# Water Heater..



## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Thinking about going tankless... Any input or suggestions?


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Expensive up front, but well worth it.


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

What's your current fuel/heat source? Have your seen or heard of heat pump water heaters? Again high up front cost but economical to operate. To be a real cost saver, heater needs to not be inside the house or other structures you heat during the winter.

Tankless water heaters have been around for yrs in Europe, they are a proven design. Need to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if they make sense in your situation.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Mickey said:


> What's your current fuel/heat source? Have your seen or heard of heat pump water heaters? Again high up front cost but economical to operate. To be a real cost saver, heater need to no be in side the house or other structures you heat during the winter.
> 
> Tankless water heaters have been around for yrs in Europe, they are a proven design. Need to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if they make sense in your situation.



It is a electric water heater now by the research i have done i would need atleast 2 gpm with a 50 degree gain. This would bring it up to about 105 to 110 degrees over the whole house 2 full baths, kitchen, and utility room. Does that sound right to you? I have priced one for $1108.00 that should be a good whole house unit.. I have also priced a grid tie solar panel system as well..


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm going out on a limb but think 2 gpm seems low. Seem to recall water valves on clothes washers flow something like 4 gpm. I'd give some thought as to how long you are willing it to take to fill a washing machine tub, the bath tub, etc. I'm sure it will flow more but at a lower temp rise. How warm/cool are you willing to deal with? Just questions to ask yourself. And the big question, is there a payoff on energy saved Vs cost of the water heater. Couldn't you gain some savings by adding additional insulation to a conventional water heater.

Since I have no personal experience, my comments are only worth about half the price you paid. 

Oh, are you now in need of a replacement WH? If so then the cost to consider is the diff between replacing with a conventional WH and a tankless model.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Mickey said:


> I'm going out on a limb but think 2 gpm seems low. Seem to recall water valves on clothes washers flow something like 4 gpm. I'd give some thought as to how long you are willing it to take to fill a washing machine tub, the bath tub, etc. I'm sure it will flow more but at a lower temp rise. How warm/cool are you willing to deal with? Just questions to ask yourself. And the big question, is there a payoff on energy saved Vs cost of the water heater. Couldn't you gain some savings by adding additional insulation to a conventional water heater.
> 
> Since I have no personal experience, my comments are only worth about half the price you paid.
> 
> Oh, are you now in need of a replacement WH? If so then the cost to consider is the diff between replacing with a conventional WH and a tankless model.



I did some more research today, and found that the price range starts in the $300 range for a 6.3 gpm eco-temp tankless up to over $1000.00. I am just trying ways to cut energy cost as our electric company sticks it to us every chance they get. Our current water heater is only 4 years old because the original heater busted, and the water flooded the space it was in. I had to install it, and replace a bunch of sheetrock too. I would like to do some change overs like this in the near future but wont rush into any..Thankyou for the input you had some very good points to consider on this subject..


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Heres a thing i found about tankless heaters : Electric tankless water heater

I herd they draw ALOT of power - i remember something in the paper about a local guy installed one and the power mains going into the area couldnt support it - everyone was getting brownouts.

Being down here in sunny Florida- ive considered changing to a solar water heater( when the current one goes), even adding a couple electric panels to the roof, only 2 things prevent me from doing that- the 2 very large, very old, very tall oak trees over our house, even after having them trimmed up a couple years ago- they still drop a significant amount of branches onto the roof .

Id hate to invest all that money ( even tho there would be rebates from electric company) just to have a branch smash it.


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## Bryan1 (May 24, 2011)

We've got a tankless instant hot water system here, it runs off LPG and is one that runs off a pilot light. A few years ago it broke down and a family friend came out and basically said due to the junk in the gas the unit is now ruined. Luckily had had a new unit onboard and converted it over to the same as our old one. He did say legally these old units are outlawed and the new unit must run off mains power. With us being off the grid I said theres no way in the world I want of those. We have a tempering valve setup so the hot water coming in can't get too hot to burn. I do plan on making a solar batch heater which will cut down on the use of gas a fair bit. Since we moved in the cost of the bottles has more than doubled too so saving gas where we can will be a huge bonus.

Regards Bryan


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## ErnieS (Jun 1, 2011)

I've installed a number of Titan tankless systems. If you can solder copper and have an easy run to your electric panel, it's a couple hour job. The hardest part is running #6 cable from the 60 amp breaker you'll need.
Here's a Titan that should fit your needs for $215


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