Tankless Hot Water Heaters

[Red]

I didn't want to hijack Sundancefisher's thread but it got me thinking. I recently moved and the house has 2 hot water tanks. There is only two of us so we don't need two tanks. I'm thinking for now I'll just turn the gas off to the first one but the plan is to eventually go to a tankless model. Does anyone out there have one? Any suggestions as to brands & features? I don't know anything about them and don't know if they are all pretty much the same or not. Any idea on the cost of one?

[albannachxcuileag]

Do you mean a combi boiler where it only heats when you turn on the hot tap and can be programmed for central heating too?

[Red]

Do you mean a combi boiler where it only heats when you turn on the hot tap and can be programmed for central heating too?

Sort of, it is only on and heating water when you need it but it's not for central heat at all.

[j5ep00]

do you have a huge bath tub or something of the sort?

that could be why there are two to start with.

so if you use the big tub you will need both tanks to fill it

[Red]

do you have a huge bath tub or something of the sort?

that could be why there are two to start with.

so if you use the big tub you will need both tanks to fill it

Good point, that could be why. But since I haven't had a bath since I was probably 7 years old I don't think I'll worry about it. And a tankless is supposed to be unlimited hot water so I see it replacing both tanks. And they are about 10 years old now so I'm thinking sooner rather than later to change them out. I'd hate to come home one day and find that one of them let go.

[Castuserraticus]

I researched this last fall. I was advised by a couple of plumbers that there was no cost advantage to the tankless systems and that they were higher maintenance than a tank. They are considerably more expensive than a tank. You get greater savings from wrapping your tank with more insulation.

[Nick0Danger]

Do you have slab heating or in floor heating? If so 1 of the tanks will likely be dedicated for it.

[Ricinus]

Another problem is the tankless heaters have trouble keeping up with a high demand for hot water. As long as you are only using one appliance at a time or only having a shower, they work fine, but doing two things at once they can't meet the demand. The other problem that was mentioned to me is they waste a bit of water waiting for them to heat up the flow.

 

Both the salesman and the plumber recommended against them until they improve. This was 2yrs ago

 

Regards Mike

[nickt]

i am a plumber. first off, you will actually not use that much energy using the second tank. what happens is the first tank will heat the water up then it will be transferred to the second tank as you use water. so the second tank only gets hot water. it uses very minimal energy and almost un, noticable on the bill. the second thing is the new hot water tanks are so wel insulated, if you tried to waste your time insulating it i would be amazed to see even a 2 dollar saving per month. as for instantanious hot water heaters, i think they are crap. chances are you will have to resize your gas line to put it in. about 95 percent of the time that is the case. they are also garbage because the heat a low volume of water, this is done by blowing a flame over a 1/4 inch coil. so all that you have to supply your house with hot water is 1/4 inch. the nxt problem is the costof them at about 3500 usually. the other problem is that since it is 1/4 inch with calgarys really hard water they tend to scale up. i have seen some scale up completely within 2 to 3 years. they also take a bit of time for the water to heat up so you will find yourself running them for a little bit longer than normal to get the hot water. so in the end are you actually saving money or spending it. if you are looking to get a new tank put in which is good idea if it is 10 years old send me a pm and i could maybe help out

[Guest Sundancefisher]

i am a plumber. first off, you will actually not use that much energy using the second tank. what happens is the first tank will heat the water up then it will be transferred to the second tank as you use water. so the second tank only gets hot water. it uses very minimal energy and almost un, noticable on the bill. the second thing is the new hot water tanks are so wel insulated, if you tried to waste your time insulating it i would be amazed to see even a 2 dollar saving per month. as for instantanious hot water heaters, i think they are crap. chances are you will have to resize your gas line to put it in. about 95 percent of the time that is the case. they are also garbage because the heat a low volume of water, this is done by blowing a flame over a 1/4 inch coil. so all that you have to supply your house with hot water is 1/4 inch. the nxt problem is the costof them at about 3500 usually. the other problem is that since it is 1/4 inch with calgarys really hard water they tend to scale up. i have seen some scale up completely within 2 to 3 years. they also take a bit of time for the water to heat up so you will find yourself running them for a little bit longer than normal to get the hot water. so in the end are you actually saving money or spending it. if you are looking to get a new tank put in which is good idea if it is 10 years old send me a pm and i could maybe help out

 

Good to know. I have always wondered about them European Instant water heaters. No tank involved...

[Red]

Thanks for the replys, I had just assumed that tankless was the way to go. I guess that's what you get for watching too many home improvement shows. Good point about the scale, I could see that being a problem here. The idea of tankless sounds good but I guess they have a ways to go yet, and I didn't realize they were that expensive. Since the tanks aren't in the way at all I'll probably just replace them when the time comes. And since I'll be saving money by not going to tankless I should be able to buy more fishing gear. Win win.

 

Thanks again.