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Anyone have a tankless water heater?

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Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
I am closing on a house soon. In the next 3-4 years, I will probably have to replace the water heater. Just the heck of it, I started looking at tankless water heaters.

Anyone have one and what are you experiences?

This is one I have been looking http://www.gotankless.com/spec_c100.html
 
H

Hankerton

Golden Member
Apr 11, 2003
1,814
0
0
Originally posted by: Codewiz
I am closing on a house soon. In the next 3-4 years, I will probably have to replace the water heater. Just the heck of it, I started looking at tankless water heaters.

Anyone have one and what are you experiences?

This is one I have been looking http://www.gotankless.com/spec_c100.html
Click to expand...

This thread is worthless without :camera:'s
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: Hankerton
Originally posted by: Codewiz
I am closing on a house soon. In the next 3-4 years, I will probably have to replace the water heater. Just the heck of it, I started looking at tankless water heaters.

Anyone have one and what are you experiences?

This is one I have been looking http://www.gotankless.com/spec_c100.html
Click to expand...

This thread is worthless without :camera:'s
Click to expand...

Of the house?

Will do next Tuesday, PROMISE :)
 
Thump553

Thump553

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
12,839
2,625
136
Just about any house in this area (New England) that has oil heat (ie, most houses) gets it's hot water driectly off the furnace. No tank involved. Is this what you mean?

If so, its no big deal. Pros are the hot water never runs out. Con is that the furnace runs a lot. I spend a lot of time in the basement, and its disconcerting to hear the furnace kick in on a 90 degree day.
 
Ryan

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
I have considered getting one - had I had the option, it would have been in my house. Hot water all the time, less power consumption, and less maintenence ;)
 
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Brutuskend

Lifer
Apr 2, 2001
26,558
4
0
I don't have one, but I have used similar heaters in the past.

They ROCK.

You don't waste $$$ keeping water heated, it heats it as you need it, and you NEVER run out of hot water!

Edit: I would go with GAS if I were you.
 
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Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
I don't have one, but I have used similar heaters in the past.

They ROCK.

You don't waste $$$ keeping water heated, it heats it as you need it, and you NEVER run out of hot water!

Edit: I would go with GAS if I were you.
Click to expand...

I am in South Carolina and we don't have any natural gas run to our house.

It will definately be electric.

My mom's house is all gas. I honestly wish we had natural gas for heat and water.
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: rbloedow
I have considered getting one - had I had the option, it would have been in my house. Hot water all the time, less power consumption, and less maintenence ;)
Click to expand...

One thing I have heard is that it can be tough to find people qualified to fix them and finding parts is also hard.
 
F

flamingelephant

Golden Member
Jun 22, 2001
1,182
0
76
just buy one the right size for the ammount of people using water... they can't keep up with water demands from several things at the same time if they are not properly sized.....
 
E

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
As far as I know, their only real downside is the initial cost....

I was just looking at them earlier, actually... Stumbled upon them while looking at other things. They were like 900$, but supposedly lasted forever, and are very energy efficient.

Things I would still need to look into before purchasing are like, maintenenace costs.. I don't know if there are any. If not or if they are minimal, and if the particular model passes the "user review" test, it sounds like a wise investment over a regular tank style water heater.

I wonder what kind of complaints people have?

One of the great things about them is that you should never run out of hot water. So that's a huge pro.

Maybe.. the water getting cold if it's being used in too many places? That would probably be a case of user error though, not having a big enough unit for your house.

I say do a little more research, and then go for it if you can't find anything wrong with them ....

Oh, I also only looked at Propane and Natural Gas models, even though they wouldn't be suitable.. we would need electric.
 
Amused

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,387
19,675
146
My brother (who is filthy rich) has a unit much like that at every faucet and bathroom in his house. Instant hot water that never runs out. It's incredible.

In fact, in his kitchen, you have to wait a few seconds for cold water, not hot water. It's weird.
 
C

Crucial

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
5,026
0
71
I used one in the cabin I stayed at earlier in the year and it was great. 3 of us showered one after another and no one ran out of hot water.

The office next to mine sells the Takagi brand. tanklessh2o.com
 
Kelemvor

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
I will be looking into the tankless type when I have to replace mine. Seems silly to be heating up a huge tank of water all day and all night when you don't use it. THe tankless types have been used for years and years in Europe. Only problem is they are sometimes more expensive than normal ones and I'm not sure if there is any plumbing work needed to put it in a system thats already setup for a normal water heater type.

of course in fancy houses, you can get multiple so the master bathroom has it's own dedicated heater and other places have their too... but that's kind of overkill.
 
fenrir

fenrir

Senior member
Apr 6, 2001
341
30
91
I just recently bought a new water heater and I looked at the tankless option. After investigating it, I went with a standard natural gas 50-gal water heater (high efficiency). I found some info that you could actually use more natural gas with the tankless water heater. The new tank water heaters are very efficient, so it didn't make sense to spend $500 more for a tankless water heater. It could take 10 years to break even on the cost (if it used less natural gas) and I do not think I will be at my current house that long.

Plus, I got a $550 50-gal power vent from Sears and got $100 off at the store and another $200 from my local electrical company for getting a new high efficiency water heater.

There is quite a bit of information out there on the tankless water heaters. The problem is that you need to go to places where they are not trying to sell you one...

Matt
 
D

dman

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
9,110
0
76
Originally posted by: fenrir
I just recently bought a new water heater and I looked at the tankless option. After investigating it, I went with a standard natural gas 50-gal water heater (high efficiency). I found some info that you could actually use more natural gas with the tankless water heater. The new tank water heaters are very efficient, so it didn't make sense to spend $500 more for a tankless water heater. It could take 10 years to break even on the cost (if it used less natural gas) and I do not think I will be at my current house that long.

Plus, I got a $550 50-gal power vent from Sears and got $100 off at the store and another $200 from my local electrical company for getting a new high efficiency water heater.

There is quite a bit of information out there on the tankless water heaters. The problem is that you need to go to places where they are not trying to sell you one...

Matt
Click to expand...


I was impressed with the waterheater we have. During the hurricanes we lost power and the water was still hot in there 2days after. We had been staying at a relatives house, so, basically the insulation was good enough to stay hot nearly 48hrs (in ~80deg ambient temp) I'd say it's pretty efficient in warm weather which is what we have down here.
 
FoBoT

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
our water is hard. i am concerned about how they handle sediment buildup

this house is 2.5 years old. i drained and flushed the hot water tank and got several pounds of calcite/soda rock , i am concerned that a tankless heater will get clogged by the sediment easily and then the water flow would be blocked and i would be screwed.

how do they perform where sediment buildup is a problem?
 
T

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
Originally posted by: dman
Originally posted by: fenrir
I just recently bought a new water heater and I looked at the tankless option. After investigating it, I went with a standard natural gas 50-gal water heater (high efficiency). I found some info that you could actually use more natural gas with the tankless water heater. The new tank water heaters are very efficient, so it didn't make sense to spend $500 more for a tankless water heater. It could take 10 years to break even on the cost (if it used less natural gas) and I do not think I will be at my current house that long.

Plus, I got a $550 50-gal power vent from Sears and got $100 off at the store and another $200 from my local electrical company for getting a new high efficiency water heater.

There is quite a bit of information out there on the tankless water heaters. The problem is that you need to go to places where they are not trying to sell you one...

Matt
Click to expand...


I was impressed with the waterheater we have. During the hurricanes we lost power and the water was still hot in there 2days after. We had been staying at a relatives house, so, basically the insulation was good enough to stay hot nearly 48hrs (in ~80deg ambient temp) I'd say it's pretty efficient in warm weather which is what we have down here.
Click to expand...


I can't wait for somethign like NASA's aerogel to take mainstream. That stuff insulates like no other! Water heaters efficiency would go up by a lot.


link to nasa aerogel
 
N

NascarFool

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2000
1,001
0
71
Don't go with a tankless water heater. They work great until the warrany expires. They require a lot of maintenance because they work much harder than a standard water heater.
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: NascarFool
Don't go with a tankless water heater. They work great until the warrany expires. They require a lot of maintenance because they work much harder than a standard water heater.
Click to expand...

Did you even click on the link I provided? It has a limited lifetime warranty.
 
T

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
Originally posted by: Codewiz
Originally posted by: NascarFool
Don't go with a tankless water heater. They work great until the warrany expires. They require a lot of maintenance because they work much harder than a standard water heater.
Click to expand...

Did you even click on the link I provided? It has a limited lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...

some only have a limited lifetime warranty when professionally installed. This is how it is for the BOSCH ones they sell at Home Depot.
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: Codewiz
Originally posted by: NascarFool
Don't go with a tankless water heater. They work great until the warrany expires. They require a lot of maintenance because they work much harder than a standard water heater.
Click to expand...

Did you even click on the link I provided? It has a limited lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...

some only have a limited lifetime warranty when professionally installed. This is how it is for the BOSCH ones they sell at Home Depot.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a hook up for a "professional" licenced installer. I will get a bill. That isn't an issue :)
 
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