Water heaters - traditional elec, hybrid elec, propane tankless

[masraum]

We need a new water heater. What we have now is a 40Gal 4500W traditional water heater.

We are thinking about getting propane. We could then convert the stove to propane, and heat the water with propane, and maybe even go to propane for heat.

If we went to propane, we are wondering about going tankless.

I'm also wondering, if we stick with electric, going with one of the "hybrid high efficiency" electric water heaters (heat pump).

We are on well water (hard). I have heard that tankless can be more maintenance intensive in that case, but then in a thread in the last 24 hours, I saw someone post about the maintenance for running vinegar through them. It doesn't sound that bad.

We are generally a very warm environment so I think that the hybrid should work pretty well for us. How do they work in the winter if the temp gets down to 20-35º? It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

Any thoughts on the efficiency difference between the 3? The hybrids are supposed to be very efficient. How would tankless propane compare? I presume it would be favorable.

Thanks

[red-beard]

From a cost standpoint, the standard propane unit will be the least expensive. Electric hybrid is a good alternative, but it need a standard tank to work. It also uses a lot less power to run than a standard tank. You certainly can go tankless. It is more efficient than a tank, but more to go wrong.

I would definitely go propane in general! Propane heat and propane stove. It will reduce your winter time electric costs! And a small solar array! Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket!

[drcoastline]

I can only offer do not purchase an electric tankless instant hot. It was exorbitantly expensive to operate. I paid around $500 for the unit, another $250 for electrical work. Removed the unit after three months.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by red-beard

From a cost standpoint, the standard propane unit will be the least expensive. Electric hybrid is a good alternative, but it need a standard tank to work. It also uses a lot less power to run than a standard tank. You certainly can go tankless. It is more efficient than a tank, but more to go wrong.

I would definitely go propane in general! Propane heat and propane stove. It will reduce your winter time electric costs! And a small solar array! Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket!

So you're promoting a standard tank unit that runs on propane vs the tankless propane.

I hadn't thought of that. The missus seems enamored of tankless, but we are both interested in propane for cooking and heating (house & water)

[masraum]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

I can only offer do not purchase an electric tankless instant hot. It was exorbitantly expensive to operate. I paid around $500 for the unit, another $250 for electrical work. Removed the unit after three months.

Ouch! At least it didn't cost you $1500 for the unit and $1000 for the install and then you hated it on top of that. $750 sucks, but it could have been worse.

[Arizona_928]

Propane usually has a small extra cost for the fittings on a original natural gas appliance.

I cook with gas everyday..... it's better in every way.

[cabmandone]

There's more maintenance to using a tankless on a well system from the research I did when considering the options. I ended up with a high efficiency AO Smith tank water heater. No regrets.

[masraum]

THanks folks

[Bill Douglas]

I like the idea of the hybrid/heat pump hot water heater. I'd love to do that for my own place. I have some memory of someone saying it was noisy. I don't know if this is correct or not.

[unclebilly]

I’ve posted about this before. We have a Rinnai, we have very hard well water high in salt. We have been running our Rinnai R75s for nearly 11 years. I had to replace the heat exchanger last fall and the fan once. The squirrel cage fan collects moths and it makes a racket, it is doing it again and needs to be replaced or the moths cleaned out.

I would never consider another tank. These are the only way to go. In 10 years, we will replace it with another Rinnai.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I’ve posted about this before. We have a Rinnai, we have very hard well water high in salt. We have been running our Rinnai R75s for nearly 11 years. I had to replace the heat exchanger last fall and the fan once. The squirrel cage fan collects moths and it makes a racket, it is doing it again and needs to be replaced or the moths cleaned out.

I would never consider another tank. These are the only way to go. In 10 years, we will replace it with another Rinnai.

one of our kids just got a rinnai.

[Evans, Marv]

Ours is (I believe) the same model Rinnai as unclebilly has. We've also had ours on a well for the same amount of time (11years), and have had zero problems. Ours has water from the water softener run through it. I've said this before about the cost of our two water heaters. We use about a fifth of a gallon of propane a day. There is just me & my wife, so we're not providing hot water for a large family. The only down thing is you seem to have to wait a bit for the hot water. For the bathrooms, we have a circulation pump that cuts down on the wait time. I read a Consumer Reports article on the average life time of appliances. Tankless water heaters had the longest at 20 years.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by masraum

Ouch! At least it didn't cost you $1500 for the unit and $1000 for the install and then you hated it on top of that. $750 sucks, but it could have been worse.

True, but it was a smaller unit for a two bedroom, one bath no washing machine. The theory is they don't heat the water when not in use so should save. The problem is the amount of energy needed to heat the water when in use far exceeded the tank units. The electric bills rose over $300 per month.

Also keep in mind propane burns very efficiently which creates water vapor. It can be an issue here in the North East during the winter months when the house is closed up. Adding a single propane unit may not be an issue but if you convert everything to propane, you may need to look into a dehumidifier for the winter months.

[rfuerst911sc]

If you go propane I suggest you buy a tank vs rent from a supplier . Not sure about where you are but here where I live a rented tank can only be filled by the company you are renting from . If you own the tank you can shop around and get the best price available at any given time .

We own our tank it is a 500 gallon . We have a gas cooktop , a dual fuel heatpump/furnace and a emergency gas heater centrally located in the house. We easily go a year or more between fill ups . We have a standard electric water heater . Many propane providers will give discounts in the summer that's when I try to fill or top off.

Make sure on initial install you size piping for ALL appliances you " think " you might add in the future . Much easier/cheaper to get it right the first time. As an example if you think you will add a gas water heater in the future install a shutoff valve and capped tee where it will be installed . That way 5 years down the road adding the heater is a piece of cake 😊 .

[masraum]

Thanks.

Our kids have an Rinnai tankless model RL94in.