Tankless Water Heaters - Got one?

[mysticokra]

The 13 year old electric water heater is starting to leak. Given how hard the water is here, I am surprised it lasted that long. I am seriously considering a tankless heater because the vast majority of the time there are just two of us here.

At about $400 to $700 they cost just a little more than a well made tank. I figure the payback at two years and after that I am ahead on energy costs, assuming they last 8 to 10 years.

I thought these guys had an attractive product. See http://www.tanklesswaterheaters.com/stiebeltem24.html

Has anyone had experience with these type heaters? Thanks.

[cfabe]

That unit draws 100 amps at 240 volts. Thats the size of the entire service to my house. If you have 200 amp service you might be able to run it but it will take some extensive re-wiring inside. This is a common issue with the tankless heaters, because where a storage heater has lots of time to bring the water up to temperature, the tankless has only a few seconds to put the same ammount of energy into the water. The other thing to keep in mind is that the temperature of the output water will vary with the water flow (gpm) you are drawing through it. You might get a nice hot shower with one shower running, but if someone is using the washing machine or another shower, it may be only warm.

[FiddleKat]

We have a tankless water heater in the house. Although my BIL owns the house. For the most part, I heard that they are pretty good, and it was said you get instant hot water. We found that this is not always true. Sometimes we do have to wait a full minute before it comes to be hot. The water does get very hot though.
I can say one of the downsides of a tankless is that they are usually more expensive than a regular tank. My BIL ended up paying a little over $1000 for his with the plumber's cost included. He also had to pay $60 for the permit as well. (We live in MA) The other is that it took almost two weeks for him to get the tankless heater and then a plumber to install it. Which peeved me as my DH and I were the ones who had to go without hot water. Not my BIL.

FiddleKat

[DrippingSprings]

Alot of hype surrounds them but I have sued both and I still prefer old style more. I found mine wasnt as fast with the hot water as I would have liked and it took more electric to run it as well.

[cruiser3006]

I used a Paloma (brand) on-demand tankless water heater, for 8 years in Alaska. It was very reliable and plenty of hot water. It was gas, not electric, and provided for showers and laundry and dishwashing. Was very economical on the propane and I obtained it new for under $300. I will be getting another for my place, next year. They do come in varied flow rates and BTU use, from light duty all the way up to heavy commercial applications.

I don't know about the electric ones, But, seems to me they would be a lot more expensive to purchase and operate.

[mysticokra]

Originally Posted by cruiser3006

I used a Paloma (brand) on-demand tankless water heater, for 8 years in Alaska. It was very reliable and plenty of hot water. It was gas, not electric, and provided for showers and laundry and dishwashing. Was very economical on the propane and I obtained it new for under $300. I will be getting another for my place, next year. They do come in varied flow rates and BTU use, from light duty all the way up to heavy commercial applications.

I don't know about the electric ones, But, seems to me they would be a lot more expensive to purchase and operate.

When I called the dealers it was interesting how quickly the sales guy moved me off of the electric unit. Evidently, they really pull the 120 AMPS they are rated for.

I could envision a summer day with AC going, I take a shower and blow the master breaker. The only reason I was reticient to use the propane model was because of the venting. But heh, what's on more pipe sticking out of the roof?

[mtman]

i think there good if you go with lp they have ones that have a turbo burner when you use more then one thing using hot water the secondary burner kicks in it will cover a shower washing machine and someone running water in the kitchen sink all at the same time but they are costly

[popscott]

I've had one for about a year and a half...electric.....it took a new 60 amp breaker in mine...it works good in all seasons but winter.. then it has a odd way of not being able to set it to a consistent temp.....I'm on well water, so also had to install pressure regulator on input side and flow regulator in output line....flickers the lights slightly when its on.....I can take it or leave it, but had a lot of lime build up in the old tank type, so I thought I'd give them a try....

Thanks
Scott
http://www.justkiddinfarm.com/

[froggirl]

Originally Posted by mysticokra

The 13 year old electric water heater is starting to leak. Given how hard the water is here, I am surprised it lasted that long. I am seriously considering a tankless heater because the vast majority of the time there are just two of us here.

At about $400 to $700 they cost just a little more than a well made tank. I figure the payback at two years and after that I am ahead on energy costs, assuming they last 8 to 10 years.

I thought these guys had an attractive product. See http://www.tanklesswaterheaters.com/stiebeltem24.html

Has anyone had experience with these type heaters? Thanks.

Hi Mys,
Our customers are all jazzed up about tankless (we get at least a call a week about them)...our warehouse recommends the gas variety only....basically the electrics aren't worth it when it comes to energy use, etc. But the gas ones are supposed to be pretty cool. We've sold a few and we only sell Takagi brand...supposed to be the best.
--f.g.

[sullen]

We got one with our Modular House, it works just fine. Technically it has a little tank, but it gives us plenty of hot water. Yes we wait for it, just like a regular one, but I ran the dishwasher, the washing machine (on warm), and filled the tub, as a test and everything ran great.
I think it runs on oil, I will edit if I find out differently.

[snoozy]

I have a propane Aquastar and it is just great. My friend across the street has the same and she is perfectly happy with it as well. I don't know about electric ones. Propane ones are great. I love loooooooooooooooooooong hot showers!

[tyusclan]

DW and I have an electric one in our bathroom. It takes a 40 amp breaker and #8 wire. It does fine just for the bathroom, but it wouldn't work for the whole house.

[TimandPatti]

When we bought this house we found out we needed a new hot water heater. My husband bought a tankless one. A neighbor down the road stopped by and told him how they weren't that great so Tim took it back. I have no idea if they work good or not.

[foxtrapper]

I have an oil fired tankless hot water system. On the plus side, as long as there's oil in the tank, we've got hot water. So my wife can take as long a shower as she wants. The down side is the temperature varies a good bit as the burner kicks on and off. That was greatly moderated by installing a tempering valve.

[mysticokra]

Originally Posted by froggirl

Hi Mys,
Our customers are all jazzed up about tankless (we get at least a call a week about them)...our warehouse recommends the gas variety only....basically the electrics aren't worth it when it comes to energy use, etc. But the gas ones are supposed to be pretty cool. We've sold a few and we only sell Takagi brand...supposed to be the best.
--f.g.

Thanks Froggirl. Do you have a website for your business I could check out?

[mrobo]

I bought a tankless water heater for our camp site. It was
a paloma and it ran on propane. I used it for 2 years before
we sold it with the land. I rigged it to use a hose for input and
then I put up some privacy fencing to make an outdoor shower. It was real nice no waiting for it to heat up, and it
was efficient a 30# tank lasted better then a year. I plan on
putting one in my house when the need arises.

--Mike

[frogmushroom]

I have a paloma LP water heater and I love it. The hot water never runs out. When my daughter was sick I put her in a stroller and put it in the bathroom with the hot shower running all night for the steam. I don't have long pipes so the hot water really is instant, it just depends how far the heater is from the point of use. That is true with any hot water heater. The enrgy savings are very high compared to traditional hot water heaters. I don't know how old the paloma is but I have had it for 5 years. I would never use a traditonal water heater again.

Frog

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We also have a propane Bosch Aquastar and we really love it. We have no wait for hot water, the water is really hot, and it never runs out. It is just as good at 30 below as it is in the summer. Good luck!

[Gary in ohio]

There are gas/LP units.

Originally Posted by cfabe

That unit draws 100 amps at 240 volts. Thats the size of the entire service to my house. I