Water heaters

Nov 15, 2009 11 Replies

Rate this thread:

usenet-659f31de7f953aeb 16 years ago

I had to replace my water heater today. The old one developed a leak somewhere, don't know exactly but enough to make a 3-4 foot puddle every day. Wouldn't have been so bad except the old one was installed with no thought of ever replacing it, water and gas both plumbed with hard lines, and you know the new unit never lines up to the existing pipes. Thanks be for flex line!

What about efficency? The model I picked has an energy factor of 0.62, almost the highest of any available locally (there's an 0.63, but with half the warranty). The 0.62 makes it eligible for a $50 rebate from my gas company. Nice. But on the rebate form I see that tankless heaters are eligible with an energy factor of 0.82 or better. My tank-type water heater doesn't look so good in comparison, but of course it cost a *lot* less than a whole-house tankless.

So I'm in for about $450 less the rebate, plus a few sore muscles and a very uncharitable attitude towards the previous installer. It'll be interesting to watch my gas bills over the next year to see if there's a noticeable difference.

Vote

hallerb 16 years ago

ss heaters are

nteresting

the tankless have lots of negatives. often no hot water at all in a power falure, anemic temperature water, in freezing weather, a noticeable water wasting delay between valve on and hot water arrives.

burner needs time to turn on and get hot.

often low flow needs, likea valve cracked open for shaving gets no hot water at all

Vote

mm 16 years ago

Wide or deep?

Well, if you were a plumber, you'd have with you a piece of pipe and a couple right angle couplings. I don't see how you can complain that he put in hard pipe. That's what almost all plumbers use, right?

Vote

Wayne Whitney 16 years ago

Anemic water temperature is a problem with design, not with the product.

Wayne

Vote

Ed Pawlowski 16 years ago

So it can be a poor design and yet be a good product? Or do you mean too low a capacity specified?

Vote

hallerb 16 years ago

Or do you mean too

if the owner lives where very cold weather occurs...........

tankless might be fine in summer but totally unusable by late winter when lowest incoming water temps occur.

some tankless manufacturers recommend putting 2 tankless in series for such situations

Vote

Wayne Whitney 16 years ago

Sorry, I don't mean product design, I mean system design. It's the equivalent of putting in a 40 gallon tank heater for a family of eight and then running out of hot water.

Cheers, Wayne

Vote

Wayne Whitney 16 years ago

Then you have to design appropriately. 35 degree F incoming water,

120 degree desired water, determine the design flow required, pick the right size tankless heater. All I'm saying is that if your tankless system doesn't give enough hot water, it was a sizing error, not a problem with the product category.

Cheers, Wayne

Vote

Bob F 16 years ago

If that's how they specify using their products, I wouldn't give them much credence.

Vote

JIMMIE 16 years ago

My calculations sez dont buy tankless.

Jimmie

Vote

Ed Pawlowski 16 years ago

**************************************

The payback will be about 100+ years if you do that. I'm sticking with a tank.

Vote

hallerb 16 years ago

yeah in many cases the payback period exceeds the probable life of the unit.......

and power vent units mean no hot water at all during power failures...

Vote

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required