Tankless Water Heater
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Anonymous
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So this is WAY off topic, but I was wondering if any of you have switched from a conventional water heater to a tankless water heater. Do you like it? We're doing an HVAC upgrade and I'm trying to determine if there are any significant downsides to tankless.
If you've switched, do you like yours? Do you have adequate water pressure when two showers are running? Anything we should look out for with this necessary, but expensive and seemingly invisible upgrade?  Thanks in advance!
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Anonymous
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Check the recent "I'm married to a plumber, ask me anything" thread in Off-Topic. If I recall correctly, plumbers do not recommend them.
We actually went the opposite way, but our house had a oil-fired boiler only (radiators) and no hot water heater. So whenever we needed hot water, it would make a boiler run which was inefficient in the summer. When we replace the boiler a couple of years ago, we added a small hot water heater and it has been great. |
Anonymous
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Sorry for my language in advance: they F*UCKING SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We basically had to get one for our DC rowhouse built in 1880 since there was no space for a regular sized one. We rent this property out and the tankless water heater is the bain of our existence...we are on #2 in 3 years. They are temperamental. Our tenant is always having cold showers and none of the plumbers (we have been through a dozen) know what to do with them. If you have the space--don't go tankless. We have always had a regular water heater in our other house and it lasts forever. |
Anonymous
| We love our tankless water heater. The only downside is it takes longer for the hot water to reach the 3rd floor but no more cold showers from running out of hot water. |
Anonymous
| PP here. The one other thing is that you have to have enough "demand" on the heater to keep the hot water flowing so it doesn't work great with low flow shower heads, etc. |
Anonymous
| from what i have read they are nto wroth the cost. they are mor expensive and you will never get that back in energy savings. |
Anonymous
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We considered it but simply replaced ours with another conventional storage water heater for several reasons:
- We would need a bigger natural gas pipe installed from the meter to the tankless unit - The tankless unit itself cost way over $1000 - Our water heater is not close to the kitchen or the main bathroom (it's between the two). Our plumber said that other customers have been annoyed by the time it takes to get the water hot at the tap (wasted time and water). Tankless units appear to be great if they are near the point of use and might make a lot more sense if the house is designed for it, including the larger gas pipe. In the end, we calculated that the savings would not pay for the bigger up front cost for several decades and we would probably be annoyed a lot. Instead, we bought a high efficiency gas water heater and insulated all of the hot water pipes. |
Anonymous
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We bought a house in March that has one in it -- a new one, had been installed less than a year ago along with a high efficiency new boiler. We love it. It never runs out of hot water, even after 5 showers -- in our old house, we would have to wait an hour for hot water again after 3 showers or 1 full tub.
We haven't been in the house, using it, long enough to speak to its reliability or quirks, but we do love the constant supply of hot water. |
Anonymous
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They die a quick death with hard water, which much of our area has. Better bet - get a small tank but a high BTU rating, it will provide all the hot water you ever need, and is almost as efficient because you're not keeping 50 gallons hot all the time. And, it's easier to maintain than a tankless.
Our plumber recommended: http://www.pexsupply.com/Bradford-White-GX-2-25S6BN-25-Gallon-78000-BTU-High-Performance-Atmospheric-Vent-Residential-Water-Heater-Nat-Gas Makes 155 gallons per hour burning 75,000 BTU, compared to a typical 35,000 BTU 50 gallon HWH, making 40 gallons per hour. No problems, are so glad we got this over the tankless, which was twice the cost when installation was included. |
Anonymous
yep. I am one of the pps. it was the crud that kept killing ours--even with adequate filters. |
Anonymous
| My friend has one and has had numerous issues; part of the problem seems to be that a lot of plumbers don't know enough about them to properly service them. |
Anonymous
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We havent found a single one and we've been through a dozen or more. |
Anonymous
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We replaced a tank w a tankless water heater just over 5 years ago. We did it to get floor space in our basement as a part of finishing our basement. Cost was a consideration - but not as much as space for us. If I remember correctly, they are marketed to have a longer life than a traditional water heater so although more expensive to purchase, I thought it was the same long term cost.
We have 3 adults living in our house - and 3 children. We have never had any issues with it. |
Anonymous
| My parents have one and I love it (they do too). They have had it for 5 years and no issues. I agree that service people aren't knowledgable about them. |
Anonymous
| We have one - only 2 years old but so far we have been extremely happy with it. It did cost a lot to install but I take a bath every day and the limitless hot water is a huge luxury. love it! |