Tankless Water Heaters....Educate me...

[matab14]

Did a search on here saw a few very old threads that a few people were looking converting Tankless Water Heaters. I'm interested in feedback.

I have a pretty old house with an old Gas Water Heater. I guessing it's around 15-20 years old. It's on its last leg at this point and isn't anywhere close to remotely efficient. It runs pretty much 24/7....

So this leads me to my inquiry, would it be a bad investments to look into this conversion to a new Tankless system?? If so the price seems to vary a lot. Ive seen some in the $200/range all the way up to $800+. My house only has 1 bathroom and a kitchen So I dont believe I use an excessive amount of hot water by any means.

Anyways any and all help would be much appreciated. Just looking for feedback on those who have them or have made the conversion and whether it really did pay for itself.

Thanks!

 

[Misquamarauder]

Buy one of the better (read that pricier) ones. They work well (at least the gas ones). May take several years to re-coup the money saved. Biggest plus is never running out of hot water. Be careful on the install, as I've seen folks not vent them (leads to CO monitors going off), and have heard of fires from improper installation as well.

 

[EL Conquistador]

Be careful on the install, as I've seen folks not vent them (leads to CO monitors going off), and have heard of fires from improper installation as well.

+1 if you are not familiar with the tankless setup you will definitely want to have a professional do the install for safety purposes especially for a gas heater...having said that you will probably have to have a dedicated gas line just for the water heater it will likely have to be a 1 inch line although 3/4 inch can sometimes be used for lower output units..and as Misquamarauder said proper ventilation is very important...as far as prices go for parts and labor I've seen anywhere from $1200 to $2000+ but still a good investment in the long run...

 

[soccerman002]

You plan on staying in the house for quite a while?

 

[matab14]

+1 if you are not familiar with the tankless setup you will definitely want to have a professional do the install for safety purposes especially for a gas heater...having said that you will probably have to have a dedicated gas line just for the water heater it will likely have to be a 1 inch line although 3/4 inch can sometimes be used for lower output units..and as Misquamarauder said proper ventilation is very important...as far as prices go for parts and labor I've seen anywhere from $1200 to $2000+ but still a good investment in the long run...

wow Didn't realize it quite that much! Thanks for the heads up! I pretty confident I can install it myself with a little help from my firend is licensed Electrician. I should already have a gas line there as the existing water heater is gas. Maybe that'll save some!

Im trying to figure out how big of unit GPM wise I would require. It's really only powering the one Bathroom and the kitchen which doesn't ness use that much hot water often anyways...

 

[matab14]

You plan on staying in the house for quite a while?

more than likely no....lol.....which would probably point to the fact that I should just replace with a newer tank unit. I just thought it could be a nice selling point perhaps in couple years...

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

Did you check out solar water heaters? There's tax rebates on them, and sun power is free

 

[VirtualSVT]

If you have gas then by all means get a tankless setup. One trick that always catches people is that if you just crack the hot water on it won't get hot.

 

[matab14]

If you have gas then by all means get a tankless setup. One trick that always catches people is that if you just crack the hot water on it won't get hot.

what do you mean by that?

Do you have to have it on full blast to get hot water out of it?

Also not sure if it matters or not but current unit is located in the basement and I believe it does already have any exhaust vent to the outside that I could more than likely reuse as well!

 

[thepizz]

They have to be direct vented to the outside. Cant vent through the chimney like standard tank heaters.

 

[!!!PainTrain!!!]

Not sure about the laws/regs out your way but if you're doing venting or running line you need to pull a permit most likely a mechanical and plumbing (atleast where I'm at here in MD).

 

[!!!PainTrain!!!]

Did you check out solar water heaters? There's tax rebates on them, and sun power is free

Hell, why not go Geothermal. Don't let the 20K-30K price tag scare you away

 

[matab14]

They have to be direct vented to the outside. Cant vent through the chimney like standard tank heaters.

Thanks for the heads up. Didn't know that!

Hell, why not go Geothermal. Don't let the 20K-30K price tag scare you away

haha maybe on my next house....This ones only worth about 70k so don't think that'd be the worlds best investment! lol

 

[FordGTGuy]

Hell, why not go Geothermal. Don't let the 20K-30K price tag scare you away

Nuclear beats all.

 

[HEMIHUNTER]

Do some research on electric ones. In your situation it may or may not be cost effective

 

[Mr. Mach-ete]

Tankless water heaters are nice, I've installed several of them. Kinda pricey for the application. In my opinion, if your having issues running out of hot water due to excessive use a tankless system might be for you. I would install a new free standing gas water heater and be done with it.

 

[VirtualSVT]

what do you mean by that?

Do you have to have it on full blast to get hot water out of it?

Also not sure if it matters or not but current unit is located in the basement and I believe it does already have any exhaust vent to the outside that I could more than likely reuse as well!

its usually gotta be more than 40% to get flow.

 

[Junior00]

I can give you an idea of what all will be involved if you PM me, as I used to install them. Figure this though, if you already have a gas w/h, it will be 3/4" unless it's a smaller unit and they pulled it off a 3/4" drop leg that it shares a furnace with it. The problem will normally be the distance from the meter itself, as NG normally is about 8" on the water column depending on your municipality/supplier, you may have to upsize your gas line or possibly run another line. I'd think that it would be pretty safe assuming you'll be ok with what you already have though in all honesty, being that you will get a smaller unit.

I would definitely opt for a well known brand so that you know you'll have good service for the life of the product, think Rinnai, Rheem, etc. I purchased a Rheem from a seller on Ebay who I followed for about 6 months. They apparently purchased end of the year models as I purchased a whole house unit (supplies 3 1/2 baths at my home, 8 gpm @ 65 degree rise I think) for $500 including shipping. It was the same one available through special order at Home Cheapo, normally $1300 and came with a remote.

If you purchase one, consider where you will be venting. Some require class 3 piping and you probably won't be able to use the existing vent you have as it is normally class 2. Mine is power vented and uses a concentric pipe to vent and pull in fresh air from outside for combustion. It's in a small closet and I don't have to worry about combustion gases. Some very nice ones can actually be vented via pvc as they have a recirculation system that essentially turns most of the hot vapors to condensate. Well worth it if you A)can run a new vent line if needed and B)it's much cheaper than the class 3 stainless vents...MUCH cheaper!

There are other odds and ends to purchase also, such as a nice water cutoff kit with bleeder and such, but not to much to it really. I received the energy tax credit and it actually payed for itself in energy savings in just over a year. Funny thing is, I actually swapped from a electric unit to gas, and my gas bill dropped. Hope this helps.

 

[Junior00]

its usually gotta be more than 40% to get flow.

I think some of the newer ones are actually down to .25 gpm. I know mine is 2 years old and it turns on at .5 gpm of flow.

 

[Junior00]

They have to be direct vented to the outside. Cant vent through the chimney like standard tank heaters.

Incorrect...depends on make, model, location, and requirements for combustion gases as well. Some CAN be vented through existing class 2 evnt or even pvc.