Hot Water Heater (Covington, Wilson: house, buy, live in)

[WILWRadio]

I may need to install a new Hot Water heater at my home in Covington. It may have broke during the recent cold spell. Even if it did not, I am interested in one of those new Tankless devices. Read a lot of reviews and something like that will be preferable to the existing barrel type.

Has anyone used one of these? If so, can you recommend an installer in the Cincy area that can remove the old heater and replace it with the Tankless model of my choice? Will likely have to upgrade my electric panel to accommodate such a device since they use a lot of amps.

[joyeaux]

Depending on the size of the home & numbers of residents, you may need 2 tankless units. We live in Charleston, SC in 2200 sq feet & just 2 of us. We were told that with a larger family, we would want 2 units, one on each floor. Also, the original unit failed after 4 years. When we called a local company to "fix", they said the best fix would be a new barrel water heater! They said these tankless things fail quite often. The tankless company we bought from actually gave us a new unit free even though it was beyond warrenty.

Again, down here, we have had exceptionally cold weather with many mornings in Jan-Feb at 20 degrees or so. Friends tankless unit on outside of house failed (of course, this location wouldn't be an option in Cinti). Most tankless units are in garages down here. Friends chose to be extra careful & placed new unit in laundry room. Ours is in utility closet off kitchen where water heater was -- and we gained a new large storage closet in the exchange.

As for the installation, ours was installed by a Cinti acquaintance who was vacationing down here. Totally professional & honest fellow: Kevin Staigl of KMS Plumbing 513-259-0237. Good luck!

[Wilson513]

You have gas over there I assume and it will be cheaper to get a gas one. You may be able to get a used one from Craigslist.

[kjbrill]

I have a gas one and would have no other. Have bought mine from Sears for over 50 years. Always buy their extended service policy. One of the better appliance purchases I have ever made. If it craps out, call them up and say bring me another one.

Have a friend who installed a tank less one. He is always complaining they are running out of hot water in a 2 person household. No thanks, I will stay with my Sears Special.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by joyeaux

Depending on the size of the home & numbers of residents, you may need 2 tankless units. We live in Charleston, SC in 2200 sq feet & just 2 of us. We were told that with a larger family, we would want 2 units, one on each floor. Also, the original unit failed after 4 years. When we called a local company to "fix", they said the best fix would be a new barrel water heater! They said these tankless things fail quite often. The tankless company we bought from actually gave us a new unit free even though it was beyond warrenty.

Again, down here, we have had exceptionally cold weather with many mornings in Jan-Feb at 20 degrees or so. Friends tankless unit on outside of house failed (of course, this location wouldn't be an option in Cinti). Most tankless units are in garages down here. Friends chose to be extra careful & placed new unit in laundry room. Ours is in utility closet off kitchen where water heater was -- and we gained a new large storage closet in the exchange.

As for the installation, ours was installed by a Cinti acquaintance who was vacationing down here. Totally professional & honest fellow: Kevin Staigl of KMS Plumbing 513-259-0237. Good luck!

Thanks. Small house. 750 square feet and 1 BR. Suitable for only one or two people. I have a friend that installed a few of these in Oklahoma and he said if you purchase a good model, they work fine. Mine will go into the cellar or perhaps in the kitchen if it is easier to route it to the natural gas line.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I have a gas one and would have no other. Have bought mine from Sears for over 50 years. Always buy their extended service policy. One of the better appliance purchases I have ever made. If it craps out, call them up and say bring me another one.

Have a friend who installed a tank less one. He is always complaining they are running out of hot water in a 2 person household. No thanks, I will stay with my Sears Special.

Thanks for the Op Ed piece. Yes, installing one of these new units is a "tankless job" but someone has to do it. :-) It all comes down to homework. Buy a good one and it will be every bit as good as the more traditional tank type models.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

You have gas over there I assume and it will be cheaper to get a gas one. You may be able to get a used one from Craigslist.

Yeah, may have to look into this option now. While I don't like to use NG in this case it probably will not only be cheaper to install but likely easier to use since I won't have to upgrade the electric panel from its current 100 amp service.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Yeah, may have to look into this option now. While I don't like to use NG in this case it probably will not only be cheaper to install but likely easier to use since I won't have to upgrade the electric panel from its current 100 amp service.

Natural gas is clean and green. Electric is made from diesel and coal burning.

[mrstop]

If you are going tankless, I would recommend sticking with gas as an electric unit will require too much juice. That said, unless you find a competent installer, you may want to stick with a traditional tank water heater. Depending on your home layout, tankless can take awhile to get hot water to your fixtures and you can experience cold slugs. It can be corrected with a recirculation system and buffer tank, but you are adding some complexity. You will also likely need to upsize your gas line.

Here's a good article for you:
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/des...er-payoff.aspx

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by mrstop

If you are going tankless, I would recommend sticking with gas as an electric unit will require too much juice. That said, unless you find a competent installer, you may want to stick with a traditional tank water heater. Depending on your home layout, tankless can take awhile to get hot water to your fixtures and you can experience cold slugs. It can be corrected with a recirculation system and buffer tank, but you are adding some complexity. You will also likely need to upsize your gas line.

Here's a good article for you:
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/des...er-payoff.aspx

Thanks for your suggestions. I will be doing additional research on the subject over the next few weeks. And yes, a traditional water heater may still be the best option since it does seem evident that venting a gas unit will cost a few hundred on top of the cost of the tankless heater and labor. Electric may actually be cheaper since from what I read, I could have a separate 60 amp panel installed and leave the 100 amp intact. A dedicated panel may be the most cost effective way to pull this off.