Tankless Water Heater Question

[Hayata]

If you can get a gas one and mount it on an outside wall you're golden and will save money on your monthly natural gas bill.

If you can't relocate to an outside wall for venting it's going to get expensive very quickly...have they thought of a solar water heater mounted on their roof?

 

[harrycalahan]

All I can say is my uncle put one in when they were building his million dollar home. It did not perform like it was advertised to perform. He had it ripped out and went to a tank. I'm not sure if his was gas or electric but it was a huge waste of money.

 

[Dirty J]

All I can say is my uncle put one in when they were building his million dollar home. It did not perform like it was advertised to perform. He had it ripped out and went to a tank. I'm not sure if his was gas or electric but it was a huge waste of money.

Most of the time... "Not working right" means the person who specified the unit doesn't understand how output temperature setting and ground water temperature affect the flow rate of the unit.

Homeowners make the problem worse...

what do they do when there's not enough hot water? That's right... crank the thermostat up... Which on a tankless unit lessens the output volume and makes the problem worse.

 

[mtnsmith]

You know you can't buy a water heater in Cobb county. You have to buy it thru an installer. However, you can go to Paulding or Bartow county and buy the heater, bring it home and install it.

 

[JamesG]

If you can't relocate to an outside wall for venting it's going to get expensive very quickly...

Naw, you can just put it where the old tanked one used to sit. You just have to make a frame or bracket to hold it up at the same position for the exhaust duct. A little more thought and work involved but still worth it.

 

[Dirty J]

Naw, you can just put it where the old tanked one used to sit. You just have to make a frame or bracket to hold it up at the same position for the exhaust duct. A little more thought and work involved but still worth it.

Negative ghost rider.

Most tankless units don't use a conventional vent. You can't just slap it in wherever the old heater was in every case.

The above posted was 100% correct about the easiest way to use an exterior wall.

Not only is venting an issue, but gas supply is often a problem with a whole house unit that's large enough to handle multiple bathrooms. 1/2" gas pipe is typically insufficient.

 

[JamesG]

Oh geez, here we go again...

 

[Hayata]

Negative ghost rider.

Most tankless units don't use a conventional vent. You can't just slap it in wherever the old heater was in every case.

The above posted was 100% correct about the easiest way to use an exterior wall.

Not only is venting an issue, but gas supply is often a problem with a whole house unit that's large enough to handle multiple bathrooms. 1/2" gas pipe is typically insufficient.

Yeah, my understanding is that it takes a double-wall vent pipe that is pretty expensive vs the conventional vent pipe. That is the reason for putting on an outside wall...but then you have to relocate all of the plumbing if your original tank was centrally located.

You can mount them in series in order to have enough hot water and the concept is solid. Best done on a new house build in most cases, though.

 

[JamesG]

All you have to do be able to follow instructions...

 

[RKC00]

I have Tankless Electric water heaters, over 10 years, both Whole House and Point Of Use. Would NEVER go back to a tank unit. They are much more efficient than conventional. No waiting on the tank to heat water. You must have sufficient electrical capacity and have a good understanding of Tankless heaters for proper application and installation.