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re: Tankless vs tank water heater question with estimates
Posted on 12/17/23 at 8:30 pm to zippyputt
Posted on 12/17/23 at 8:30 pm to zippyputt
quote:
My tankless system replaced 2 50 gals for about $400 more than the cost of installing 2 new 50 gals and now I don’t have those tanks in my attic. (2 50 gals were $1600 each installed) More space in the attic, endless hot water, no tanks in my attic.
That's fair. In some instances they do make good sense even over a tank. And anytime you can get a water heater (tank or tankless) out from an attic is a great thing.
I'd wager though that most people that get them don't really benefit from them enough to justify the cost. If I needed to replace two tanks that were on different sides of the house I still would rather go back with 2 tanks instead of one tankless. Having to wait for hot water to arrive from the other end of the house at a faucet is like waiting for water in pot to boil. If the two tanks were next to each other just for capacity then thats when a tankless starts to look more appealing for sure.
This post was edited on 12/17/23 at 8:39 pm
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Posted on 12/17/23 at 9:05 pm to Turnblad85
quote:
TL;DR tankless is a luxury and luxuries cost money.
Not always about the luxury. Legitimately they save a lot of space and can be placed in areas where a tank water heater isn't feasible. My main issue with them is that even with a gas version they require electricty to run, in a power outage you'd have to run some kind of power to one vs a conventional gas water heater which doesn't require any electricty.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 8:33 am to Success
The average I've seen for a new tankless to replace old tank water heaters was ~$3000 for the last year or so and you always want to get a little bit bigger than what's recommended for the house. My neighbors have 8 people living in their home with a tankless and they seem to be doing fine.
From what I've also heard and noticed: getting tankless in a new install is usually cheaper. Tankless will last at least 50% longer than a tank water heater. So you MAY see the same gain in your investment. I have no idea on the repair/maintenance costs of tankless heaters but they seem to be a bit trickier than tank water heaters.
If you can afford the tankless then do it.
From what I've also heard and noticed: getting tankless in a new install is usually cheaper. Tankless will last at least 50% longer than a tank water heater. So you MAY see the same gain in your investment. I have no idea on the repair/maintenance costs of tankless heaters but they seem to be a bit trickier than tank water heaters.
If you can afford the tankless then do it.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 8:35 am to Clames
quote:
Not always about the luxury. Legitimately they save a lot of space and can be placed in areas where a tank water heater isn't feasible. My main issue with them is that even with a gas version they require electricty to run, in a power outage you'd have to run some kind of power to one vs a conventional gas water heater which doesn't require any electricty.
I feel like 90% of users on here will at least have a standby generator or portable generator to counter this issue. But you do make a valid point. Our water heater is in a backroom attached to our house and is out of the way of everything. If we were to replace it with a tankless we wouldn't really be doing anything different other than putting an expensive water heater in.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 8:39 am to PJinAtl
quote:
love the fact that it has a built-in recirculation pump so you don't have to wait long to have hit water at any particular faucet.
And the smart option knows when you get up in the morning and only runs the recirculation then so it's instant hot.
I'm moving and I don't think the tankless is a viable option at the new place but my current navien is an absolute beast.
Would recommend 10/10.
Like the other poster said, you can be filling the tub and running showers in the 2 other bathrooms and the hot water just keeps on coming....
Posted on 12/18/23 at 9:24 am to LEASTBAY
quote:its not just removing the old tank and resoldering a hot & cold line. like others have pointed out, the naviens include a recirulation option (highly recommended) so there's a good bit of plumbing magic that goes along with the installation.
$1000 labor to install a tank? I would get more quotes.
lucky we had a crawl space at our house so that simplified the procedure but like someone else pointed out, its far less expense to plan for this during a new build than retro-fitting one unless you're just going with a cheapo unit which I don't recommend having been down that road before.
IMO navien is worth every penny.
This post was edited on 12/18/23 at 9:25 am
Posted on 12/18/23 at 9:48 am to Success
I have three tankless water heaters, one for the kitchen and guest bath, one for the kids bathrooms and one for our bathroom. I could not be happier. In my opinion it is worth every penny. I have not been without power since we got it, so that is a drawback if that occurs. Had always had gas water heaters in the past.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 1:24 pm to tigerfoot
Overkill, or did you put in separate smaller ones for cost reasons or something? Or are we talking Graceland size for your estate...
Posted on 12/18/23 at 3:33 pm to calcotron
Maybe so, everything in this house was overbuilt. But, I do enjoy em. Hot water in outside spigots is legit.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 3:51 pm to tigerfoot
quote:
I have three tankless water heaters
Isn't that going to lower your pressure throughout the house? Having your water flow through 1 source vs. 3 sources?
Posted on 12/18/23 at 8:23 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
Not that I’ve noticed. Good pressure in all faucets.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 8:27 pm to calcotron
Forced me to look it up. And it is possible we would be better served with four.
quote:
For a small household with low water demands, a single unit may provide a high enough flow rate for all uses. One unit isn’t likely to be sufficient for a large household with high water demands in multiple areas, such as someone taking a shower while someone else runs the washing machine. The solution is simple: install multiple tankless water heaters. You may want one for the bathroom and another one for the kitchen. Installing separate tankless water heaters for appliances with high hot-water demands, such as the washing machine or dishwasher, is also an option.
Posted on 12/18/23 at 10:13 pm to Success
quote:
Could I still run out of hot water if the kids are all trying to bath at the same time and dishwasher going too? I know it’s on demand but wonder if it keeps up 100% of the time?
With a tankless, If there’s water to flow out of the faucets for whatever areas are being used, it will be continual hot water. I left a sink running overnight for about 7 hours and steaming hot water was still pouring out of it the next morning. I can say confidently it won’t run out of hot water.
This post was edited on 12/18/23 at 10:14 pm
Posted on 12/18/23 at 10:24 pm to Success
May not help answer your question.
Two of us on a tankless and we can bath/shower at the same time and hot water to spare. I do not remember the rating of our unit and too lazy to go in the attic to get the info for the BTU rating. I do know that when this one goes out, a tankless will be installed. After going tankless after years of a "tank" water heater, there is no comparison. Tankless for the win.
Two of us on a tankless and we can bath/shower at the same time and hot water to spare. I do not remember the rating of our unit and too lazy to go in the attic to get the info for the BTU rating. I do know that when this one goes out, a tankless will be installed. After going tankless after years of a "tank" water heater, there is no comparison. Tankless for the win.
Posted on 12/19/23 at 10:33 am to CAD703X
quote:
like others have pointed out, the naviens include a recirulation option (highly recommended) so there's a good bit of plumbing magic that goes along with the installation.
I thought that recirculation does NOT work well with tankLESS? That it is more recommended with tanked units?
A lot of tankless do not run well for very small pulls of water, they really are made for a certain GPM as their burners can only do so little of a requirement?
Posted on 12/19/23 at 10:40 am to baldona
We have a family of 5 and use a shite ton of hot water all the time. We have one 80 gallon tank in our garage. I've thought about tankless, but we don't run out of hot water unless my wife fills her obnoxiously large bath tub in the Winter.
I do need to replace the tank soon and I've been thinking about a switch, but it sounds like I shouldn't based on this thread
I do need to replace the tank soon and I've been thinking about a switch, but it sounds like I shouldn't based on this thread
Posted on 12/19/23 at 11:17 am to baldona
quote:
I thought that recirculation does NOT work well with tankLESS? That it is more recommended with tanked units?
the navien is designed with recirculation in miind. it detects usage patterns based on the times of day hot water is in use and then runs the recirculator at that time to make the hot water instantly available.
i have no idea about 'dumb' tankless but i can attest the navien is 100% flawless with the recirculation and at the times of day i am having to wait on the hot water, i realize what a convenience this is.
you can also program it to run it at set times each day but i like the smart aspect as our schedule can change and this adjusts automatically.
finally, the only issue i have is when the power goes out and i have to reset the clock. not sure why there's no battery backup for this; but it throws the automated recirculation off if the time isn't set properly.
Posted on 12/19/23 at 3:04 pm to Success
New build is 100% tankless. No other way. I love that mine is external. It’s small, quiet and is great.
Tankless will have a nicer sound when selling your house, if you ever do that.
Tankless will have a nicer sound when selling your house, if you ever do that.
Posted on 12/19/23 at 4:31 pm to trident
quote:yep. they are buzzwords for sure:
Tankless will have a nicer sound when selling your house, if you ever do that.
- whole house water softener and filtration
- tankless water heater
- tesla powerwall
these things get people's attention even though they're only $10k total value if someone were to add them on their own.
Posted on 12/20/23 at 5:22 am to CAD703X
I am in the process of switching from total electric to a propane water heater. The quotes for a tankless water heater was four times the other quotes with a regular water heater.
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