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Tankless hot water heater (1 Viewer)

depends on how your current house wiring. I looked into getting one and we would have had to rewire our circuit breaker to power it. 120v to 240v conversion, I think? Going from memory and I'm borderline EE stupid, so sorry if that's wrong. It wound up being way more than I was interested in spending.

 
The downside that I'm familiar with is up front cost. I don't know what it does to energy bills over all (electric is typically more expensive than gas when doing the same job), though you may not have to replace it as often due to the sort of corrosion that traditional water heaters get in their tanks.

 
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.

 
Kanil said:
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.
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Its just the wife, kid, and me. Not sure I'm liking what I'm reading about them though.
 
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Kanil said:
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.
Click to expand...
This is exactly the opposite of our experience. We have one for a large house and won't ever be without one. Obviously if you run 3 showers, the dishwasher, and the washing machine simultaneously it's sub-optimal, but that's true for traditional hot water tanks as well. Two showers simultaneously is no problem and it happens frequently. Shower plus dishwasher or washing machine is also not a problem at all. And the single biggest selling point to me? You never, ever run out of hot water. We've had big parties at the house with 6-8 folks staying with us, and the dependability of shower after shower of piping hot water is awesome. Also, since there isn't a gigantic tank of water being stored somewhere in your home, flooding issues are significantly mitigated with tankless. If you're going to be in the home for any length of time, the energy savings adds up, too. Can't imagine going back to a tank.
 
Genedoc said:
Kanil said:
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.
Click to expand...
This is exactly the opposite of our experience. We have one for a large house and won't ever be without one. Obviously if you run 3 showers, the dishwasher, and the washing machine simultaneously it's sub-optimal, but that's true for traditional hot water tanks as well. Two showers simultaneously is no problem and it happens frequently. Shower plus dishwasher or washing machine is also not a problem at all. And the single biggest selling point to me? You never, ever run out of hot water. We've had big parties at the house with 6-8 folks staying with us, and the dependability of shower after shower of piping hot water is awesome. Also, since there isn't a gigantic tank of water being stored somewhere in your home, flooding issues are significantly mitigated with tankless. If you're going to be in the home for any length of time, the energy savings adds up, too. Can't imagine going back to a tank.
Click to expand...
Which one do you have? Electric or gas? If electric, did it require any new wiring? Install cost?
 
Random said:
Genedoc said:
Kanil said:
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.
Click to expand...
This is exactly the opposite of our experience. We have one for a large house and won't ever be without one. Obviously if you run 3 showers, the dishwasher, and the washing machine simultaneously it's sub-optimal, but that's true for traditional hot water tanks as well. Two showers simultaneously is no problem and it happens frequently. Shower plus dishwasher or washing machine is also not a problem at all. And the single biggest selling point to me? You never, ever run out of hot water. We've had big parties at the house with 6-8 folks staying with us, and the dependability of shower after shower of piping hot water is awesome. Also, since there isn't a gigantic tank of water being stored somewhere in your home, flooding issues are significantly mitigated with tankless. If you're going to be in the home for any length of time, the energy savings adds up, too. Can't imagine going back to a tank.
Click to expand...
Which one do you have? Electric or gas? If electric, did it require any new wiring? Install cost?
Click to expand...
We have a Rinnai, gas, I forget the exact model number. It was installed as part of a custom build, and IIRC, the initial cost was about 1.5x that of a traditional unit. We calculated it would pay for the difference within a couple of years.ETA - One commonly complained about downside to tankless hot water heaters is the time it takes hot water to get to the faucet. In my experience, this is largely dependent upon distance of the faucet to the hot water heater. Our hot water heater very close to the master bath. As such, we get pretty much instant hot water in our bathroom. My office is upstairs and all the way at the other end of the house. Up there, it does take longer to get hot water. As always, YMMV.

 
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I called my electric company about one and they said that the wiring from the transformer and maybe the transformer may have to be upgraded to accommodate and electric tankless. Plus that would all be charged to me.

 
Random said:
Genedoc said:
Kanil said:
How many people do you have in your household? A lot of these tankless water heaters say that you can take a shower and run your dishwasher or washing machine at the same time but of the three people I know that have one, none of them say that is the case. All three of them say they will not be going tankless for their next water heater. We'll be replacing ours next spring and I think we are going to go with a tank.
Click to expand...
This is exactly the opposite of our experience. We have one for a large house and won't ever be without one. Obviously if you run 3 showers, the dishwasher, and the washing machine simultaneously it's sub-optimal, but that's true for traditional hot water tanks as well. Two showers simultaneously is no problem and it happens frequently. Shower plus dishwasher or washing machine is also not a problem at all. And the single biggest selling point to me? You never, ever run out of hot water. We've had big parties at the house with 6-8 folks staying with us, and the dependability of shower after shower of piping hot water is awesome. Also, since there isn't a gigantic tank of water being stored somewhere in your home, flooding issues are significantly mitigated with tankless. If you're going to be in the home for any length of time, the energy savings adds up, too. Can't imagine going back to a tank.
Click to expand...
Which one do you have? Electric or gas? If electric, did it require any new wiring? Install cost?
Click to expand...
Get a gas one if you can. Also, try and get a good european model (or something that has been sold in europe for the last 20 years). The new ones that have come out since they became available over here are less than reliable.
 
I have a tankless gas. No problems running the shower and washing machine. The only problem is that there is no temperature gauge so the water comes out HOT! But I sure don't miss having the tank corrode and having water in my basement.

 
Snotbubbles said:
I have a tankless gas. No problems running the shower and washing machine. The only problem is that there is no temperature gauge so the water comes out HOT! But I sure don't miss having the tank corrode and having water in my basement.
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Mind if I ask what make and model you have?Our tank is probably only going to last another year or so. I'll take a hard look at a tankless.
 
:popcorn:

getting close to that time to think about a new one. The last, with a tank, flooded my basement in the middle of our construction. Only ruined a lot of sheetrock then but now would be really bad. Thinking about going tankless next.

 
Jobber said:
Snotbubbles said:
I have a tankless gas. No problems running the shower and washing machine. The only problem is that there is no temperature gauge so the water comes out HOT! But I sure don't miss having the tank corrode and having water in my basement.
Click to expand...
Mind if I ask what make and model you have?Our tank is probably only going to last another year or so. I'll take a hard look at a tankless.
Click to expand...
How old is your tank?electric or gas?(I'm a home inspector)
 
Jobber said:
Snotbubbles said:
I have a tankless gas. No problems running the shower and washing machine. The only problem is that there is no temperature gauge so the water comes out HOT! But I sure don't miss having the tank corrode and having water in my basement.
Click to expand...
Mind if I ask what make and model you have?Our tank is probably only going to last another year or so. I'll take a hard look at a tankless.
Click to expand...
Peerless WBV-03
 
Local radio ad from Consumer Reports is saying the tankless models are only showing about a 30% savings in utility costs.

The most efficient ones were some sort of hybrid using a heat pump and, depending on climate, solar-assisted models.

Personally, I'd like to get that tank out of my basement and free up some space, but if that is the true savings, then I don't know if it is worth it for me.

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
Jobber said:
Gas. 11 years old 50 gallon.
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A gas water heater will last 20 years, easy.It helps if you drain it out once a year. (This goes for all water heaters, gas or electric)
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This is probably one of the simplest home maintenance things you can do, but I never do it. I have no qualms about lighting/relighting the pilot lights, or even messing with the plumbing in the house, but everytime I look at the drain spigot on the hot water heater, I can't help but envision a high pressure stream of nearly boiling water blasting me in the face.
 
My water tank started leaking so I replaced it with a tankless unit. My gas bill has dropped $50-$60 a month. Hot water is never an issue when we have guests. I give it a big thumbs up.

When researching I found the biggest problem was each manufacturer would make claimsas to how many baths/washers/dishwashers could run at the same time. Go by BTU's to tell which size you want. I went with a Bosch 199k BTU unit. It has no problem running the dishwasherand 2 showers in the middle of a new england winter.

ETA-you'll probably need to add a water softener to prevent lime deposits from ruining the units efficiency.

 
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We almost pulled the trigger on a Rinnai gas whole house unit last spring. We decided against it. High up front cost and had to run a dedicated 1" gas line into attic of two story house (water heaters in attic). Then you need to add a small (about 10 gallon reserve tank with recirculation system) if you want immediate hot water or use high efficiency washing machine (water is distributed in spurts and doesn't activate the tankless system). Last issue also affects lack of hot water if you have faucet turned on very low. Seems to make more sense in a second home/cabin that is not used much - then you don't need to constanly heat the water while you aren't there. Not an issue in Texas, but if you live in an area with a colder ground water, I have heard the results are less impressive and you need to size the system larger Ground water temp . Just my :2cents: .

 
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'Jobber said:
Bump for more opinions.
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I can let you know more in about a week on performance, but we just put a tankless one in my wife's business. The gas hot water heater was $300 compared to $2800 for tankless and install of the tankless. No doubt about it up front you will pay more as I did, but long term it pays for itself.
 
If you're doing electric, check arhncity's thread for discussion. There's another thread somewhere too.

If you're going gas, we converted from an electric tank to a gas tankless and I wouldn't go back. If you already have a functional gas tank unit that's not in danger of failing, then the savings may not be worth the cost. But, if you're in need of a new water heater and you have gas coming to your house, I would wholeheartedly recommend a tankless.

 
Incoming water temperature has a lot to do with the size of the electric ones. You will need at least a 100 amp heater if you're in a State that gets below freezing in the winter; even then it might not be satisfactory.

 
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This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless

 
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Gator Shawn said:
This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless
Click to expand...
Tankless would probably solve your problem, but you'll need 200 amp electric service to power it.

They make units that get installed as a supplementary heater near the faucet. Maybe that would work.

 
Dragons said:
Gator Shawn said:
This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless
Click to expand...
Tankless would probably solve your problem, but you'll need 200 amp electric service to power it.

They make units that get installed as a supplementary heater near the faucet. Maybe that would work.
Click to expand...
You mean Total 200A from the street right? The Water Heater is currently a 30A circuit from what I could see.

 
Yes, total 200a from the street. You will need 60-100 amps dedicated to the tankless, depending on the hearing capabilities you need.

 
Gator Shawn said:
This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless
Click to expand...
One thing we do when we have company staying with us is turn the temperature up on our water heater. Yes there is more risk for scalding but if you don't have small kids it should be an issue. In theory you use less hot water that way :shrug:

 
Be careful with electric tankless. I've been told that they aren't able to get the water hot enough and to only consider them if you have gas as your heating source. This was from my buddy who is a plumber and installs them.

 
belljr said:
Gator Shawn said:
This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless
Click to expand...
One thing we do when we have company staying with us is turn the temperature up on our water heater. Yes there is more risk for scalding but if you don't have small kids it should be an issue. In theory you use less hot water that way :shrug:
Click to expand...
Even at the hottest level, 30 gallons would not be enough. But think all the fun kids will have flushing toilets and running water to burn the poor SOB taking a shower. Setting too high is not s great option.

 
avoiding injuries said:
Be careful with electric tankless. I've been told that they aren't able to get the water hot enough and to only consider them if you have gas as your heating source. This was from my buddy who is a plumber and installs them.
Click to expand...
This.

I would look into a 50 gallon fast recovery tanked water heater.

 
jon_mx said:
belljr said:
Gator Shawn said:
This thread is 2 years old but we're looking at buying a townhouse that only has a small water heater like 30 or 40 gallons. In our current house there are 4 of us and we all take showers in about a 2 hour window in the morning. Often times the 4th person has little hot water. This is with a 50-gallon water heater. I'm less concerned with being able to run multiple hot water consuming devices at the same time as I am with making sure the third and fourth people have adequate hot water. Will a tankless fill that need?

Has anyone done this recently? I would guess that since this is a relatively new entrant in the consumer market, 2 years is enough for some strides to have been made,

Current HWH = Electric, 30-40 Gallons (unsure of exact size, only been inside for a initial look with the realtor)

Proposed = Electric Tankless
Click to expand...
One thing we do when we have company staying with us is turn the temperature up on our water heater. Yes there is more risk for scalding but if you don't have small kids it should be an issue. In theory you use less hot water that way :shrug:
Click to expand...
Even at the hottest level, 30 gallons would not be enough. But think all the fun kids will have flushing toilets and running water to burn the poor SOB taking a shower. Setting too high is not s great option.
Click to expand...
we move it from default up one notch. :lol:
 
pittstownkiller said:
Incoming water temperature has a lot to do with the size of the electric ones. You will need at least a 100 amp heater if you're in a State that gets below freezing in the winter; even then it might not be satisfactory.
Click to expand...
These work good in CA but old fashioned tanks seem better in cold weather states.

 
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