Lets talk water heaters

[fangstang]

My water heater needs replacing. Its a oil unit. I'd like to go tankless. Any of you guys change over? Pluses and minuses? I need it for 3-4 bathrooms plus the kitchen. I was looking at the units they have at Home Depot. The Stiebel Eltron Tempra 36 plus specifically. I called the company directly and they suggested that size unit. I live in NY so I would need one for my region. Let me know what you guys think.

BTW, I called the local guys to give me a price on a direct replacement for my oil unit and the prices were ridiculous. $2600-$4300.

 

[Coiled03]

Have a tankless in my house right now.

It was present when we bought the house and I hate the damn thing.

It makes a shit ton of noise, and it takes 3 - 5 minutes for the water to heat up.

I'm not sure what the cost impact is, as I've never had anything else in this house to compare against.

 

[fangstang]

Interesting. Didnt think it would be noisy at all.

 

[nxhappy]

I have a tankless right now. It works OK. In my old house the other unit heated up REAL quick. It was a 40 gallon GE.

I would just go with the regular 40G. 550 plus 200 for install. MUCH cheaper, and probably better at heating.

 

[fangstang]

Might just do that. I just cant believe they want $4300 for a 40g oil water heater installed.

 

[Blown 89]

I've had tanless in my past two houses and love them.

It takes a little longer to get warm due to where it's mounted (opposite side of the house) but we never run out of hot water, it saves a ton of money, and more importantly it saves space. My tankless is currently mounted outside on the back wall by the pool pump. In both houses I turned what was a space for the tank into a closet. I will never go back to a tank design ever again. In my last house hot water was just as fast as a tank design.

 

[nxhappy]

Might just do that. I just cant believe they want $4300 for a 40g oil water heater installed.

you can't run a regular gas heater?

 

[jbs$]

In addition to the tankless unit, put a small, 5 gal. instant hot water unit under the sink, then tie them together. These units don't cost much and will give you instant hot water with out waiting when you need a limited amount at one point. For the shower, you will have to wait until the hot water from the main unit reaches you.

 

[fangstang]

you can't run a regular gas heater?

Propane

 

[railroad]

Tankless electric take a high amp circuit, as high as 50 or 60 amp. You will need room in your panel, your house will probably need to be 200 amp minimum, most newer houses are. As stated the distance from the unit to the tap will be cold water until it reaches you, same with tank types though. Best bet is tank electric, no venting, 30 amp circuit, uses 10 gauge copper wire. Local electrical companies pay for the water heater or cash allowance if you change from gas to electric. No oil heaters here in the South. Noise on any plumbing is usually water hammering, which can be corrected with plumbing.

 

[Jon82387]

Theres a few different kind of tankless setups.... if you have gas you can get that setup and not need the huge draw on your electrical system. But yes if you don't have gas then a tankless electric setup is a pretty big draw on your electric system.

Also as far as people saying it takes a few minutes to get hot water..... if you set things up right you can get a pump installed inline to circulate the water every 20-30 minutes so it stays warm in the lines.

 

[M91196]

My water heater needs replacing. Its a oil unit. I'd like to go tankless. Any of you guys change over? Pluses and minuses? I need it for 3-4 bathrooms plus the kitchen. I was looking at the units they have at Home Depot. The Stiebel Eltron Tempra 36 plus specifically. I called the company directly and they suggested that size unit. I live in NY so I would need one for my region. Let me know what you guys think.

BTW, I called the local guys to give me a price on a direct replacement for my oil unit and the prices were ridiculous. $2600-$4300.

Are you heating with oil fired hot water?

If so an indirect oil fired is awesome.
Stainless tank within a tank, super insulated.
30 year warranty.
Around here electric will break the bank.

 

[oldmodman]

A neighbor got a gas fired tankless when his regular water heater popped a leak.

He loves it. Plenty of hot water and he has noticed about a 10% savings over his old tank water heater.

Plus, no pilot light to go out. it is self sparking on start up.

 

[YJSONLY]

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...Educate-me&p=11675808&viewfull=1#post11675808

 

[SID297]

My parents have a propane fired tankless unit. It uses so little gas it's insane.

 

[YJSONLY]

My parents have a propane fired tankless unit. It uses so little gas it's insane.

As long as you don't get use to having endless of hot water and stay in there having alone time for long time!

 

[Equalbracket]

I switched to a tankless system because 20 mins of hot water isn't enough. It's the best thing ever. Takes 5 seconds to get hot. Couldn't live without it.



Mine is pretty sensitive, there's cold, then hot as hell, not much in between.

 

[Turbo900rr]

If you have propane, you may want to go tankless. Research first of course before you buy some really are a headache. . If propane isn't an option, then look into a hybrid electric 50g hwh.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

The home we are building is on Propane, and we are also going with the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 36 Plus (electric). Nice thing about electric is you don't have to worry about venting it. Our builder said that's a pretty good unit.