water heaters - tankless?

[Katzeye 0]

As a fairly new homeowner, our new problem is that our water heater has started leaking from the top thermostat. From what I've read it's time to replace it.

I'm looking around the net for pricing on traditional water heaters and it looks like lots of places are now pushing tankless. How do those work? Are they really better than the traditional water heaters?

I know you guys know this stuff - fill me in! BillVon?

Is a chicken omelette redundant?

[yardhippie 0]

Initially they are WAY more expensive, but the actual costs that go into the life time of the unit are significantly lower. We looked into them when we bought this new place b/c it needed a new water heater. we didnt have the $$ to pay the difference between a regular and a tankless.

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[popsjumper 2]

I like the idea of gas-fired tankless water heaters. They were quite common in Europe back in the 70s but never caught on here.

I have no clue as to the potential $$$ savings or cost comparisons though....

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Quote

I like the idea of gas-fired tankless water heaters. They were quite common in Europe back in the 70s but never caught on here.

I have no clue as to the potential $$$ savings or cost comparisons though....

They're very common here too so are electric flow through heaters

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[vpozzoli 0]

Yep, they are still quite popular this side of the pond.
They differ in that water is heated in real time as it passes through the heater instead of having a fixed amount of water held at temperature in a storage tank.
Main advantages are:

- smaller size
- do not use any power at all until you actually turn on the hot water faucet
- you can leave the hot water tap on for as long as you like, traditional heaters lag behind after a while and water starts getting colder

Downfalls:

- more expensive
- usually you get a lower flow of hot whater, but this is compensated by the fact that you can have as much hot water as you like, it will just take a bit longer to fill the tub

Hope this helps.
Ciao.

Vale

[SkyGuyIIx 0]

http://www.foreverhotwater.com/products.shtml

I wanna say this runs around $1500 installed. I'm going to get one eventually....

[Katzeye 0]

Awsome feedback! Thanks!

Is a chicken omelette redundant?

[TheAnvil 0]

I've heard nothing but good things about them. When my hot water heater kicks the bucket in any of my houses, I think I'm going with one of these. You have to ensure you have the correct electrical configuration for install, however, so be prepared for that. A friend looked at one that had a lifetime warranty as long as it was installed by a licensed plumber.

Good luck!

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[vpozzoli 0]

Quote

Awsome feedback! Thanks!

You're welcome.
I forgot to ask, are we talking about an aprtment or a multi-story house?

Vale

[Remster 30]

We had one in England (gas) and when we got back to Canada, all we saw in the stores were electric ones. They require a hell of a lot of Amps compared to electrical tanks, so make sure your main electrical circuit can handle it.

Remster

[monkycndo 0]

I have family in South America and the tankless is the most common type used in their area. They are much more efficient to operate, but have a higher initial cost. They are nice because they are smaller and don't require annual maintenance.

The faster you draw water through a tankless heater, the less time the water has to be warmed. So tanks are measured in degrees of temperature rise per gallons per minute used. It sounds like you have an electric water heater. In order to get the temperature rise with an electric heater, more heating elements are used than a tank type. This requires a larger breaker in the panel to power the new heater. The capacity of your existing panel needs to be checked to confirm this can be done. If you only need a small unit, it is not as much of an issue. But a large unit requires as much as a 100amp breaker. It is definitely worth looking into.

When I get/build my own house, I will be designing the hot water system around a tankless heater.

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