Tankless water heater

[Jo]

Anyone have one? Thoughts?

[BRoWN]

Anyone have one? Thoughts?

As long as you can get hot water pretty quickly......they are ok.

[Jo]

Anyone have one? Thoughts?

As long as you can get hot water pretty quickly......they are ok.

I was under the impression that all tankless water heaters supplied water pretty much instantaneously -- is that not the case? For me, that would be one of the major reasons to get one...

[n01_important]

It would be a hell of a lot faster if you have a tank-less in the 2nd floor bathroom versus the water heater in the basement.

I guess the tank-less really depends on what the current set up of your home is AND if you are planning on remodeling certain sections.

Most single family homes have washers in basements, kichen and sometimes a bath in the 1st floor and 1, sometimes 2 baths in the 2nd floor.  So if your going to remodel the 2nd floor anyway, it might make sense to put in a tank-less system.  You just need to find room for the unsightly thing.

If your 1st floor and basement water use is set up so it's lumped close and you have an unfinished basement... tank-less is a no brainer.  I know these things handle up to 2 users are once.  So if you might run into trouble if you have one system mentioned between basement and 1st floor and you plan to use the clothes washer, dish washer, kitchen sink hot water and 1st floor bathroom sink all at the same time.

You do have maintenance costs for each tank-less unit.  The burners have to cleaned etc..  A water heater, you can skimp on the cleaning every other year and probably do rods every 3-5 years as long as you purge the water every few months.  The tank-less units are a little less forgiving.  I don't know the cost to maintain each but must be at least $50-100 each unit.

[OakParkSpartan]

There's some good stuff here:  http://www.terrylove.com/forums/

Based upon the additional cost of both the heater and the installation, you probably want to look carefully at the payback time.

[Jo]

Thank you!

[soxfan1]

I've heard nothing but wonderful things from my friends that have them. I'm planning on getting one when my water heater finally gives out. Be prepared to spend more for installation. All of the vent piping must be run in stainless steel. That really adds to the cost.

[n01_important]

Are the tankless electrical or natural gas or both?

[OakParkSpartan]

Are the tankless electrical or natural gas or both?

Either.

[PamF]

Are the tankless electrical or natural gas or both?

Either.

I heard that if you run it electric, you have to have at least 60AMP service just for the heater.  So that may add some cost if you have to add electric to your house.

The people I know who have these LOVE them. 

[maraire]

Jo,
Tankless or on demand water heaters are by design a very good and economical way of getting hot water. But there are things that should be thought about before going ahead and having one installed.

1- They are not compatible with the piping systems that still remain in some or most of the old homes in our area. You will need to remove and replace any old galvanized supply piping to the heater. It needs to be clean and debris free copper. The heater passes water through a very small orifice that WILL get plugged with any sort of foreign material that tries to pass through causing complete shut down.

2- Replacement parts are a bear to get. If and when it breaks down you will be out of hot water until a part can be found and shipped. This can be dealt with easy enough if you can find an installing contractor that carries parts.---Good Luck

3- It must be installed on an outside wall to allow for venting. They need to be vented in stainlees steel and vent lengths usually can be no longer than 3 feet (per manufacturers specs)

4- They won't allow for a shower, dishwasher, or laundry all at the same time . You'll find you may very well run out of hot water.

Don't want to rain on anyones parade but we do have less than ideal conditions for these heaters.

Ideally these are installed in new construction homes that are laid out to accept them. By that I mean, if a home has 3 bathrooms there is 1 for each bathroom, plus maybe 1 for laundry and kitchen.

What I've said does not mean they won't work, its just not as easy as some may be led to believe. As always buyer beware.

Marty

     

[OakParkSpartan]

I've also seen installations where multiple tankless units are installed in parallel, but then you have effectively doubled your cost.

I also thought I would install a tankless until I started reading more about them. I can't justify the payback costs.

[Jo]

Thanks, Marty and OPS!

I'll keep tossing the idea around. We probably wouldn't do it anytime soon, anyway -- my company has laid off A LOT of people, and I could be let go at any time. So I don't think we'll be spending on any projects that aren't absolutely necessary for a little while. But it's good to be armed with information, and I'll keep thinking about it...