Water heaters

[lupi]

Sounds like a lot of effort/expense to run a "tankless" heater, including the additional tank.

 

[Eug]

If I could have gotten a 75-gallon tank to fit, I probably would have gotten that instead, esp. if I could get some decent pricing for one. (75-gallon tanks usually are pretty expensive.)

That said, having the endless hot water with tankless is nice. When I have guests over, several people can have showers and baths after we've started the laundry and dishwasher and we never run out of hot water.

OTOH, my soaker tub could be filled with a 75 gallon tank most of the time, and then I'm out of hot water. (With my 50 gallon tank, for a hot bath in the dead of winter, it'd fill up about half-way.)

 

[Phil21]

Tankless is the way to go, I have no idea what others are talking about here re: delta temps - they work fine up in Minnesota, and I doubt you'll find much colder inlet water temps than that. Additional tank? What? I've lived two places with tankless water heaters now, and both just bolted onto the wall directly into your piping. No tanks required unless you live in a large house and can't wait for the water to get hot due to the length in the pipes. Tank heaters have the same problem.

Only thing is to oversize by a bit, which will ensure even during cold periods it can get hot enough for you.

Once you go tankless you will never go back, it's honestly a lot like Tivo - why would you ever go back to the dark ages

 

[Craig234]

Here's an article from consumer reports that's a bit negative about the tankless:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...eaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm

I looked at the 12-year Home Depot or 15-year Costco (gas heaters).

Again Costco's estimate for a 40 gallon is $1150 (50 gallon is $1200, not sure if I need that), Home Depot is $600 for 12 year + minimum $330 for install + $168 for permit so $500, plus more cost for any parts they need to replace during the install, so it could range from $50 less to more than the Costco, so I'm leaning Costco.

(I didn't know about draining the heater, might be why the current one is bad in 9 years).

Also open to other suppliers if there are better picks. That's the main question. Which supplier and 40 or 50 gallon with only $50 difference.

 

[bignateyk]

Here's an article from consumer reports that's a bit negative about the tankless:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...eaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm

I looked at the 12-year Home Depot or 15-year Costco (gas heaters).

Again Costco's estimate for a 40 gallon is $1150 (50 gallon is $1200, not sure if I need that), Home Depot is $600 for 12 year + minimum $330 for install + $168 for permit so $500, plus more cost for any parts they need to replace during the install, so it could range from $50 less to more than the Costco, so I'm leaning Costco.

(I didn't know about draining the heater, might be why the current one is bad in 9 years).

Also open to other suppliers if there are better picks. That's the main question. Which supplier and 40 or 50 gallon with only $50 difference.

Jesus Christ, $168 for a permit to replace a water heater?

And they wonder why people avoid getting permits for things...

I paid $500 for my 12 year GE water heater and installed it myself without permit.

It's always a good idea to drain your water heater on a yearly basis to flush sediment out of it. Otherwise the sediment builds up and causes the tank and lower element to corrode much faster. It also reduces the volume of water that your water heater can hold if you have a foot of sediment in the bottom of it.

 

[Craig234]

Ya, wish I'd known to drain it, it'd probably still be fine and not need replacement (the pan is always abut half full from a drip now).

I just checked on other Costco options, tankless was expensive - I think like $4000 - and solar is $6548 but there are rebates.

Rebates bring it down to $3904, then there's one more for $25 per therm saved I'd have to calculate, but very little gas bill after that.

 

[Eug]

Tankless is the way to go, I have no idea what others are talking about here re: delta temps - they work fine up in Minnesota, and I doubt you'll find much colder inlet water temps than that. Additional tank? What? I've lived two places with tankless water heaters now, and both just bolted onto the wall directly into your piping. No tanks required unless you live in a large house and can't wait for the water to get hot due to the length in the pipes. Tank heaters have the same problem.

Tank heaters don't suffer the problem of the cold water sandwich. I got the mini-tank with my tankless to get rid of this problem.

I got a 6 gallon tank, but you can get "tankless" heaters now that have built-in 2-gallon tanks, specifically to address this problem.

Only thing is to oversize by a bit, which will ensure even during cold periods it can get hot enough for you.

Once you go tankless you will never go back, it's honestly a lot like Tivo - why would you ever go back to the dark ages

For colder northern climes, I think it's almost mandatory to go with 180000 - 199900 BTUs, at least for a detached home.

I've had both tanks and tankless now, and to be honest I think I'd be happy with either, as long as the tank was big enough. In a regular home with a regular sized tub 50-60 gallons is fine, but for my current home with soaker tub, I'd want 75 gallon.

Here's an article from consumer reports that's a bit negative about the tankless:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...eaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm

Yeah, you shouldn't go tankless if you think you'll save money, because you probably won't. The up front cost is usually significantly higher, and there are potentially more maintenance costs - flushing the tankless every year or two. That said, you technically should be draining a tank too periodically, and checking and replacing the anode rod. Most people do neither.

It also should be noted that a correct tankless install will include the proper valves needed for flushing the tankless. There have been some reports of people getting these tankless machines installed without the valves (because they're a separate purchase), which means they can't actually flush the machines without disconnecting the plumbing.

BTW, when I first got my tankless it wasn't working properly. It kept on refusing to turn on periodically, a couple times a week, saying I had some sort of venting problem. Absolutely horrible for showers. They checked several times and there was no venting problem. It was a manufacturer defect. Finally they replaced the motherboard with one with an updated firmware ROM and the problem disappeared. I feel like I'm talking about a computer build now...

 

[Craig234]

Ya, it's mostly coming down to whether to get 40 or 50 gallon, and who to get it from, with Costco sounding like a fine choice.

 

[Eug]

How big is your house and how many people live there?

If it's only a $50 difference up front though, I'd just get the 50 if it fits in that space. Yeah, the cost to operate it will be more, but not much more. Maybe a buck more a month? Just guessing.