Water Heater Rant!

[JinLien]

Originally posted by: JeepinEd

Originally posted by: JinLien

Originally posted by: JeepinEd

Originally posted by: JinLien

1. Tankless is a cool thing to have.
2. Tankless save engergy bill if it is mounted close to the faucet that you intended to use.

For most application tankless isn't going to work well if it take 5-6 second or longer for the hot water to reach your faucets (water speed is roughly 6 feet per second), because the wasted water will negate any energy saving that tankless have over traditional tank design. Another thing to think about is the delivery rate of a tankless water heater for your house hold consumption. Also keep in mind that a high volume heater with high BTU rating will require more energy therefore your existing wiring may not be adequate for the draw therefore it may require rewiring for it. Best to get a smaller tank with good insulation that have fast recovery rate if wasted energy is a concern.

The only time that tankless work well if the piping run is relatively short such as a RV or industrial washroom that have a bank of wash basin all conected together in a short run.

Plumbing codes in many area require a licences plumber to install tankless water heater therefor it could be the reason that tankless water heater can only purchase at licenses distributors in your area.

This would be a Natural Gas heater, so electric consuption should be negligeble.
Local stores do sell tankless heaters. It's only Renni, that sells only to licensed contractors. The models that Home Depot carry just don't provide the same amount of GPM's as the Renni or Noritz (at least the ones that I saw).

The article that was linked a few posts ago is very interesting. My only thought is that I live in the Peoples Republic of California. The weather is much warmer here, so the incoming water temp is not nearly as cold.

I'd like to talk to people who have these installed to see what they think. I'm just hoping the leak in my current heater won't get worse while I figure out what the heck I'm going to do.

Stupid water heaters...

Sorry, misses the gas part, but the wasted water would be the same and the only different is that you wouldn?t need to rewire for the tankless.

Yike! leak in WT is serious. Turn off power to your WT and put your hand over the casing to find the hot spot. You have a leak if the tank is hot to the touch & it is a time bomb if there is a leak, because the hole can grow quickly due to the water pressure drilling though the metal. You could end up with quite a mess when come home from a long day at work.

You're scaring the living S#!% out of me! I haven't raised my wife's life insurance yet. (kidding)
I think the leak is comming from a corroded thread. It's a slow drip eminating from the area where the hot water pipe connects to the tank. It's also leaving a trail of brown sludge behind. (Am I bathing in that?)

It is unlikely that you are bathing in the sluge because the oxide is heavier than water, therefore it should be at the bottom and hot water drawn is at the top of the tank.

Your WT anode is used up and electrosis is working at where the iron & copper made contact. The point of leakage is a strong point on your WT so it should buy you some time to shop for a water heating solution.

WT & tankless installation isn't that difficult, and post here or PM me for help if you are going to do a DIY job.

Good luck!

 

[Kelemvor]

Talk to all your friends and find one that knows someone who is a plumber. Then tell him you know the unit is $1100 and it should take 2 hours to isntall. Tell him if he buys it for you you'll give him $500 to install it.