tankless water heater in New England?

[hunterseat]

There was a problem with one at our new base. It was a small one under a hand sink in the guard shack. When the complaints kept coming in and no one seemed to be able to fix it I did some research (okay I pulled out the manual) and noticed it emphasized a particular spec on the aerator. (you know the little screen where the water comes out) I went to check and there was no aerator installed. I heckled the supply guy (lazy) into finding the right size per mfr info. Installed that and the water flow was slowed down enough for the heating elements to do their job.

I guess research on application and customer satisfaction would be a good first step in picking a product. If you hire someone to do it be sure they are reputable and you get the warranty on parts and install!

[PAhippo]

One person household here too.

When I bought this place, there was a tankless water heater already here. I hate it. I run out of hot water even when doing dishes.

Something about water flow vs gas line? I don't know who put it in but I can't find anyone locally that will look at it.


Getting rid of it isn't a high priority-it still supplies hot water- but it is definitely being replaced by an old fashioned tank kind.

[mmyk72]

Originally Posted by foxboro82

Thank you. Mine is also power-vented which is going to be expensive to replace. A regular water heater (tank) is about $600, a power vented tank seems to be about 2x that. The current one looks solid/new-ish still. It was here when I bought the place so I am guessing on its age. I'm a one-person operation here, and bought the place from a single elderly woman, so it may be that it'll go for a while. I just don't know how to gauge when it's time to replace. Don't want to come home to 40 gallons of water all over the floor...as they built these condos without a floor drain in the basement.

Foxboro, My situation is identical to yours and my HW tank is the same vintage. It's hard to know if the tank will last 1 more yr or 10 more yrs. The manual says that the anode rod on mine is UNDER the power vent. Not being a handy person myself, I'm scared to work on changing out the Anode rod - I read that this step can prolong the life of the tank indefinitely, almost. Also, I know that the previous owner hasn't flushed out the tank at all for the first 8+ yrs. So I'm also scared to flush it out now - I'm the 2nd owner. The dilemma is exactly what you said.... should I wait until failure of the HW tank and if so, how drastic would it be when that happens. I've a finished basement w/ no floor drains so 40 gallons can do a lot of damage.

[foxboro82]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

The dilemma is exactly what you said.... should I wait until failure of the HW tank and if so, how drastic would it be when that happens. I've a finished basement w/ no floor drains so 40 gallons can do a lot of damage.

I know! And what if I'm at work when it fails? It could be 1000s of gallons before someone notices. I've thought about getting a water sensor alarm. Maybe a good idea.

If I get it replaced with another tank, I'm going to check with plumbers about the idea of installing it in some kind of tray with high sides and then also installing a pump that would pull from the tray and dump into the sewer line. Maybe that's being a bit too cautious.

Don't understand why they couldn't have installed floor drains in these units. Seems like a major oversight.

[thecoalman]

delete

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

With the very cheap electricity that is available to you in the Northeast, .

It's cheap perhaps relative to Hawaii but most of the New England states have prices well above the national average. Roughly speaking right now the natural gas is going to be about 1/3 the cost of electric and since a water heater is one of the biggest energy hogs in the home it's going be hundreds of dollars annually.

[tel0004]

My water heater was installed in 1973, so don't assume that it needs to be replaced so soon. I would replace the sacrificial anode if its never been done, which should add a few years to the tank.

[InterestedOne]

Originally Posted by foxboro82

My power vented gas tank water heater is getting up in years (9 yrs) and considering replacing it with a tankless.

I've been reading up on them and seems I might be a good candidate (1 person household, never use more than one faucet at a time). The place is a condo with the hot water heater in the basement and the shower on the 2nd floor.

Home Depot sells the Rheem brand and Lowe's sells a brand called Jacuzzi.

What recommendations do others have with moving to tankless hot water?

Thank you.

Before sizing the unit take the temperature of the entering water upon entering the home, especially in cold weather. Use that cold weather temp for determining capacity. I heaar people bad mouth tankless because they became accustom to proper working when installed in warmer months but cannot maintain in cold periods. So save yourself some anguish and use the coldest reasonable entering water temp you observe.

I stage mine hot water production.

Stage 1 is a 30 gallon electric with a 1500 watt bottom element and a 2,500 watt top element - 4,000 wtts total. This tanks preheats entering street water to about 77-80 degrees. I have a sensor well installed with line voltage T'stat control on my tank. This stat operates both top and bottom elements simultaneously. This tank is also on a time clock.
- Output of Stage one feeds the clothes washer, basement sink, and one basement power room.

Preheating make-up water for stage 2 reduces the tankless size that would otherwise be necessary for Stage 2, if not preheated. Preheating a reciever holding tank (Stg 1) also eliminates climate variable for consistant anticipated performance.

Stage 2: The pre-heated output of Stage 1 one feeds a whole house electric tankless unit. Its an adaptive & variable heat model with pretty much all the bells and whistles. Stage 2 serve the house proper sinks, kitchen, and bathrooms.

Stage 3 is fed from output of Stage 1. This is a 1.5 gallon 1,500 watt tank heater serving my dishwasher. The tank is installed in an insulated wall mounted box in the basement. This tank heat is set to 160 deg F. It will do a full recovery in under 5 minutes. This tank is on a 5/2 day type timer coordinated with periods of normal dishwasher use.

Keeping the main storge tank (Stage 1) temperature low radically minimizes btu losses of the storage tank itself. Pipe thermal losses between various demarcation point is also low throughout the distribution. Stand-by storage losses are so low that installing a tank blanket would present a diminishing R.O.I.

Anyway, this system gives me infinite hot water flow with remarkable economy of operation coupled with point of use comfort by specific need.

Energy conservation is the wise use of natural resources for only where needed and when prudent.

Be reminded:
It does not matter what the fuel source type or heater --
it takes 1 btu to raise the temp of 1 pound of liquid water 1 deg f.

Also it is advisable to install a whole house water pressure regulator if you have high water pressure. This device is field calibrated to maintain constant pressure of a total water system. I have unusually high water pressure in my home so its all too easy to overconsume hot water than necessary. For instance, sinks valves rated at .5 gal per minute, if operating at say 75 psi water pressure could the flow rate would be considerably higher. The regulator also provides for better shower flow control. I like showers but I do not like being pelted with a pressure water.

Lastly, I also use a series parallel filter array with progressively smaller particulate filtering. Keeping the nasties out of tanks minimizes accumulation inside tanks that can foul elements and cause early tank failure. Besides, my shower heads and faucet screen don't get clogged and spray sideway and longer.

Hope this helps...