Water Heater Vs. Tankless System?
Posted on | December 4, 2009 | 3 Comments
Our gas water heater is going out and needs to be replaced. Our insurance will cover the water heater and installation, but not the additional costs to bring it up to code, about $900. We can take the cash out and make our own arrangements to get it fixed instead of having it replaced with an equivalent unit. We are thinking about a tankless system.
I presume we would put it in the water heater closet, and we do want gas, not electric. Most of our plumbing is in the “core” of the house, so none of the hot water lines are more than 20 feet, and only the kitchen sink/dishwasher line is that long. If it matters, our house was built in the early seventies, and the current water heater is about 14 years old.
If you have replaced yours this way, what do you think? How do the costs of the two systems compare? Is there a difference in your gas bill now? What about maintenance/repair/reliability? Would it still have the same code requirements, or would most of that stuff not apply? Would it still need the new thingamajig to cut off the water if there were a leak? Would it still need a pan installed? (Either way, we’re going to have to change out a couple of gas lines.) Are there any brands much better/worse than others? What else do we need to know?
All words of wisdom appreciated! Thanks!
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3 Responses to “Water Heater Vs. Tankless System?”
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December 5th, 2009 @ 3:17 am
I only know what my plumber told me about these when we were building our house and considering the tankless heaters. He said the gas was the best/fastest/most reliable and that we would would need one for each bathroom that had a shower/bath and one for the kitchen/laundry. We opted for a large electric hot water tank and do not run out of water, and are very happy with it. (I don’t mean a huge tank, just one capable of handling our needs). You might want to check to be sure your needs can be met when you want hot water, and not have to stagger what you wish to do to ensure enough hot water.
December 5th, 2009 @ 7:55 am
honestly, I have heard some horror stories about the tankless heaters. a lot of reliability issues and they are rated in gallons per minute. if your home supplies more gpm than the heater can take your having a luke warm shower and then you would have to install a regulator to keep water flow down so the heater can keep up. they basically are trying to fit 10 pounds of crap in a 1 pound box, and it doesn’t work so good. if I were you I would look into the high efficiency hot water tanks similar to what you have now. now the next guy might tell u how great they are, this is my opinion and experience with them.
December 6th, 2009 @ 3:30 pm
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