Austin_Horn
100+ Posts
Anyone had experience with the tankless option? what is the up front price difference? were the long term benefits worth it?
Tankless vs Tank Water Heater?
- Thread starter Austin_Horn
- Start date
busterbrown16
1,000+ Posts
I always go tankless because of the space consideration, but space is a major consideration where I live (in East Dallas). It clears up an entire closet that would otherwise be clogged with a big tank.
As far as the product, I like the tankless. It does not heat faster, but it definitely heats longer. Just be sure to get one big enough for your needs, if that is the way you ultimately go.
As far as the product, I like the tankless. It does not heat faster, but it definitely heats longer. Just be sure to get one big enough for your needs, if that is the way you ultimately go.
sorry, you were asking about our experience,
Our experience with new contruction is that it is worth it if you can buy the unit yourself then have someone install it, but we were friends with our plumbing people so that may not work for everyone. In this scenario it cost us basically $900 per tankless heater. Hard to asy how much we save but for our household(s), 4 adults with two seperate kitchens with gas cooktops the gas usage part of our bill is 8$ a month. We dont have gas heating.
For existing construction its all about if you have gas to the closet (probably if its a gas tank right now) and if you can easily put in a larger venting system, the tankless will probably require a 4 inch pipe and tank venting systems dont usually have that. Obviously if you currently have an electric tank then there will be a large cost to put in a venting system.
Now you could get an electric tankless water heater but that would likely mean you would have to upgrade your electrical service to teh whole house, probably only cost effective in new contruction.
My guess is that unless you or someone you know can help you keep the costs down by doing some of the work it wont be cost effective.
Also the tankless stuff is more complicated and may require maintenance above what the maintenance would be for a tank model. We put a used unit in our old house and it was nothing but a headache.
Our experience with new contruction is that it is worth it if you can buy the unit yourself then have someone install it, but we were friends with our plumbing people so that may not work for everyone. In this scenario it cost us basically $900 per tankless heater. Hard to asy how much we save but for our household(s), 4 adults with two seperate kitchens with gas cooktops the gas usage part of our bill is 8$ a month. We dont have gas heating.
For existing construction its all about if you have gas to the closet (probably if its a gas tank right now) and if you can easily put in a larger venting system, the tankless will probably require a 4 inch pipe and tank venting systems dont usually have that. Obviously if you currently have an electric tank then there will be a large cost to put in a venting system.
Now you could get an electric tankless water heater but that would likely mean you would have to upgrade your electrical service to teh whole house, probably only cost effective in new contruction.
My guess is that unless you or someone you know can help you keep the costs down by doing some of the work it wont be cost effective.
Also the tankless stuff is more complicated and may require maintenance above what the maintenance would be for a tank model. We put a used unit in our old house and it was nothing but a headache.
A
ADMIRALSTOCKDALE
Guest
Any decent tankless heater (Rinnai, Noritz, Takagi) are going to be standard 12 year warranty while traditional tank heaters are all the way down to 6 (again, the decent heaters not the GE and Whirlpool that are at Lowe's and HD).
There is a federal tax credit when you go tankless and the energy savings are not overwhelming but exist nonetheless.
You would need 3/4" gas for the tankless and traditional tank heaters use 1/2". However, this is not always that big of a deal. You also need a 110-v outlet handy.
The pipe penetration doesn't always change even though it increases from 3 to 4".
Essentially you'll pay roughly 3 times the price of traditional for a tankless and much of what makes it worth it is if anyone in your family likes long showers or baths. Many homes with larger tubs in the master can't even fill their tubs all the way before the hot water starts to disappear.
Electric tnakless should not be a consideration at this point - they use tons of energy...
One more thing, if you are replacing two tradiotnal tanks with one tankless the gap in price gets much closer and the tankless is almost a no-brainer.
There is a federal tax credit when you go tankless and the energy savings are not overwhelming but exist nonetheless.
You would need 3/4" gas for the tankless and traditional tank heaters use 1/2". However, this is not always that big of a deal. You also need a 110-v outlet handy.
The pipe penetration doesn't always change even though it increases from 3 to 4".
Essentially you'll pay roughly 3 times the price of traditional for a tankless and much of what makes it worth it is if anyone in your family likes long showers or baths. Many homes with larger tubs in the master can't even fill their tubs all the way before the hot water starts to disappear.
Electric tnakless should not be a consideration at this point - they use tons of energy...
One more thing, if you are replacing two tradiotnal tanks with one tankless the gap in price gets much closer and the tankless is almost a no-brainer.
We had a Noritz unit put in when our regular water heater went out. I am glad we did. We have gas heat and the Noritz unit is gas. Our gas bill averages about $35 per month and our house size is about 2300 sq ft..
It does not heat quicker as the one unit is for the entire house and it must push out the cold water in the pipes just as the regular water heater did.
I love it and I love the endless hot water we now have. We have never run out of hot water since we had it even with multiple persons showering or when the kitchen hot water is running while someone is bathing.
We run it at 120 degrees.
I would do it again and we have had no troubles of any kind with it and we have had it for about 2 years. It is supposed to have about a 20 year life and I don't have to worry about a leaking water tank that could break and flood.
It does not heat quicker as the one unit is for the entire house and it must push out the cold water in the pipes just as the regular water heater did.
I love it and I love the endless hot water we now have. We have never run out of hot water since we had it even with multiple persons showering or when the kitchen hot water is running while someone is bathing.
We run it at 120 degrees.
I would do it again and we have had no troubles of any kind with it and we have had it for about 2 years. It is supposed to have about a 20 year life and I don't have to worry about a leaking water tank that could break and flood.
A
ADMIRALSTOCKDALE
Guest
7titles,
i don't know of a reputable electric tankless water heater that's not in the same range as the reputable gas for say, a 2.5 bath house.
they're usually what, 240-v and require 4 separate 40 amp breakers?
sure tankless have gallons per minute issues if you've got body sprays in your shower and the plumber didn't account for it, but you shouldn't have that problem if properly sized.
i don't know of a reputable electric tankless water heater that's not in the same range as the reputable gas for say, a 2.5 bath house.
they're usually what, 240-v and require 4 separate 40 amp breakers?
sure tankless have gallons per minute issues if you've got body sprays in your shower and the plumber didn't account for it, but you shouldn't have that problem if properly sized.
LITNIN HORN
1,000+ Posts
The smallest electric, tankless WH, that should be considered for "whole house" use will require between 80 and 100 amps of power. Considering the maximum service of most homes is 200 amps, this has never seemed like a reasonable option, especially for retrofit.
I have a friend here that has one run on kerosene. (Most of the heating in this area is fuel oil/kerosene) Even when kerosene was at $4/gal, it was more expensive for him to use his electric water heater. He found this out when he had the fire port get clogged up and had to switch to his electric heater which he has for a backup.
Admiral
You are liikely right, I guess what I was aiming at that if doing new consruction dont rule out electric tankless hot water heater(s). Putting in a larger electrical service at teh beginning isnt a big deal. Given my maintenance hassles with gas tankless heaters I would rather have electric than gas.
I have 3 rinnai gas tankless for our existing new house, no problem so far, but they are only 6 months old. My fear is that in five years when these things start going out in the middle of a shower, then you call a tech (or try and troubleshoot it yourself) and it wont happen for again for a week and its very frustrating.
From what I read, the elecric ones are far more simple and reliable and probably would have worked well in our aplication
You are liikely right, I guess what I was aiming at that if doing new consruction dont rule out electric tankless hot water heater(s). Putting in a larger electrical service at teh beginning isnt a big deal. Given my maintenance hassles with gas tankless heaters I would rather have electric than gas.
I have 3 rinnai gas tankless for our existing new house, no problem so far, but they are only 6 months old. My fear is that in five years when these things start going out in the middle of a shower, then you call a tech (or try and troubleshoot it yourself) and it wont happen for again for a week and its very frustrating.
From what I read, the elecric ones are far more simple and reliable and probably would have worked well in our aplication
A
ADMIRALSTOCKDALE
Guest
7titles,
3 tankless? i need to go check the "what car do you drive?" thread and see what you're drivin!! what do you have, 7 bathrooms?!!
Tankless have a standard 12 years so i wouldn't anticipate problems for quite a long time.
3 tankless? i need to go check the "what car do you drive?" thread and see what you're drivin!! what do you have, 7 bathrooms?!!
Tankless have a standard 12 years so i wouldn't anticipate problems for quite a long time.
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