Off topic - Tankless Water Heater

[Hose_Head]

Something to keep in mind for those of you with aging hot water heaters. When hot water heaters go bad, they usually do so catastrophically. This means that there is a major leak and flood in your house. It often occurs when no-one is home, too. Thousands of dollars in damages can result.

It's best to replace a hot water heater before it's obvious that it needs to be replaced. Different tanks have different life expectancy, but for most, 10 to 12 years is about all that can safely be expected. You can extend this if you regularly flush out the sediment and periodically replace the sacrificial anode in the tank, but how many of you do that?

Personally, my motto is that any tank more than 10 years old is on borrowed time.

If you have a tankless heater, the life expectancy probably is longer. But it's doubtful that it's sufficiently long to recoup the tremendous added cost of a tankless unit.

[hrc54]

Well said Hose Head. We went tankless when we got a 50 gallon soaking tub. Our original tank was a 75 gallon tank. Never drained. When we replaced it
it really was heating maybe 50 gallons. The sediment had to be at least a third of what was in the tank. I had no idea it had to be drained every year. Not to mention that we had it serviced over the life of the tank at least 5 times. We went through 3 tanks in a little less than 29 years. Each service call was about $100. Or more.

The tankless requires the cleaning of a little filter twice a year. I perform that. It takes 5 minutes. If that. We've had the tankless now about 5 years. The expected life is 20-25 years.

Bear in mind, they are extremely popular in Europe where space is a premium. We wouldn't go back to the tank. Might it be more expensive? Sure, but, for
us there were so many advantages.

bob

[Guest]

I will throw my .02 in. I'm a building inspector and have talked to many plumbers about tankless water heaters. They love selling them but I have not come across many that would install them in their own home. Here are some of the reasons.

They are too expensive. The payback on a tankless is just not there.
Many require re-piping of the gas supply line. If this not done the unit will not operate at peak efficiency.
Some models require yearly maintenance of de-scaling the heat exchanger. If not done, there goes the efficiency again.

One last thing. there is no such thing as a "hot water heater". If the water was hot why would you heat it.

[jdm2857]

One last thing. there is no such thing as a "hot water heater". If the water was hot why would you heat it.

Because you want it hotter?

Actually the term "hot water heater" bugs me too.

[-tim]

I had a Baxi 96% efficiency one hooked to the radiator heating and that worked great.
I had one of the 1st ones and it hurt bad. The bill for hot water for cleaning the place I was renting was higher than the rent.

Solar with a gas boost is the cheapest for your long term bills.

A single person with small water use, the instant gas ones work fine. The electrics aren't so cheap but sometimes can work in the kitchen if you use little water.

If you have lots of young kids and huge hot water use during all waking hours, a large gas tank is best (unless you can add solar pre-heat to it).

If you aren't in an area with hydro or nuke power, don't consider one that isn't gas.

[2flamingos]

What I don't get is this claimed advantage of "never running out of hot water" when using a tankless hot water heater. I'm in my sixties and can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times over the years that I've run out of hot water. In various houses, that includes both electric and gas fired hot water heaters. None of these tanks were larger than 60 gallons capacity, too! And it includes the years when my teenage daughter lived at home!

The few times when we have run out of hot water, it was always attributable to a problem with the water heater - usually when one of the two electric elements stopped working, or a bad thermocouple on a gas heater.

What are you people using your hot water heaters for, anyway?!

Between multiple people showering, dishwasher and clothes washer running - maybe not at the same exact moment but close succession, I have been the one in the shower when there was little to no hot water. So, if you are last in line - it IS an advantage!

[CowFish]

I found out our tank is 50 gallons. It is gas-fired. With four of us in the house at one time, including two teenagers, we never ran out of hot water in 14 years.

I checked with the neighbor across the street. He has 50-gallon gas fired and four kids, the oldest a high school senior. They never ran out in 14 years.

One of the plumbers from the gas company has five kids and he said he never ran out of hot water with his tank heater. (Forgot to ask him what size his tank is.)

I also found an article where they measured how much energy it takes to keep a 50-gallon tank hot when you are away and the water is not being used. It was the equivalent of burning a 21-watt light bulb continuously. How much is that in money? Two cents per month maybe? They explained that the tanks are better insulated than thermos jugs.

As for lower Alabama, how much hot water do you need? Never been there, but don't you have a hot, humid climate?


Tankless is a scam. A profit maker for the manufacturers and the plumbers installing them. The marketing, advertising and sales pitches are very effective but dishonest. A large additional expense for the homeowner except in the rarest of cases.

Yes, I have become passionate about this because I see people on tight budgets being ripped off.

[VVV]

If on-demand water heaters is such a good idea, why are CPAP humidifiers not made this way?

I agree with you CowFish, tankless water heaters for residential use are a scam. Several of my friends have made this mistake because of the incessant radio advertising we get here locally.

You made the argument clear. Hopefully some will find this thread and learn about this scam.