Tankless water heater

[Gsquared]

Thanks everyone. I don't have to use the tankless. I can get by without the space a conventional one takes up. Just trying to maximize what space I have. I am on a water well with water so hard you have to cut it with a knife. So not sure I wa t to mess with constant issues with that. But man, I would like the extra space. I have probably a month till I am ready for it. So I will roll it around

Navian’s have less maintenance and issues than Rinai from my experience. I normally put 2 in our homes and stage them with recirculating pump. If your water is that hard you should be flushing and maintaining the water heater annually whether it is tankless or not. Without the recirculating pump, home size depending, on-demand doesn’t mean “immediate” hot water. Just a few things to consider. Good luck

 

[Alchemy]

Yes they are worth it, check with your gas company they typically offer a rebate. Also in my area you have to have a softener system on tankless…. Might consult a plumber.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

I am on a water well with water so hard you have to cut it with a knife.

If your water is that hard you should be flushing and maintaining the water heater annually whether it is tankless or not.

This.

Flush your tank once a year. Use a food grade acid or white vinegar to remove scale.

Replace the sacrificial anode every five years.

Do that and you can extend the service life of the water heater many years.

 

[hp48gx]

We have a one rinnai in our house lasted 8 years so far. Been happy. No problems, and like the space. The last post was correct. Need to flush the tank every once in awhile. Just learned about that a couple years ago.

As a prepper, while I like the extra space of a tankless, I don’t like that I don’t have emergency water. So, we have extra water supply somewhere else.

 

[go4thegusto]

I have an Eternal unit. Has been stellar for 10 years now. We have a double shower with 2 heads off 2 controls and unit keeps up nicely. I installed myself and routed around the electric water heater. I kept that for backup. Can go back to it with a few ball valve flips and electrical breaker.

 

[KsRancher]

I just bought a Navien 240. Haven't got it hooked up yet. Hopefully it's what I am thinking. I also bought the hardware/valve kit for it so you can shut the water off and clean/descale it easily

 

[kybuck1]

Going tankless was one of the best things we have done/upgraded.

 

[gearguywb]

At one point we were putting in about 50 Rinnai's per year. Over three years I had exactly one service call where a lady installed a dryer in the basement (where the water heater was) but did not run the vent outside. The Rinnai pulled in a ton of lint to where it finally clogged up. The only issue that we ever ran into was if you were on well water and could not get decent pressure, that posed a problem.

 

[def90]

 

[sandhillhunter]

I put 2 Rinnai units off n our new construction home 5 years ago. Maybe could have run the house on one but at least I have a temporary backup if one fails.

I flush it once a year as mentioned.

Very happy with it and would definitely do it again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BeaverHunter]

I have a tankless hot water heater. It’s 15 years old. It gets a LOT of use as I have in floor radiant heating that it is responsible for heating the water on also. Never done any maintenance on it. Zero. It’s worked flawlessly for me. I do have a water softener also so maybe that takes care of the hard water/scaling issues some of you are taking about. There is no way I would ever have water heater tank again. Just my experience.

 

[Eldoradotim]

Anyone have any thoughts on electric vs gas versions?
I don’t have any doubts about the capability of the gas units, but I am building an all electric house, builder plans to use tankless.

Endless hot water and better efficiency sound great, just want to be sure that is true of the electric units as well.

 

[BBob]

^^^Installed an electric Aqua Power which I believe was made by Steibel Eltron in a house. No problems with it. I’d normally choose gas but at the time it made more sense to go that route. They are considerably cheaper and a simpler install. The one downside was the amount of space used in the electric panel. They take two double breakers that eat up circuit space. We had to use some tandem breakers to fit everything in the panel. The utility room is setup for gas and it may get switched at some point.

 

[Go West Old Man]

Tankless is an excellent option. Cost-wise, natural gas is highly likely your cost preferred tankless or even-tank type fuel/energy for water heating if your home is already served natural gas from a local distribution company or a municipal gas utility. Do the math conversions for cost of a million btu’s (Mmbtu) natural gas compared to propane (1 Mmbtu = 10.917 gal. propane approx.) and to electric (1 Mmbtu = 293.1 KWh approx.) and you'll see the cost benefit. Understandably there other up front, first year installation cost considerations such a possible natural gas meter &/or supply line upsizing, plumbing, etc but your cost saving analysis should be favorable over the long run of 5-10 years.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Tankless models work well for small houses, a garage, a new addition, etc…. They will work for big applications too. You are just going to pay for them.

 

[scattergun]

Tankless is an excellent option. Cost-wise, natural gas is highly likely your cost preferred tankless or even-tank type fuel/energy for water heating if your home is already served natural gas from a local distribution company or a municipal gas utility. Do the math conversions for cost of a million btu’s (Mmbtu) natural gas compared to propane (1 Mmbtu = 10.917 gal. propane approx.) and to electric (1 Mmbtu = 293.1 KWh approx.) and you'll see the cost benefit. Understandably there other up front, first year installation cost considerations such a possible natural gas meter &/or supply line upsizing, plumbing, etc but your cost saving analysis should be favorable over the long run of 5-10 years.

Of course, that completely depends on what happens to electricity and gas pricing in the long run. Can’t rely on cheap gas (or electricity) forever.

 

[Go West Old Man]

Of course, that completely depends on what happens to electricity and gas pricing in the long run. Can’t rely on cheap gas (or electricity) forever.

Absolutely agree and nobody has a crystal ball, but it’ll take a whopper of a $/Mmbtu natural gas to exceed the equivalent $/KWh of most residential electric rates.

 

[KsRancher]

I am on LP. Natural gas wouldn't be an option. Could have went with electric but chose LP.

 

[Wrench]

We have an electric one for one of the remote restrooms at my former office. It sucks.....takes a long time to heat.