Talk to me about tankless water heaters

[scottmandue]

Would like to install myself, I'm a pretty good armature plumber and looking at them online I think I can do it.

Needs to be gas whole house WH.

Looking at Home Depot they mostly have Rheem water heaters... back in the day I installed a bunch of Rheem forced air home heaters but know nothing of their water heaters.

So what is a good brand?

Second question is what size, again from back in my HVAC days I know with A/C bigger is NOT better... however with a tank water heater bigger doesn't hurt.

I currently have a 40 gallon tank water heater and don't remember ever running out of hot water. I have one one and a half bathrooms, would a 190BTU be overkill?

Anyone out in PPOTland have one of these beasts? What do you think of it?

Thanks!

[porsche4life]

My folks have a cheap one from eBay in their office. Approaching 10 years old and still works like a champ. Of course it mostly deals with two sinks and a very rare shower. But the concept is excellent, and I think they will do the house when that is due to be replaced.

We have a neat one in our shop too. About the size of a shoebox and electric. Awesome for just the faucet in our washbasin sink and gets stupid hot. Great for washing parts.

[vash]

the two major players are Takagi and Rinnai.

i have a Rinnai. 5 years and not a single issue. i havent even needed to flush it. my Rinnai has bypasses where i can flush super easy with vinegar if needed. (vinegar, 5 gallon bucket, swimming pool pump, and length of garden hose). my buds Takagi has no bypass.

electricity goes out, no hot water.

my plumber said they need to be installed near the main gas line for the house.

dunno much else.

[porsche4life]

That's the sweet thing about the omega my folks have. It uses 2 d cells for the ignitor so it works when the powers off. Batteries last several years....

[HardDrive]

I just had a Takagi installed in our rental house. Seems to work fine. Its gas.

Keep in mind that these use a large amount of gas when they are on. If you have an older gas meter, its possible that it couldn't keep up when all of your gas appliances are on. They also need proper venting and an ample air supply. My plumbers installed a snorkel air intake on the roof.

[Aragorn]

Not trying to scare you off, but I have had to deal with two successive failures with pipes bursting. Both times were expensive cleanups. Finally switched to electric tanked heaters and no problems since.

[1-ev.com]

we have 2 electric ones recently installed on the office, 1 is larger 10"x 10" and 2nd one looks like large tissue box - it makes very loud click when water turned on/off they are new and working great...

[manbridge 74]

An axiom: The farther you are from civilization the less new, early adopter tech you need.

These WH types are susceptible to lightning strikes/ power outages/ voltage surge.

[scottmandue]

This would be for my back house and gas meter is out front (technically would like to convert both houses eventually) is that a problem?

Venting is no problem, front house has a outdoor WH cabinet, figured I could build a shelf and plumb (move) the hot/cold water and gas.

Back house has an laundry closet that opens to the outdoors, has washer/dryer/water heater.

[greglepore]

I've had a Rheem/Paloma for 3 years with only a minor glitch-a known capacitor problem on the board that they fixed out of warranty completely on their dime. There isn't a backup power source for the igniter in my model, but its not an issue for me as I'm on well water, so no power no water (we have a small generator for emergency use).

[mikesride]

I've had a Rinnai for seven years now....mine was built in Italy, not sure where they are made now. Mine is not near the gas meter, makes no diffy. I had to drill one hole thru the cement for the inlet/outlet pipe, cool technology it works very good!! Have done nothing to it in that time period, takes up the space of two large shoe boxes and keeps up with the whole families hot water needs!! Never run out of water, two showers going at once, laundry running...whatever it makes no difference to that thing! I have a 3/4 inch feed line into mine. One thing to remember is...they warm up faster the more open your tap is!!! crank the hot and it comes up very nicely! I placed mine into a equalized manifold system, very close to the kitchen and bathroom plumbing downstairs, love it.

[Radioactive]

If I remember, if it is a gas unit mounted inside, the vent pipe is a different type, so outside mounted no problem, but I was looking to replace the one in the garage but would have to change the vent pipe which goes through the walls of the second story to get to the roof.

But what the hell do I know.....

[look 171]

Scott, PM me and I can walk you through the installation. I can try and get you my contractor's discount through my plumbing suppliers.

Jeff

[look 171]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

This would be for my back house and gas meter is out front (technically would like to convert both houses eventually) is that a problem?

Venting is no problem, front house has a outdoor WH cabinet, figured I could build a shelf and plumb (move) the hot/cold water and gas.

Back house has an laundry closet that opens to the outdoors, has washer/dryer/water heater.

Get exterior units so you don't have deal with venting but a cap from the mfg. it will past code that way. I can talk you through the pros and cons on these things and different ways of installation if a pump is needed. A scale filter is necessary as well as yearly cleaning with chemical or vinegar.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by manbridge 74

An axiom: The farther you are from civilization the less new, early adopter tech you need.

These WH types are susceptible to lightning strikes/ power outages/ voltage surge.

???

[nocarrier]

Stay away from the Titan brand. They are made in Miami and are absolute garbage.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by look 171

Scott, PM me and I can walk you through the installation. I can try and get you my contractor's discount through my plumbing suppliers.

Jeff

I still have a few years (fingers crossed) on the old units... but I will definitely hit you up when the time comes.

Thanks!

[futurefun]

Rinnai on propane out in the sticks & off the grid.

[LWJ]

Hello,
I am on the BOD of a local trade association. We talk about these. A few years ago everyone thought they were the way to go. The latest analysis I saw was that they will never pencil out on a cost basis. If you want endless hot water? They are the only solution.

Good luck!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Hello,
I am on the BOD of a local trade association. We talk about these. A few years ago everyone thought they were the way to go. The latest analysis I saw was that they will never pencil out on a cost basis. If you want endless hot water? They are the only solution.

Good luck!

Funny you say that. We've had many conversations with clients over how much money they save. I will be the first to say they really don't. You blow your money up front for the install, now it will take a long time to catch up that cost. If they want endless hot water for that 45 minute shower, then that's the answer.