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Tankless Water Heater
Posted on 12/17/19 at 6:32 pm
Posted on 12/17/19 at 6:32 pm
Like another thread I am having water heater problems and given that it is more than 20 years old it seems likely that it needs replaced. Im considering tankless (ala Walter White) but don't really know much about it. Has anyone made this change and how did you like it? What was the cost? How did that cost compare to a traditional water heater?
8
Posted on 12/17/19 at 7:17 pm to BatonRougeBuckeye
quote:
How did that cost compare to a traditional water heater?
I did the math and it would take about 15 years to see any savings to switch from my 40 gallon gas water heater to tankless. We don't run out of hot water now so I didn't make the switch.
Posted on 12/17/19 at 8:40 pm to BatonRougeBuckeye
Quite a few recent threads on this. Gas or electric? Typical usage patterns? What are you looking to gain (cost savings vs unlimited hotbwayer?)
Posted on 12/18/19 at 9:13 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
Gas vs electric is the biggest question here. While electric tankless do exist they are not recommended and the cost of the extra electrical lines required is high.
Gas tankless + recirculator is really nice.
If electric consider a heat pump hybrid tank water heater. They are really efficient but you need to run vents for the intake and exhaust.
Gas tankless + recirculator is really nice.
If electric consider a heat pump hybrid tank water heater. They are really efficient but you need to run vents for the intake and exhaust.
Posted on 12/18/19 at 9:26 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
Do not buy Rheem as ours is less than 3 years old, it stopped working and there are no parts available, out now for over 7 days
Posted on 12/19/19 at 1:37 am to GBFINC
I second that. I had a Rheem installed that never worked right. Replaced with a Rinnai and no problems.
Posted on 12/19/19 at 8:41 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
Everyone's situation is different. You need to know how much energy you currently use for water heating to make a good decision.
For me, a 50 gallon tank is always the winner. I have NG and my therm usage for water heating is rather low. I use about 10-12 therm/month to heat water. At around $0.70/therm, I'm spending less than $10/month on average to heat water.
So for me, if a tankless was 100% more energy efficient, I'd save $5/month. Reality is tankless is about 25% more efficient which would save me $2/month.
Last I looked a tankless would be around $600 more than traditional in my area (could be as high as $1200). The payback would range between 10 year best case and 25 years worst case.
Considering I never run out of hot water, even with 3 kids, using a traditional heater and 1.5gpm shower heads, I cannot find any justification for my situation to change to tankless. In my area I would only recommend it for new builds or situations where you are trying to save space.
For me, a 50 gallon tank is always the winner. I have NG and my therm usage for water heating is rather low. I use about 10-12 therm/month to heat water. At around $0.70/therm, I'm spending less than $10/month on average to heat water.
So for me, if a tankless was 100% more energy efficient, I'd save $5/month. Reality is tankless is about 25% more efficient which would save me $2/month.
Last I looked a tankless would be around $600 more than traditional in my area (could be as high as $1200). The payback would range between 10 year best case and 25 years worst case.
Considering I never run out of hot water, even with 3 kids, using a traditional heater and 1.5gpm shower heads, I cannot find any justification for my situation to change to tankless. In my area I would only recommend it for new builds or situations where you are trying to save space.
This post was edited on 12/19/19 at 8:43 am
Posted on 12/20/19 at 11:06 am to notsince98
I've had a Rinnai Tankless for 13 years now. No problems whatsoever. I used to have the conventional tanked heater in a house with me, my wife, and two boys. Between baths, showers, washer, dishwasher, etc, by the time I would bathe I wouldn't have enough hot water. Luke warm baths SUCK.
It's nice to never run out of hot water. Plus, as my water heater was always in a third story attic, I don't have to worry about a busted tank flooding my house.
It's nice to never run out of hot water. Plus, as my water heater was always in a third story attic, I don't have to worry about a busted tank flooding my house.
Posted on 12/20/19 at 11:26 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
Hard to beat a natural gas traditional hot water heater. Natural gas is much cheaper cost than electric models. Not sure if you have electric or gas, but Lowes has both by AO Smith. The electric version is around $400 for both a tall or short model. The natural gas version is $530-$570.
Posted on 12/20/19 at 12:15 pm to parrotdr
quote:
It's nice to never run out of hot water.
This. Efficiency payoffs are meh, but never ending up with a cold shower is more important.....to me.
Posted on 12/21/19 at 8:34 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
Are you guys with the tankless referring to the whole home setup (ala single tankless system that replaces the traditional tank) or the kind that go in the wall closest to the point of use?
When it comes time to change out my gas hot water tank ( mine is almost 25 years old) I would be open the replacing the large tank with a single whole home tankless. But, Im waiting to see what people are experiencing with them over the long term.
When it comes time to change out my gas hot water tank ( mine is almost 25 years old) I would be open the replacing the large tank with a single whole home tankless. But, Im waiting to see what people are experiencing with them over the long term.
Posted on 12/21/19 at 1:02 pm to seeinspots
(no message)
This post was edited on 10/19/21 at 9:12 am
Posted on 12/21/19 at 8:58 pm to seeinspots
I appreciate this thread guys. My tank is about 7 years old in my ceiling. I am worried about it busting and causing a lot of damage. I am also "traumatized" after going through 3 heaters in 9 years at work. While a commercial is apples and oranges to what I have, I have had a diagnostic done on the two that have busted. Both went to crap due to the chemicals in the water in our area. It just eats them up.
Posted on 12/21/19 at 10:06 pm to jmarto1
quote:
Both went to crap due to the chemicals in the water in our area. It just eats them up.
Most commercial units have stainless steel tanks, that plus the sacrificial anode makes them virtually impervious to rotting of most residential units. Now, if they were installed improperly or it's something in the plumbing of the building that would be different but I've seen even crappy residential grade electric water heaters, running on 208V in a commercial setting last years in building whose plumbing pre-dates WW1 in some aspects.
Posted on 12/21/19 at 10:28 pm to Clames
It is all above my knowledge. The best I can offer you is teo different plumbing companies cutting open the tanks and coming to the same conclusion. I've never smelled chemical like I have in the Houma area either. If there is something you can point out I am all ears.
Posted on 12/22/19 at 6:51 pm to parrotdr
Do tankless setups get hot water to the faucets faster?
Posted on 12/23/19 at 2:16 am to Downtown Devin Brown
No, they can be a little slower usually. A tank is going to flush hot water into the plumbing immediately, tankless units have to heat up first. Electric POU is what you want for really fast hot water.
Posted on 12/23/19 at 5:38 am to Clames
quote:
Electric POU is what you want for really fast hot water.
Or a recirculation system.
Posted on 12/24/19 at 6:34 am to BatonRougeBuckeye
When Mother switched to tankless gas, our electricity bill went down about $40 each month. Gas bill went up only a few dollars. It will pay for itself after a couple of years. Strongly recommend tankless.
Posted on 12/24/19 at 9:32 am to seeinspots
quote:
Are you guys with the tankless referring to the whole home setup (ala single tankless system that replaces the traditional tank) or the kind that go in the wall closest to the point of use?
Whole home setup. I once had a small one under my main kitchen sink for faster hot water. Results were meh, and the device got really hot and didn't live too long.
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