tankless water heater

[rock n roll kid]

my standard type water heater is sinking fast . it is 15 years old .
anyone have a tankless type ? how do these things work ?

pros ? cons ? cost ?
reccomend one or not ? thanks in advance

 

[billwill]

I'm interested in hearing on yeah or nay for the tankless. I'm in the same boat

 

[brick]

Tankless water heaters heat the water as you use it (they do not have a tank). You have to size the unit to the amount of water that you would be using at one time (you might be taking a shower, using the dishwasher and clothes washer at the same time). Gas seems to be the most economical because an electric unit would require substantial electric power (multiple 240v breakers). Hope this helps.

 

[DWalt]

They can be very expensive to install - may need a new high-current circuit (electric) or a larger gas line (gas) as they take a lot of gas and small pipes may not produce adequate gas flow.

Units themselves are expensive - much more so than a conventional tank-type heater.

May scale up if you have hard high mineral content water.

Several years ago I talked to a plumber as I was thinking about installing one. He recommended against it. Might be more worthwhile for new construction than putting one in an older house.

I'd suggest you speak with knowledgeable plumbers in your area before making a decision.

 

[FlyTyinFool]

Natural gas, electric, or propane?
Makes a big difference.

 

[Aggie1906]

Water Heater

I have no personal experience, but inquired about these from
my trusted installer. He warned me off because of our local well water being high in magnesium salts. Yes, like another poster warned of scaling.

 

[mtgianni]

Most tank water heaters take a 3" or 4" vent. Most tankless take a 5" or 6" so you have the extra vent expense plus installation of it. In several cases you need a 3/4" line to the water heater and perhaps increasing the gas piping from the meter to where it comes off at to provide for enough gas to run the heater. Most tank type AWH [automatic Water Heaters] run 32,000-40,000 btu per hour. Many tankless run 175,000 to 190,000 bth hr.
Hard water can plug them up, many recommend a regular cleaning cycle. OTOH, newer rules make tan type water heaters have a lot more electronic in them which are the components that are failing first instead of a tank. Deciding if you want to pay a serviceman $75 an hour to replace a $125 part in a 5 year old water heater is an all too common decision. Look at what is available from a shop you trust in your area.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I looked into one many years ago.
The guy selling them said where we live, for get it.
Your never get enough hot water in the winter where I live and the cost was way up there.
Went for a 75 gallon gas water tank. Never out of hot water and it does not come on very much.
Had it because of the walk-in tub for my disabled wife.

 

[URIT]

I have a Rinnai gas (propane) water heater that was installed in my home when I bought it 3 years ago. Our heating unit is attached to the exterior of the house outside of the MBR, while the controls are located in one of the MBR walk-in closets.

I have had no trouble with the unit and hot water arrives at the tap once it clears the cool water out of the line.

I like it and it is supposed to be an energy saver and the #1 best seller. Plenty of info and videos can be found by doing an internet search. I hope this helps.

 

[Sistema1927]

My experience has been with Disaster Relief shower/laundry trailers using LP tankless heaters. They need quite a bit of maintenance, but that might partly be due to the fact that they are used in a mobile and demanding environment. They do produce good hot water, which is a real plus after a day of doing fire or flood cleanup.

We installed one in a new bathroom at church a couple of years ago, and it has been trouble free.

All of these have been Rinnai.

 

[lkabug]

I have had a Rinnai tankless water heater (propane) (there are other options) for approximately 7 years . Can use all the major appliances at the same time, have never ran out of hot water,.
It only starts to heats as the source calls for hot water.

My only complaint is it takes a little extra time for hot water to get to the source where needed, as the system doesn't start heating until the source calls.
I am pleased with the system.

 

[bigwheelzip]

If you have hydronic heat, we installed a hot water storage tank, which gets its heat from a dedicated zone off your heating boiler. Basically a well insulated Thermos bottle.

Our son is a plumber and he recommended and installed it for us in NY. Worked great for us. Good Luck

 

[soFlaNative]

Looked into pros and cons when replacing a standard tank heater. I kept hearing about the tankless requiring a certain number of gallons per minute flow to function. Sometimes needing just a quick shot of hot it did not seem likely the design would work for my use.
It has been a few years since I installed the tank and I could not be certain if the info I based my decision upon was true and accurate but the 40 gal. serves us well.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I had one for 3 plus years now. No problems so far. Mine is propane fired & I have 200 Gal. tank. Had it filled last year & still have 40%. Propane cook stove also.

 

[gman51]

Many of the small skid homes use the tank less water heaters because they take up very little space. Friend that does phone answering for appliance service says she gets a lot of calls about defective tank less heaters. She is about to get a small skid home and she most likely will be getting the tank less heater in it also.

I have a 40 gal. tall electric water heater that I only have turned on just prior to my needing hot water. Usually after 15 minutes I shut the breaker for it off. I can take a long hot shower and still have hot water. I save a heck of a lot on my electric bill doing that. My present water heater was bought in 96 or 97 and my shutting power off to it hasn't caused it any problems.

I just had a water leak from bottom of the water heater and I thought dang it I need replace it. I notice the leaking water was cold so that told me it wasn't the inner tank leaking. I checked and found the supply water line was leaking where it attached to the water heater. I replaced the supply line and hot dog it has no leaks now. It pays to check appliances before just replacing them. I fixed my refrigerator defrost by replacing defrost switch, my dryer not coming on due to a temp safety switch and my washer not filling hot water.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do many appliance repairs. I use Repairclinic.com for trouble shooting, how to repair and get parts. The web site is for repairing all sorts of things not just appliances.

I love the internet! It has saved me hundreds of dollars in DIY repair costs for all sorts of things.

 

[mbliss57]

We had one in apartment in UK. Never out of hot water and we never had a problem.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[arjay]

New construction and space is limited-sure,otherwise it’s a lot cheaper just to replace it with a similar,but more efficient heater

 

[chief38]

Friends of mine installed one years ago. Loved it when it first was installed and it worked quite well. As it ages it tends to work less efficiently. That said, there is no perfect system and they all have their +'s and -'s.

You really need to consider the "payback". In other words how much more do you have to pay (over a traditional system) and how far will the extra money go in saving you money, efficiency, fuel, space and repairs. You also have to compare the longevity compared to a standard system and if the extra $ is worth it to you. Only you can make that decision.

 

[wnwitzell]

A recirculating pump would solve the wait for warm water. I have a water softener and this mitigates the routine maintenance issues they recommend annually. I have a unit in my cottage and it has worked fine for several years. I wii seriously consider installing another unit When the water tank starts leaking in the main house.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Our water is so *****y that I can't have an ice maker as it calcifies up after about 6 months. I would be estatic if I could get 15 years out of a water heater. My plumber says NO to tankless water heaters so that is where I stand