Tankless water heaters. Anyone have them?

[CannaRed]

My tank blew. I was looking at a tankless heater.

Anyone have any negative experience?

 

['Boogieman']

I have installed a few and most customers complain. You may need to install more than one if you have a decent sized house. This is teck that is continually evolving and my advice is to wait until they are very efficient. Tank water heaters now have more instillation inside and currently uses less natural gas than tankless. Most customers I installed had space issues so went with a tankless. The gas usage increases and maintenance is a bitch on them things which will cost you if you don't do it yourself.

 

[CannaRed]

Thanks man. The space thing was the reason I was looking at them.
We have a old small house. Plumbing was added years later.
One Tiny bathroom. The water heater is in a tiny laundry room next to it.
I was hoping to switch to the tankless and build a shelf to store clothes.
My closets are occupied and the clothes have nowhere to go. Lol

 

[hubcap]

thoughts on getting a "half-sized" water heater?
Do you have wife/girl? Kids?


If the demand for hot water isn't that high, going with a smaller water heater/tank could be an option....


Just throwing out some thoughts for ya to ponder....


-cap

 

['Boogieman']

Thanks man. The space thing was the reason I was looking at them.
We have a old small house. Plumbing was added years later.
One Tiny bathroom. The water heater is in a tiny laundry room next to it.
I was hoping to switch to the tankless and build a shelf to store clothes.
My closets are occupied and the clothes have nowhere to go. Lol

You might be ok with a tankless, I suggest looking up the maintenance to know what your getting into. Every time you turn the water on your burning natural gas so naturally you will have a higher gas bill every month. New water heaters are bigger around than the one currently in your house due to more installation so keep that in mind. Don't ever get a water heater in big box stores they are cheap. What is wrong with your current heater?

 

[ronbo51]

I've owned 3 Rinnai's and love them. All the hot water till the end of time. Very efficient. Venting does not require a chimney. Absolutely no maintenance. Nothing much to go wrong.

 

[gladysvjubb]

Do it. I did one years ago and I would not take anything for it. Go with a Rheem unit. Solid and dependable. Look on ebay.

 

[Fixer]

Tankless is the only type of water heater I install in the builds I do. I've used Bosch, Navine, AO Smith. They all work well. I love them because they provide unlimited hot water without having to heat 80+/- gallons of water at all times. I live in New England and have one in my house that provides both heat and domestic hot water. IMHO you'd be crazy to use anything else.

 

[CannaRed]

You might be ok with a tankless, I suggest looking up the maintenance to know what your getting into. Every time you turn the water on your burning natural gas so naturally you will have a higher gas bill every month. New water heaters are bigger around than the one currently in your house due to more installation so keep that in mind. Don't ever get a water heater in big box stores they are cheap. What is wrong with your current heater?

I had major plumbing issues. And now the tank is leaking.

The tank is electric. The tankless would have to be electric also.

 

[Fixer]

In that case you may want to buy a heater with storage. Electric on demand water heaters draw a ton of power and therefore require a big circuit. 60+ amps at 240V.

 

[gladysvjubb]

I had major plumbing issues. And now the tank is leaking.

The tank is electric. The tankless would have to be electric also.

Yeah Bro' seriously you can get great units ata great price on ebay. A few months ago I did my daughter's house. I bought her the BEST unit available for Harsh Northern Climes. We live in the South. She and my Grandson are quite pleased with it. I paid like $700 for it. The plumber told me it was a $2500 unit. Real NICE!!!!

 

[St. Phatty]

I use a 900 watt BER (big electrical resistor) and just put it right in the bathtub with insulated wire, running 115 VAC.

It takes about 3 hours to heat it up. After 5 hours it's a little too warm.

Helps keep the electricity bill low so I can have a veg. light for the Cannabis plants and stay in the lower power consumption (cheaper) price thing.

 

[tobedetermined]

I had a 1/2 size electric heater in a crawl space when we bought the house. We lived with it for years - running out of hot water all of the time. We switched to a Rinnai & now we have endless hot water. We love it . . . but . . . there is a lag. It takes 20 - 30 seconds for hot water to get anywhere & that lag can drive you crazy.

And they are not totally maintenance free. You should buy a re-circulating pump & run 5 gallons of vinegar through it every couple of years to clean the orifices of build-up.

 

[armedoldhippy]

old friend put one in just for the shower. his (soon to be ex) wife had a bad habit of starting the washing machine when he got in the shower...

 

[Jayded]

The best thing about the tankless heaters is you never run out of hot water,only thing that's annoying is the amount of time it takes for the water to come out hot

 

[EsterEssence]

I have a lot of minerals, a lot of calcium that would cause a buildup in the heater coils, at least that’s what my plumber friend told me, so I went with high efficiency gas tank type. My friend in Switzerland had one in the bathroom that worked great, immediate hot water but the only hot water was in the bathroom...

 

[CannaRed]

I decided on getting the tankless, but it didn't work out.
For us to get the tankless heater, I would need four 40Amp double pole breakers.
That's crazy. Ive never seen anything that needed more than one breaker, but this thing is 36kw! That's alot of watts!
I just didn't have the extra money for it. It was only a little over $200 more for the tankless, but then it was over $200 for the 8awg wire I would need to run it. Plus the 4 breakers, and then pay electrician buddy to run the wires.
We will be here for the long haul, so I will get the tankless when this tank dies in 15 years(hopefully).
I have now replaced almost every piece of plumbing in the house.
Still need to get the new guts and flapper for the toilet tank.
And really... I want to add a whole house water filter. For drinking, but mostly to prevent all the mineral build up.
The old pump was nasty!

 

[CannaRed]

For you plumber minded folk I have a question.

Nothing in this house was plumbed right.
We have a kitchen sink, bath sink, tub, toilet, and clothes washer. 2 people.
All the plumbing is literally in one corner of the house.
What would be the proper size pressure tank and pump?

The old was 1/2hp shallow well jet pump and a 20 gal pressure tank.

I replaced with 3/4hp pump and 32 gal pressure tank. I did this because it was what was available.

Also- the 32gal pressure tank came pre-charged with 40psi.
But the pump directions said to set the pressure tank at 2psi under the pressure switch cut in of 30psi. So tank needs to be set to 28psi.

I did that. Was that correct?

After the water is turned back on, I checked with tire gauge and its back up to 38psi.

All this sound right?
Even tho I may be pretty good at laying the pipe....
I'm no plumber

 

[WelderDan]

I have one and love it. The old water heater was over 30 years old and after numerous element and thermostat changes I went tankless. It was a good decision. It took up 3 40 amp dual pole breaker slots, but the hot water is endless. And I can make it hotter instantly with the turn of a dial. It's the size of a pizza box and about 4 inches thick so I gained space in the garage too.

 

[sshz]

I'll add do not get one if you are off a well.....the pressure is too low and you will need an extra pump to push it thru the house. I looked at them when I had to replace my hot water heater, and decided a BIG no. Too many issues......