Tankless or not!!!

[beauski99]

I have a delima. My wife is pushing for me to install tankless heaters into the house we have just purchased. It has two bathrooms and there are five people in the home. I say we should just go to a 50 or 60 gallon electric tank. I have spoken to several people in our area who have installed tankless in their home and they stay convinced that it was not worth the money or hassle. (Most had to upgrade their electrical service) The home is all electric and has a 200 amp service but was told that it would not support two seperate systems, along with all other appliances. Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[Master plumber]

Dont install a tankless water heater in your house.

the reasons are numerouis.

1.. you have to upgrade the electrical system in your home this cost $$$

2. usually you must make sure that the water is treated and not too hard , or the hard water will foul up the coiled tubeing inside the heater

3. the unit itself costs an arm and a leg , probably the cost of 2+ 50 gallon electric water heaters



....

...

FINDING THE PARTS!!!! they might be in california and can be shhipped in by Fed X in a few days.........

REPAIR PARTS are not easily found
I install probably 10 water heaters a week and I can repair them all , but I wont touch a tanklesws unit.. I dont want to be suied if you get scalded..
I dont want to be suied if it blows up, or floods your house ect...









please save yourself all the greif....

just my honest opinion...

[UpNOver]

I recently ran into a situation where tankless was the only way to go. I remodeled a kitchen in a small house for my fiancee, where the last guy to remodel had done something really wacky...they had installed a "shorty" 40-gal. tank in the kitchen, "walled in" to a corner, behind kitchen cabinets!!!. If that heater had leaked, the only way to get to it would be to tear out the base cabinets!!! The house had been remodeled several times, cutting up spaces where a "normal" installation could have gone (it has a detached garage, so that wasn't an option). The solution was a small (about the size of a small computer CPU) electric model that used two 40-amp circuits. It was a bit expensive, around $400, I think. We were replacing the electric range with a gas model anyway, so we just used the water heater circuit plus the range circuit to get the "juice" to power it without having to upgrade the electrical service. We installed it, out of sight but readily accessible, inside one of the new kitchen cabinets. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but the darn thing produces enough hot water, even through an Indiana winter, to provide two people with all the hot water you would ever need. Indeed, you could take a 3-day shower if you really wanted to, and never run out of hot water! I will probably go "tankless" again in a new house we are getting ready to build, but will use one of those Bosch gas models this time.

[Sharp Advice]

Hello: beauski99

The answer to the question is a personal choice. Many opinions on the subject. Only you can decide which system is best for your application.

I highly suggest you read the two posts below. Consider the information contained in each before you make the final decision.

TANKLESS WATER HEATER HELP LINK:
Tankless Water Heater Help & Informational Link:
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?threadid=147262

WATER HEATER DRAINING AND FLUSHING INFO:
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=159797

Web Site Host, Gas Appliances Topic Moderator & Multiple Forums Moderator. Energy Conservation Consultant & Natural Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technician.

Personal Reminder:
Buckle Up & Drive Safely.
"The Life You Save, May Be Your Own."

[C5RAP]

Dont install a tankless water heater in your house.

the reasons are numerouis.

1.. you have to upgrade the electrical system in your home this cost $$$

2. usually you must make sure that the water is treated and not too hard , or the hard water will foul up the coiled tubeing inside the heater

3. the unit itself costs an arm and a leg , probably the cost of 2+ 50 gallon electric water heaters



....

...

FINDING THE PARTS!!!! they might be in california and can be shhipped in by Fed X in a few days.........

REPAIR PARTS are not easily found
I install probably 10 water heaters a week and I can repair them all , but I wont touch a tanklesws unit.. I dont want to be suied if you get scalded..
I dont want to be suied if it blows up, or floods your house ect...









please save yourself all the greif....

just my honest opinion...

Sounds like you have a tankless job....ba da bing! Sorry, I couldn't resist :D

Seriously though, maybe you could give your opinion to my problem posted under:

"Frustrating problem with my 3 year old water heater "

[Pendragon]

I loved the tankless in my old house.
I'll be installing tankless gas unit in the new one when I can save up enough for it (the unit itself is about $1200). Just set the digital temp at what you want, the unit does the rest.

Install (or keep/reinstall) the low flow fixtures for your showers and sinks, there's no reason you can't use a single unit for the whole house, and you can cut your water usage in half.

[594tough]

http://www.pmengineer.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/coverstory/BNPCoverStoryItem/0,2730,141364,00.html



The above link is another good article to aid in your research.

Many of the issues have been mentioned in the replies above.

A single large tankless need 120 amp .. You might need 2 smaller units , EACH requiring 80 amps.

If you had gas service, your situation would allow you to take advantage of one of the benefits of tankless: the ability to easily locate multiple units neat the usage points: bathrooms/kitchens/laundry/etc. With electric, the service size could become prohibitive.


Do a lot of research. I personally believe the jury is still out in this country on tankless: our water supply and usage is different than in the countries where tankless have been popular for many years. i.e indoor whirlpools, size xtra jugunda washing machines, long hot showers, 5 bathrooms, etc.

I suspect that we need one more generation ( just as computers constanly evolve) providing better numbers on temp. rise, GPM, and initial cost.

Again, do the research. Pick a system which matches your individual situation, and then evaluate the cost comparisons.