tankless water heater for well water for small weekend home in the country

[masraum]

We are in the process of purchasing a weekend home 1530 sqft, 1.5 stories with full bath downstairs and half bath upstairs, on a well with decent pressure.

It's currently got a 40 Gal water heater. The place is full electric, not gas. We are wondering about the possibility of a tankless water heater.

It seems like this might be the ideal environment since most of the time we wouldn't need a ton of water sitting around hot, and the house and draw of hot water would probably be relatively low.

[BK911]

Electric tankless heaters draw a LOT of amps. Look up some specs for what size wh you need, and see what spare elect capacity you have available.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by BK911

Electric tankless heaters draw a LOT of amps. Look up some specs for what size wh you need, and see what spare elect capacity you have available.

Good point. The existing water heater is 220V (that may be normal, our old home was gas, so I don't have any electric heater experience) and the home does have a 200A main. There's not a lot going on, but I'll certainly have to figure out what's possible.

[red-beard]

Consider going to a heat pump hot water heater, or, get a propane tank and go gas.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Consider going to a heat pump hot water heater, or, get a propane tank and go gas.

Why/how are those better/preferred?

[ckelly78z]

A 220V water heater will be much more efficient than the same sized 110V unit. We have a 110V unit, and are very happy with ours, although we use it several times a day 24/7365.

[tevake]

The good thing about a on demand water heater is that there is no water heated when it's not being used.


It may be possible to use a couple of small propane tanks to operate it. Small tanks would make it possible to get one filled for the next weekend.

Cheers Richard

[dad911]

200 amp service is fine. It will probably use 2 or 3 40A lines.

I have a tankless in florida on a 150 amp service, but we have public water, so it starts out warmer.

You need to measure the well water temp, and size it based on demand (Gallons per minute - fixtures used at the same time) and water temp input.

I have the ecosmart 27, very happy with it. Below is sizing chart:

[Hads930]

Rebuilt a pool house for a client not too far from you, just north of 10 off Voss. Water heater was an afterthought, plumber showed up w an electric tankless and said he needed 3X40A circuits. Needless to say we didn’t install, buried 40ft of gas line and hung an exterior mounted one on a outside wall, no vent to worry about.

Well water (hard) can be hard on a tankless. Hunting camp in Cuero has 2 electric 40 gal tank type that we turn on once we get there. I don’t like electric anything but they do the job.

Where’s the new place?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Hads930

Rebuilt a pool house for a client not too far from you, just north of 10 off Voss. Water heater was an afterthought, plumber showed up w an electric tankless and said he needed 3X40A circuits. Needless to say we didn’t install, buried 40ft of gas line and hung an exterior mounted one on a outside wall, no vent to worry about.

Well water (hard) can be hard on a tankless. Hunting camp in Cuero has 2 electric 40 gal tank type that we turn on once we get there. I don’t like electric anything but they do the job.

Where’s the new place?

Address says "Weimar," but if you search google maps for "borden, tx" you'll be there. It's between I-10 and 90 about 4 miles before Weimar. 5.7+ acres.

[944 S2]

You need to confirm you have adequate gage wiring for the electric water heater also.

[Bigtoe32067]

If the existing is 220 and the house has a 200a main then you’ll be fine with a tankless

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by masraum

Why/how are those better/preferred?

Heat pump hot water heater uses about 1/4 the electricity for the same hot water.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-ProTerra-40-Gal-10-Year-Hybrid-High-Efficiency-Smart-Tank-Electric-Water-Heater-with-Leak-Detection-Auto-Shutoff-XE40T10HS45U0/312741469

[fintstone]

I suggest that you save your money and do as I did for my vacation house. I left my electric one installed, but added inexpensive switching to turn it off and on remotely from my Iphone (need internet but no new wiring, equipment, or install). Because it gets pretty cold there, I also added a recirculation pump that I could also run remotely to keep the pipes from freezing in winter. I turn both on when temps are quite low so pipes will not freeze or when I am on my way to visit so the water is hot when I get there (and it gives me instant hot water throughout the house as well). Keeping the hot water heater off a lot of the time reduces costs a lot.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fintstone

I suggest that you save your money and do as I did for my vacation house. I left my electric one installed, but added inexpensive switching to turn it off and on remotely from my Iphone (need internet but no new wiring, equipment, or install). Because it gets pretty cold there, I also added a recirculation pump that I could also run remotely to keep the pipes from freezing in winter. I turn both on when temps are quite low so pipes will not freeze or when I am on my way to visit so the water is hot when I get there (and it gives me instant hot water throughout the house as well). Keeping the hot water heater off a lot of the time reduces costs a lot.

It's probably leaking. We're probably going to have to replace it anyway. If we are replacing it, we may as well put what we want in place.

I'm not even sure that we're going to be able to get high speed Internet onsite, at least, not the kind that I'd want. If we can't get something that I could use to work remotely, then we probably won't get anything.

But this is lid of good info. Thanks.

[look 171]

Depending on cost. Out in the country, I would go propane, but I don't want to look at that big old tank. And the cost to get tank installed and propane delivered maybe costly but I really don;t think it can be that much? Elec tank-less maybe the way to go. One thing great about tankless is that it doesn't use anything power unless its being used. How often are you really there to use hot water beside shower, cooking, and the occasional cloth washing? You have to weight the difference.

[rfuerst911sc]

If it were me I would go propane . Check local Craigslist and Facebook market place for a used LP tank you can save big money . Buying your own tank doesn't lock you down to just one propane supplier you can shop around .

Tanks generally don't rust through as LP has a lubricant in it which stops rust from the inside . It might be ugly on the outside but a little sanding and one to two coats of Rust-oleum and you are good to go .

Set the tank yourself it just needs to be level or close to level . Then you just need a small trench from tank to house for the copper line . You can do all of this yourself and save $$$ .

Let what ever propane company you pick to finalize the install . They will transition from copper to black iron , install regulator and terminate at the water heater . I would ask for one or two tees be installed for any further additions like a cooktop or fireplace .

Adding LP to your cabin will add an efficient fuel source and value . I was lucky I found a 1000 gallon tank on CL three years ago for our retirement home . I think I paid 200.00 and the guy loaded it on my trailer . I cleaned it up , painted it and we installed some shrub type plants that eventually will make the tank less visible .

[unclebilly]

This is what we have. It has been great for 10-1/2 years but is now acting up.

[masraum]

Thanks, lots of excellent ideas. When we were touring homes, many/most had a big propane tank. This may be the only one that didn't.

[red-beard]

Where is the house?