with the Excel unit. The Wolter aperas to be in good shape, but has a leak in the inlet connection.

If anyone is interested in purchasing it, make me an offer.

Bill

Just wondering if anyone had any updated info on this topic. I'd like to *finally* replace my Hot Wolter.

Excel heater still working great (installed in summer of 2006). The two "D" batteries are still the originals, though I am changing them this month as a precaution. I believe they manufactured a newer version with a direct hard wire to the 12 volt system. I love the easily adjustable temperature setting. Also very simple to install.

Close, but the new excel requires NO power, the igniter is now a little mini generator that uses the water flow to create a spark to ignite the propane. Works great, I have one installed on Lady of the Lake. Do a PDQForum search on Excel and you will get all of the info including contact info to buy. Not affiliated, just a very happy customer.

Sam