Tankless water heaters

J

Jim in Wisconsin

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Pardeeville WI
When we built our new house, I wanted (for several reasons) to get a tankless water heater. And so we did. Paid big bucks for a recirculation thingy-the full 9 yards.
It's been nothing but a pain. While going up and down basement stairs to reset the d*mn thing is probably a good thing for my recovery from hip surgery, it does nothing for hot water when we need it. Actually were w/o hot water for 3-4 days.
The rep for the water heater people has been a prince-he's been out here 3X to try to fix it. Today he learned that he is no longer there rep, and the new folks are in Minn.
So, has any of the learned folks here have experience with tankless water heaters? While not naming the brand I'm stuck with, I don't need any input from Navien users.
 
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I have been in the HVAC field for 15 years and I have a 40 gallon tank in my basement.
The tankless ones can be a PITA ,
Some things you can do is read the Maintenance schedule and follow it,
Some need to be taken apart every couple of years and the valve that opens the gas valve needs to be cleaned and greased with a plumbers grease.
Funny things those on demand water heaters,
They either work or they dont.
A particulate filter on the inlet side can help.
I would like to know what the other guy did over the years to get you going for a while.
Peter
 
Don't have any personal experience with em... but I did read a CR test about gas tankless units a year or so ago. They said the units generally had troubles with varying temps. Required frequent maintenance. Suggested a water softener due to calcium messing things up. Reduction in gas energy costs would take a couple decades or more to recoup the higher purchase and installation costs. Sounds like yours? -- Unless they buyer had a special need, CR suggested that a conventional unit was the best way to go.
 
When my heater blew-I wanted a tankless but my plumber told me not to waste my money. Always listen to your plumber.
 
I paid big bucks for a 105 gallon Marathon WH. Love it. It's very efficient and has a lifetime warrantee. We got some kind of deal from our crooked water county electric company.

Love the WH!
 
I got a Rinnai R75LS a couple of years ago. Best thing I ever did. The key is the less hot water you use the quicker it will payoff. I've never had a problem with it and some months my gas bill has been just the line maintenance fees. It just sits on the wall in the basement.
 
When our 40-gallon water heater sprung a leak, we replaced it with a Rennai tankless. It’s OK, but about a 1/3rd way thru a shower, it gets colder, but soon returns to where it should be. The plumber instructed us how to do routine maintenance, which includes cleaning out a small, in-line filter. When we cleaned out the filter the first few months, there was plumber’s putty trapped in it. After a few cleanings, the putty occurrences stopped. We’ve seen about a 30% savings in our natural gas bill. It was expensive, but hopefully we will see a cost savings in my lifetime. :)
 
when you say you have to reset it are you talking about the breaker? if you have an electric one they are awful all together. they use too much power and have too many parts. when they first came out they were a big thing. we put quit a few in only to return and swap out for a full size tank wh. i would say keep pushing the manufature to fix it on their dime. until they give you another that works. they may be waiting you out. if that doesn't work call your old field rep and pay him under the table. if they let him go then he probably need's the money or they may be just blowing smoke so you would leave them alone. good luck if nothing else works then call a gas/plumber that will guarentee to fix it. Doeboy
 
My daughter has lived with a tankless heater in her house for about five years. She had to have it replaced under warranty at one point, but since then it has been fine.

After my mother's death, my brothers and I did some long-deferred work on her house. One of the necessary jobs was replumbing it, and we put in a tankless heating system to get rid of a water heater that had been foolishly located in the main part of the house where a break would flood several rooms and ruin flooring. That was last year, and there are no problems to report yet.

I'm in for a new water heater in the next couple of years, if past history is any indication, and I'm thinking about going tankless.
 
sipowicz said:
Putting in those heaters is a tankless job.
Click to expand...
LOL. Am I the only one that caught that?



I just finished my house and also thought about the tankless but, through research, opted to go with an 80 gallon traditional with a lifetime warramty. The tankless can only support a couple of things going on at the same time and still maintain. Sorry to hear that it's been such a PITB for you. Thanks for reminding me why I went another direction and for others who are pondering that decision. Good luck with getting it to work properly. Cold showers stink to say the least!
 
Being a Plumber, the Tankless heaters can and are a PITA, for some reason people think tankless means INSTANT HOT WATER and we get alot of calls for this,they will save on the Gas/Electric bill in the long run.

Once one starts giving you trouble, they will keep giving you trouble so my advice is to go with either a 50 or 80 gallon tank type, if you have a whirpool tub go 80 gal since those jokers hold 40 gallons give or take.

And just because it says 50 or 80 doesn't mean you get that much hot water(just the size of it) 50 will give you around 42-44 gallons and a 80 will put out 70-74 gallons.

FYI don't call them HOT water heaters; you can't heat HOT water:p
 
JWiley said:
I got a Rinnai R75LS a couple of years ago. Best thing I ever did. The key is the less hot water you use the quicker it will payoff. I've never had a problem with it and some months my gas bill has been just the line maintenance fees. It just sits on the wall in the basement.
Click to expand...

I have a Rinnai propane heater in my home and it has been faultless. No recirc so I have to wait a bit for the water to heat up. I have some German brand of electric tankless in my shop just to service one sink. No problems there either.
 
Rinnai makes a good product. If he is resetting things you have a failure to fire. Check for a visible code, generally a blinking light that says what the problem was. It could be partially slowed flows from hard water over heating sensors or faulty reading temp. sensors. In many ways, green is a pain in the rear to work on and not as long lasting as old school costing you money but saving the planet for Al Gore, I mean future genrations.
 
Tankless heaters

Had them in Holland-called "gysers"-Hard water casued problems with the valve systems. If I was to put one in I would consider a water softener. Ours broke or partially heated the water all the time.
 
Thanks to all who responded. I wanted a tankless because we get a slug of iron once in a while (we do have a softner) and I didn't want to have 80 gallons of iron sitting there. By resetting, I meant hitting the power switch, which sometimes worked. error codes came up indicating ignition problems-natural gas is 7 inches at the heater, so that isn't the problem. I note that Navien has a bad rep from some of the sites I've looked at.
The good news is the rep was excellent. He has been out 3X, and seems to know his business-the bad news is he just got fired from navien. Darn shame as he was very responsible.
Thanks for the tip about Rinnai; I'll see what the plumber says!
 
I build houses for a living and I've researched the tankless heaters but still go with conventional gas Hw heaters, and as a rule of thumb, I never go with any new fangled product until it has been out for a long time and everyone is using it. Nearly every builder around here still use conventional gas hw heaters, and thats even on the high dollar houses. I typically put a 40 gallon Hw heater for the master bath and Jacuzzi tub nearby, and another 40 gallon heater in the attic over the garage for the rest of the house. With 2 tanks you can turn the heat down depending on how much water you need for different areas and keep the gas bill very reasonable.
 
we use tankless hot water systems in our new (3 year old now) 140 bed jail....had a few bugs at first, but it works fine....at least, the inmates don't complain about the water temp.....they complain about the fact they only get 4 minute showers, and about a billion other things, but never about the water temp..
 
Here's a couple more good reasons for going with a water heater tank; IF the power goes out you still have a supply of hot water for awhile and if the water supply is interupted by disaster you have XX gallons of potable water already stored in the house. 16 5 gallon jugs of water would take up a lot of storage space, an 80 gallon water heater is often overlooked and never in the way.
 
I have had a Takagi tankless heater installed in my home for over ten years. It has worked flawlessly. Don't be misled- tankless water heater technology has been around for decades in Europe and Asia. Do the appropriate research and talk to qualified xendors/installers before you make your decision. I will never install an energy wasting tank heater again.
 
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