Posted by webmz1 on July 15, 2006, 9:31 am
I bought an old house 13 years ago and they didnt really maintain
anything, so my water heater could go any day.
I have been considering getting a tankless water heater.
My neighbor owns several properties & swears by them.
He has someone who he buys them from for $250 each, which is allot less
than most of the quotes Ive heard.
His home has one ; he as a family of 4,so they use allot more water
than I do.(kids, laundry, baths,etc)
I under stand they are suppose to be energy efficient.
I know they are more expensive to buy than regular water heaters but
it's possible that the energy savings might balance that out.
My biggest concern is I dont know allot of people who do have one, so I
don't know anyone to ask about the longevity of a tankless water heater
versus standard.
If you buy a standard water heater and take care of it and do the small
maintenace you should, they can last 20 years or more.
I like the uidea of the tankless water heater, off the floor, and
energy savings but if they only last a couple years, I'd like to know.
does anyone have one in their home and for how long have you had one?
your experience with it?
pros? cons? problems you have had?
brand names would help also.
thanks in advance.
Posted by Clark W. Griswold, Jr. on July 15, 2006, 10:44 am
>I have been considering getting a tankless water heater.
>My neighbor owns several properties & swears by them.
>He has someone who he buys them from for $250 each, which is allot less
>than most of the quotes Ive heard.
>His home has one ; he as a family of 4,so they use allot more water
>than I do.(kids, laundry, baths,etc)
>I under stand they are suppose to be energy efficient.
>I know they are more expensive to buy than regular water heaters but
>it's possible that the energy savings might balance that out.
If you'd like a reasonably unbiased report on tankless heaters, check this
whiepaper out. http://www.nyletherm.com/whitepaper2.pdf . It was written by an
engineer at AOSmith - a company that builds both types of water heaters.
I don't know what your neighbor is buying, but $250 is not going to get you a
whole house heater. On top of that, the installation costs (including upgrading
the electric feed, any other plumbing upgrades is going to wipe out any savings
you might see. Tankless has other issues as well - limited simultaneous users,
problems at low flow rates (think washing hands), etc.
Posted by Speedy Jim on July 15, 2006, 10:55 am
Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote:
>
>
>>I have been considering getting a tankless water heater.
>>My neighbor owns several properties & swears by them.
>>He has someone who he buys them from for $250 each, which is allot less
>>than most of the quotes Ive heard.
>>His home has one ; he as a family of 4,so they use allot more water
>>than I do.(kids, laundry, baths,etc)
>>
>>
>>I under stand they are suppose to be energy efficient.
>>I know they are more expensive to buy than regular water heaters but
>>it's possible that the energy savings might balance that out.
>>
>
>
> If you'd like a reasonably unbiased report on tankless heaters, check this
> whiepaper out. http://www.nyletherm.com/whitepaper2.pdf . It was written by an
> engineer at AOSmith - a company that builds both types of water heaters.
>
> I don't know what your neighbor is buying, but $250 is not going to get you a
> whole house heater. On top of that, the installation costs (including upgrading
> the electric feed, any other plumbing upgrades is going to wipe out any savings
> you might see. Tankless has other issues as well - limited simultaneous users,
> problems at low flow rates (think washing hands), etc.
I don't think he specified an electric type (maybe gas??),
but you are certainly correct about needing a humongous feeder
for whole house elec water heater (tankless).
Jim
Posted by GWB on July 15, 2006, 3:30 pm
I was thinking of one of these for a bathroom that is on the other
side of the house from the water heater. You have to run the water
forever before it gets hot. Big waste of water and more water for the
septic tank to deal with.
Posted by Clark W. Griswold, Jr. on July 15, 2006, 4:57 pm
>I was thinking of one of these for a bathroom that is on the other
>side of the house from the water heater. You have to run the water
>forever before it gets hot. Big waste of water and more water for the
>septic tank to deal with.
You may want to consider a recirculator. For a couple of hundred dollars, they
bridge the hot & cold lines at the bathroom and use the cold line as a return
with a pump circulating the water.
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>My neighbor owns several properties & swears by them.
>He has someone who he buys them from for $250 each, which is allot less
>than most of the quotes Ive heard.
>His home has one ; he as a family of 4,so they use allot more water
>than I do.(kids, laundry, baths,etc)
>I under stand they are suppose to be energy efficient.
>I know they are more expensive to buy than regular water heaters but
>it's possible that the energy savings might balance that out.