Tankless Water Heaters

Anybody have one? If so, are you happy with it?

The pilot light on my current storage model heater won't stay lit. I think it's the exhaust draft "blowing it out" as it's very windy here lately, but it's 10 years old and probably due to be replaced anyway.

I love the idea of the tankless model (space savings and alleged efficiency), but I'm not reading great things about them as I had expected. Any information is greatly appreciated.

 

I have one in the house we're temporarily renting and I love it. You get spoiled though, staying in the shower knowing you'll never run out of hot water. I'd be interested to see what people don't like about them, so far I haven't experienced any negatives.

When I replaced the water heater in the house I own, I learned that tankless is cost prohibitive as a retrofit due to the size of the gas line you need and some other factors, but as an initial installation in new construction it's a wash.

 

Same thing I found out.

If you want endless (or near endless) hot water, then it's great. If you're doing it to save money as part of a retrofit, it will take you nearly 25 years to make that money back - so it's a bad investment to say the least.

 

My neighbor installed one and raves about it. Expensive, yes. But he got some $$ back on tax rebates and energy star rebates and shit. He said in the end it cost him ~$600 to have it done after rebates.




And shit.

 

What if you were able to get the gas line work done for free? What else is needed to retrofit if the tank model is shitting the bed?

 

I believe there is a code update in most areas for the exhaust off the unit as well.

 

If your pilot keeps going out try replacing the thermocouple. Between $10-20 and also replace the sacrificial rods in the tank. Flush out the gunk at the bottom and you'll probably get another couple years out of it.

 

We have one and I couldn't be happier. Like said, there's endless hot water, it's 98% efficient (the literature says so!!!!) and it hangs on a wall with PVC exhaust ducts! We plumbed ours with a boiler mate and recirc system, so there's instant hot water everywhere.

 

+100

speaking as a former service plumber... i was gonna bet 50 bucks your pilot problem was a thermocouple. i have two in my garage on a shelf waiting around all the time. have installed them for the neighbors, family members... etc.

 

Always wondered if installing the thermocouplers was as easy as it looks. Sometimes I want ot just pick an extra up as my heater is about 12 yrs old...

 

it is that easy, one retaining nut that goes into the gas valve/thermostat and a clip that holds the probe end in the flame

 

I don't remember exactly how all the quotes were broken down but every quote I got put it at about 4500 bucks for my 2 bedroom house, which includes purchase + all install. To replace the water heater I have cost me all of about 250 bucks.

Remember that while they're super efficient, the bulk of your natural gas bill probably isn't because of your water heater (as evidenced by the fact my gas bill is about 12 bucks in the summer) and you're not going to save just tons of money by having a tankless system.

You will qualify for a rebate, but remember that also maxes out at 1500 bucks and includes any other eco-updates you've done that year, so if you already did windows or insulation, etc, you won't see any more because of the water heater.

Here's a good link that shows the real cost comparison: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...eaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm

However, all that being said, if you just need endless hot water, it is the way to go. They also have the added benefit of not flooding your basement when they take a shit and they take up much less space (if that's an issue).

 

I was very close to doing a tankless as a replacement recently but opted for a traditional 50g tank heater instead. I'm looking at new construction this year possibly and want to investigate the tankless again.

The tankless makes total sense to me. The only con I've heard that has any weight is that in hard water areas, due to the rapid heating of water, you can get scaling in the unit that needs to be cleaned/flushed. If you use a water softener I'd think this is not an issue.

Anyone else with any input?

 

I would love to look into this when we build our next house. I didn't think that you could get a recirculation system to work with tankless. I hate having to run faucets waiting for the hot water to make it's way through the pipes. Waste of water and time! I haven't really researched it yet, but it's nice to know there are options.

 

My father in law installed one in his restaurant after hearing all the benefits and he needed one anyways.

After a year, a valve inside started leaking and needed to be replaced. Getting the parts and service was a PIA because they are not as common. He also said the performance was not that great either even though the unit was rated higher than his needs.

 

I redid my house and went efficient on everything, including the water heater. I love it...endless water. the only downside is it takes a bit for the hot water to get to the spigot and you waste a little bit of water.

 

We have a Titan electric tankless water heater in the beach house we rent, no issues, we love it.

Its about the size of a large city phone book, 60 amp service feeds it.

 

Most of the brands have a optional recurculating pump built in. A separate line loops from the unit, goes to the furthest hot line and ties back in. The navian comes with control panel that can be programed to the hours you want the pump to kick on

 

We install the Rinnai and the Navian between $2800-$3500 depending what model and vent kit.

 

Yep, we just put a gas one in about 3 weeks ago. We got a sweet rebate from the city it covered all but about $400 of a whole house gas install. We converted from propane heat to natural gas, got a new range, and the hot water heater.

positives:
really cost efficient
endless hot shower

downsides:
not very regular hot water, if you are taking a shower the temperature seems to fluctuate a good bit.
If you are taking a shower and some one starts some laundry or the dishwasher good luck keeping the temperature constant.