instant on, endless hot water units are the only way to go...
Posted on 02/22/2015 8:59:13 AM PST by Mean Daddy
If it’s been a while since you took stock of the age and vitality of your water heater, now would be a good time to do so.
Mechanical rooms and homeowners’ appliance budgets are about to get more cramped after April 16, when the latest round of federal standards stipulating increased energy efficiency of residential water heaters takes effect.
The standards stem from a 1987 Department of Energy law called the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act.
Water heater manufacturers are responding with energy-saving additions like advanced electronics, more insulation and heat pumps, which means new units promise to get taller, wider and more complicated than their less-efficient predecessors.
(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...
Tankless does have advantages.
I prefer to have an additional 40 gal or so of water on site just in case something happens to the municipal water supply...
Can’t DIY here, must have the proper licenses and permits to install..............
$200.00 buy two since they have a habit of breaking after a few years of use.
i use propane, anyone have tankless propne?
My tankless water heater is awesome. The only real problem is that it will require flushing periodically if you have hard water and don’t run a water softener. Calcium builds up in the heater core and you need to flush about once a year.
Prices have come way down on these units (they are dirt cheap outside of the US) and the energy savings pays the difference.
We have PG&E here in the SF Bay area and gas bills are pretty high. My Tankless is in the attic which gets the nasty water heater out of the garage.
Unless you have a large family or entertain a lot it's not a good deal
Spend $1000+ to save $1-8 a month, Maintenance: heavy Expensive, parts Expensive repairs
(because of water deposits it needs to be flushed out once a year with chemicals...)
The trouble with tankless is for where I live, with the incoming water temp, I cannot get the heat gain, per unit volume to actually get HOT water.
I am still irritated over the low flow water filters Samsung came out for their refrigerators. The size of the glasses didn’t change. Just wasting my time.
The low flow hose nozzles are just as frustrating.
I was in Home Depot one time and asked an employee where the ‘Hot water heaters’ were.
He said, “We don’t sell hot water heaters.”
I said, “You don’t????”
He said, “No sir, we only sell cold water heaters.”.............
“He said, “No sir, we only sell cold water heaters.”.............”
—
In a sense,he has a point.
.
Our is at 19 years and holding....
Oh yes you can get a tankless propane for under $100. I have one I use in my “man cave”, lol. Just read the reviews and watch out for complains about changing water temperature. Mine has that problem and it kinda sucks to have the water temp change in the middle of a shower.
“I prefer to have an additional 40 gal or so of water on site just in case something happens to the municipal water supply”
A good thing to have in earthquake country.
“I was in Home Depot one time and asked an employee where the ‘Hot water heaters’ were.”
Why would you want to heat hot water?
LOL! So very true...on the most basic level...but if you really think about it, the heater does keep hot water hot...
I call ‘em water heaters...less wordy and still accurate.
To keep it that way, of course.
I can understand this to a point...afterall, if you replumb the gas and water lines one can create a lot of problems if not done correctly.
I’d settle for permits and an inspection, but the license thing goes a bit too far in my opinion.
instant on, endless hot water units are the only way to go...
I can tell you a couple things, first if your Nat. Gas supply line is only 1/2" to the existing tank unit you need to pay to have a 3/4" line put in, I can't speak for propane. Second the only instant part of the heat happens in the units exchanger, unless you have a circulating pump in the system which when I was trained also required a 30 gal. elect water heater tank for storage, though not wired up. Third you need to install a quality whole house filter or you will be paying for it to be demineralized maybe yearly and still replace after a few years. If the plumber doesn't tell you these things during his sales spiel you better find a new one. So you have to consider these cost to decide if the unit will save you money over the average ten or so life of a conventional water heater.
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