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Started By
Message
Is a tankless water heater worthwhile? Pros and cons if any?
Posted on 3/17/21 at 8:04 am
Posted on 3/17/21 at 8:04 am
(no message)
6
Posted on 3/17/21 at 8:17 am to Codeasy87
If you need to save space in a utility room or get faster hot water somewhere then it makes sense. If you’re just looking for “efficiency” you can always get a hybrid.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 8:20 am to Codeasy87
All I know is that when I built my house and I was insistent on wanting a tankless b/c I'd heard that's the way you're supposed to go these days. When finding ways to cut costs and trim down my budget some, my builder questioned me on the tankless water heater. He told me tanked would save me money, that in his house (with a family of 6) he had 2 large tanked hot water heaters and they never had any issues with running out of hot water, even if all 6 were to shower back to back. He eventually convinced me to cut costs and get the 2 regular hot water heaters, and it has been fine. I've never run out of hot water or had any issues with them.
Perhaps there are other pros to the tankless I don't know about, but I'm perfectly happy with the 2 water heaters I have now.
Perhaps there are other pros to the tankless I don't know about, but I'm perfectly happy with the 2 water heaters I have now.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:04 am to Codeasy87
Biggest pro for a tankless would be if your hot water needs are on opposite sides of your house. Also, if you have a deep soaker tub that gets filled a few times a week. With that said, my plumber told me that most dishwashers heating elements to heat the water before the actual hot water arrives. Another pro is in extreme cold weather, your water may have a shorter distance to travel, so it can stay at the temp you want.
I have a tanked water heater and the furthest point takes about 1 minute to heat. On the flip side, when we had those extreme cold temps in Feb, I couldn't get the water as hot as I usually like.
I have a tanked water heater and the furthest point takes about 1 minute to heat. On the flip side, when we had those extreme cold temps in Feb, I couldn't get the water as hot as I usually like.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:25 am to Weekend Warrior79
Pros:
Continuous hot water, never run out
Arguably cheaper operating costs
Cons:
Requires electricity to operate
Minimum flow requirements
Requires descaling
Larger gas flow requirements
High initial cost
I have two tanks. If I did it again, I’d go smaller tankless for the bedrooms, and the single tank for the kitchen/spare bedroom side.
Continuous hot water, never run out
Arguably cheaper operating costs
Cons:
Requires electricity to operate
Minimum flow requirements
Requires descaling
Larger gas flow requirements
High initial cost
I have two tanks. If I did it again, I’d go smaller tankless for the bedrooms, and the single tank for the kitchen/spare bedroom side.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:41 am to LSUtigerME
quote:
Cons:
Requires electricity to operate
So do tanked heaters too unless there's an option I don't know about that doesn't require electricity? Not sure how that would work though?
The major benefit for tankless is an endless supply of hot water and additionally if its for a portion of your house that rarely uses hot water. Such as a guest suite or if you don't have kids living there in a larger house that would normally require 2 tanks.
As said, for a family of 5 or less with normal water use I don't think its worth worrying about which one will save you money as the savings either way would be marginal.
ETA: The other benefit of tankless is it can be places on the exterior of your house so you don't need to take up interior space.
This post was edited on 3/17/21 at 9:42 am
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:45 am to baldona
quote:
So do tanked heaters too unless there's an option I don't know about that doesn't require electricity? Not sure how that would work though?
I do not have an electrical connection to my tanked water heater. Don't know if there is a battery connection or a continuous gas pilot light.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:55 am to Weekend Warrior79
Is a propane large tank water heater the best efficiency wise?
Posted on 3/17/21 at 9:56 am to LSUtigerME
Would this possibly increase a homes value?
Is the longevity of a tankless better?
Mine is on its last leg and its only my wife and I. Are we talking an upfront cost like $1-2K?
Is the longevity of a tankless better?
Mine is on its last leg and its only my wife and I. Are we talking an upfront cost like $1-2K?
Posted on 3/17/21 at 10:01 am to Codeasy87
quote:
Would this possibly increase a homes value?
i can't imagine tanked vs tankless would matter in home value. i've had both fwiw. loved the endless hot water of tankless, but it did take a very long time to get hot (no recirc in ours).
tankless probably $1,500 - $2k. as others have said, requires a bigger gas line than what you probably have at the location of tank. for the two of you, seems more reasonable to go tank imo.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 10:09 am to lsujro
I'm doing a LP tankless in my home addition due to space. My plumber will be installing a recirculation pump to reduce the amount of time to get hot water to certain parts of the house. My current house I will continue to use the tank heater.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 10:14 am to lsujro
Thanks all for the info. I appreciate it.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 11:17 am to Codeasy87
quote:
Would this possibly increase a homes value?
I am sure it is seen as an upgrade, but would not think it would add much
quote:
Is the longevity of a tankless better?
If you properly care for a tankless hot water heater it can last a very long time. And I found the yearly descaling process to be pretty simple, even compared to just draining the old tank style.
We made the switch from two electric hot water heaters to one single gas tankless. Energy savings was apparent to me, but if we already had gas hot water heaters I probably would have stuck with tank heaters.
Tankless hot water heaters while fast, still take a little time to heat up the water. So they are actually slower to deliver hot water than a traditional tanked.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 11:52 am to Weekend Warrior79
quote:
So do tanked heaters too unless there's an option I don't know about that doesn't require electricity? Not sure how that would work though?
quote:
I do not have an electrical connection to my tanked water heater. Don't know if there is a battery connection or a continuous gas pilot light.
Same. When the power went out for Hurricane Zeta we still had hot water; there is a continuous pilot light at the bottom. It's like gas stove tops or old gas ovens (the ones without new digital controls); power goes out you can still use gas to cook.
In fairness, however, on an earlier thread someone stated they ran the power supply for their (gas) tankless heater through one of those computer back-up batteries, which retained enough power during outages to run the electronics controlling the tankless heater.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 12:41 pm to BRich
I have two Rinnai - One was in operation when I moved in, and when we added on to the house, I put one in on the other part of the house. We are a family of 6 - hot water is at a premium. Mine have always worked great and though it is only "instantaneous" at the taps closest to the heater, it is quick and a bottomless supply.
I like the space saving aspect as well - the old one is mounted to the outside of the house near the gas meter, and the new one mounted in a structured box in an external wall.
I do the maintenance myself - our municipal water typically runs about 110 ppm TDS, so pretty good in that respect - I just descale once a year on a Sat afternoon where I can turn the hot water off for an hour and that is done.
I never had a tankless before this house and had one incident with a flood of a tank heater housed in an attic in my first house - that was of course a huge PITA. I had no idea that tankless water heaters existed at that time in my life. Very unlikely this scenario would occur w/ a tankless (I know there is risk of burst boiler w/ freeze, but as long as electricity and gas is on, an outside one won't freeze above -4F supposedly).
I like the space saving aspect as well - the old one is mounted to the outside of the house near the gas meter, and the new one mounted in a structured box in an external wall.
I do the maintenance myself - our municipal water typically runs about 110 ppm TDS, so pretty good in that respect - I just descale once a year on a Sat afternoon where I can turn the hot water off for an hour and that is done.
I never had a tankless before this house and had one incident with a flood of a tank heater housed in an attic in my first house - that was of course a huge PITA. I had no idea that tankless water heaters existed at that time in my life. Very unlikely this scenario would occur w/ a tankless (I know there is risk of burst boiler w/ freeze, but as long as electricity and gas is on, an outside one won't freeze above -4F supposedly).
Posted on 3/17/21 at 2:44 pm to BigPapiDoesItAgain
quote:I doubt mine has ever been done. Do you notice any change after?
I just descale once a year on a Sat afternoon where I can turn the hot water off for an hour and that is done.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 3:57 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
I doubt mine has ever been done. Do you notice any change after?
Descaling a tankless is one of those things that you probably wont notice an issue until it it becomes a problem. As the scale build up usually only affects efficiency and sometimes will restrict flow
It is pretty easy to do, so seems like a no brainer. Honestly cleaning out the intake filter is another good thing as well. Takes like 2 minutes to do.
This post was edited on 3/17/21 at 3:58 pm
Posted on 3/17/21 at 5:45 pm to jfw3535
quote:
All I know is that when I built my house and I was insistent on wanting a tankless b/c I'd heard that's the way you're supposed to go these days. When finding ways to cut costs and trim down my budget some, my builder questioned me on the tankless water heater. He told me tanked would save me money, that in his house (with a family of 6) he had 2 large tanked hot water heaters and they never had any issues with running out of hot water, even if all 6 were to shower back to back. He eventually convinced me to cut costs and get the 2 regular hot water heaters, and it has been fine. I've never run out of hot water or had any issues with them
We must have the same builder lol. I had the same exact scenario a few weeks ago. Opted for the in home generator over the tankless heaters
Posted on 3/17/21 at 6:34 pm to UltimaParadox
Mine is in the attic with a sink under it. I just ordered a kit off Amazon, and will attempt before it gets 100 up there.
Posted on 3/17/21 at 6:52 pm to UltimaParadox
quote:
Honestly cleaning out the intake filter is another good thing as well
I do that at the same time I do the de-scale. I not sure I notice a difference in performance - kinda like changing the oil in my car, doesn't run better, but will make it last longer.
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