Water Heaters - Tankless water heaters

People can anyone tell me if this is the way to go instead of paying $ to keep water hot in tank the regular way? cost effective reliable??? thanks in advance for your responses!
Dean :coffee:

Hello: day629

Tankless Water Heater Info here:

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=147262

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I did not go to the link SA gave, but how much one needs a tankless water heater depends. Like how many times a day is hot water used in your house. Where you live? Where is the tank located? How old is it? Do you have gas or elec?

The tankless are more efficient. But in $$$ the cost recovery is very long, considering the very high initial cost for unit and installation. They do not solve the problems of long distance water pipes, and they do require maintenance. Most have very long warranties. In large numbers, they have not been around long enough for me to have an opinion on longevity, ease of obtaining service under the warranty, etc.

I do see value in new construction, where I would design for multiple, smaller units, located close to hot water loads.

594Tough is right. I just had 2 Rinnai tankless water heaters installed in my duplex. The energy usage rating is so low it's off the rating chart so I hope to recoup the installation expense over the years by saving on gas. And it's also "green" so I get some satisfaction from helping the environment. Ultimately I'm not sure it's worth the high cost of installation. I'll keep you posted when and if I need service.

A tankless water heater can have a very reasonable payback period, especially if you use a lot of hot water or if you do not use hot water for long periods (no body home for days at a time). They heat water continuously, so there is no tank to run out and no heat loss when not being used. The downside is that they are designed to provide X number of gallons of hot water per minute, at a given temperature rise, which usually limits their use to one shower or washing machine at a time. I service some gas heaters that have been installed for over twenty years and still work well. There are now propane and natural gas fired models that direct vent and there are electric models so big that they may require a new electric service. If you have corrosive or hard water or have a lot of sediment in your water, no water heater will last for long without problems, but tankless heaters are more sensitive to problem water. Flowrates are typically in the range of 1.5-2.5 gpm at 110°F with cold water in at 50°F. A lower flowrate will give a higher output temperature (for those that like really hot showers).
Although I personally do not agree with the new rules setting water tanks to 140°F with a tempering valve (to "kill bacteria), a well insulated tank set at 120-125 °F would be competitive with the tankless heater for operating cost, in the majority of situations.
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