tankless water heaters

Author Topic: tankless water heaters  (Read 1101 times)

Offline hooD

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tankless water heaters
« on: March 14, 2011 - 06:41:12 PM »
 :feedback:  i have a 40 gallon gas water heater that i will have to replace soon.  does anyone know about the tankless water heaters?  i know they cost more initially but they claim to be more efficient in the long run.  your opinions are welcomed.

i'm also considering an electric tankless unit.   
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Offline thedodgeboys

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2011 - 06:49:40 PM »
:feedback:  i have a 40 gallon gas water heater that i will have to replace soon.  does anyone know about the tankless water heaters?  i know they cost more initially but they claim to be more efficient in the long run.  your opinions are welcomed.

i'm also considering an electric tankless unit.

I have a gas one in my house and love it its an endless supply of hot water we can shower 2 at a time run the cloths washer and the dish washer and not run out.

now the bad it takes a few, actually several seconds for the hot water to reach the faucet its not instant or as quick as a tank system. Placement has a lot to do with that meaning the unit should be close as possible to the shower so less cold line water has to go to wast waiting on the hot to arrive.
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Offline Bullitt-

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2011 - 07:03:48 PM »
My neighbor just went tankless...it appears you will save about $4.00 per month, not worth it IMO except there is a Federal Tax Credit to help offset the initial cost difference.
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Offline t1971Chally

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2011 - 07:08:01 PM »
hooD,

I looked at changing mine over to a tankless system but I have too many faucets and to large of an area to supply.  Make sure you give consideration to number of people in your house, number of faucets, etc.  Consider your habits ....do you wash dishes with a dishwasher or in the sink?  Do you tend to run multiple appliances (dishwasher, clothes washer, shower, etc) at the same time?  It makes a difference on the size of the unit.

To do my house would have required at least 2 of these systems.  I have read were some people install smaller units at the point of use....

Biggest advice is do some searches on the internet and you will find reviews of the systems and peoples experiences with them.

Make sure you get it alot of consideration as they (good ones) are not cheap and again depending on your habits etc may require multiple units.

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Offline t1971Chally

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2011 - 07:09:14 PM »
hooD,

I believe the tax credit ran out at the end of 2010.  But you should still ask....

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Offline priderocks

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2011 - 07:36:02 PM »
I wouldn't suggest it, for the following reasons;

You will need a 3/4 gas line to the unit. That can often require running the line all the way from the meter as there aren't many spots in the home where there is a 3/4 line to easily tap into.

You cannot use the existing  w/h vent- needs a bigger one, usually involving removing the existing roof jack, and doing a little roofing repair.

You will need a 110v plug near the unit.

You cannot use a recirculating pump, like a little Grundfos, with a tankless hot w/h- all you will be doing is recirculating cold water.

You still have to wait for hot water, just like a regular tank unit.

Installation usually requires a building permit/inspection.

They are expensive. Plan on spending $3K to have a plumber put one in. If you need the electrical/gas line/ new roof vent, and are hiring it out, you could drop $5k total on the installation.

It has electronics in it that are not readily stocked on the shelf. You can't go down to your plumbing supply house and just grab replacement parts like a thermocouple for a regular tank heater. And because the stuff is not on the shelf, I have heard of people waiting two weeks without hot water waiting for parts to arrive.

The units don't kick in until a minimum flow demand is reached, like 2 gpm. You don't necessarily have hot water for low-flow applications.

The only application where it might make sense is you have like 9 teenagers that like to take two 30-minute showers each every day.

I have a 100% success rate of talking people out of them as a contractor. Let me know if my string remains unbroken.

Offline dodj

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2011 - 10:04:18 PM »
They are more efficient because you are not heating 40 gallons of water 24/7. They do require large amounts of energy when they do run. If you go the electric route, you will likely need a 100 amp double pole breaker, which means you need at least a 200 amp service for the house. Gas  or oil I would think is the better way to go. High power/current electrical connections traditionally give you grief in the long run. :2cents:
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Offline Scatterbrain

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2011 - 10:55:53 AM »
Our water heater died a couple of months ago and I looked into this.  One of the plumbers I spoke with said that there is no fixing these things.  A lot of parts on them just can't be fixed.  I spoke to a friend of mine who had 2 installed when they built his house and this is pretty much the case.  In the 2 years since they moved in the upstairs unit has never run correctly and has been replaced 3 times.  We ended up just replacing the water heater with another same model unit and it still ended up costing almost $600 just in bringing the house up to current code in order to pass inspection.  (Our city requires a building permit for a Water Heater replacement)

Offline LAA66

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Re: tankless water heaters
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2011 - 11:42:32 AM »
 Just replaced my WH last month and considered the tankless. After figuring the cost to add the upgraded fuel supply and other modifications, I could buy enough conventional units to last a lifetime.

 In a new build it might make sense though. I installed one on an extensive remodel and they aren't difficult at all.