Tankless Water Heater vs. Storage Tank Water Heater

[igor_12]

Dear All,

I have a 24 years old house (2400 sq ft) and same age water heater. This is time to replace it and I am considering an option to replace it with a tankless water heater.
Here is the link to the story:
http://www.handymandy.ca/content/view/20/1/

I just wanted to here the professional opinions about it.
I also would like to here electrical vs gas tankless heaters opinions.

http://www.handymandy.ca/content/view/21/1/


Thank you,


Igor

[Roscoe]

Nice link.. . to put here........

[makinmoney]

I like the idea of not paying to maintain 40 gallons of water at 120 degrees in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping.

Gas vs. Electric, well that would be something that you should look into on your utility bills to see whats cheaper.

[MB1211]

Handy Mandy..... Interesting.....Good luck with whats about to come....

[makinmoney]

Nice link.. . to put here........

Too funny....

I didn't even look at the link he put up.......

Twilli is going to love this guy.......

[igor_12]

I did not have intension to promote a website.
As a matter of fact I found several of websites with much more complete information about the topic than this one.
I won't put more links anyway.

Thanks,

Igor

[jrbenny]

Relax guys. The OP just wants your opinion. It's not link spam.

[Roscoe]

Relax guys. The OP just wants your opinion. It's not link spam.

I've looked at this one installed H.O loved it. Tankless is an old idea I've installed and serviced several Paloma Paks they didn't work well for DHW. and were short lived.

http://www.takagi.com/index.asp

There is no comparison between electric and gas. Gas is so far superior it's a moot point

[teddy bear]

Liming is the biggest problem. Next is the varible water temperature as the water usage gals./min changes. They have complicated controls. Nothing like taking a shower while operating a clothes washer or washing hands. Its shocking when the cool water hits. Filling a tub of hot water is very slow compared to tank heater. 30 kw or 100,000 btus gas delivers 2 gals/min. The fill rate with a tank heater fill rate can be 10-15 gals./min. Stand by losses on a tank heat with foam insulation is 10% per day on electric and 15% on gas. All my experience with the instant heates has been marginal. A lot of grief for a little savings. They are ok for a distant sink, dedicated shower, or slab heat. TB

[fat bob]

I'd suggest getting installed quotes. If you have to convert the 4 inch vent to 6 inch, or run a bigger gas line, the additional installation cost can be substantial.

[farupnorth]

All I know is that they are not working for us up here. The ground water is too cold (32F to 38F). So in anything larger than 1000sf or more than one application use at a time and you need 2 in series to keep up.

[dave and julie]

I've had an Aquastar for 4 years and I am very happy with it. It has no standing pilot and requires no electrical connection. I have only one shower in the house so the smaller size one makes all the hot water I need.

The only negative I've seen with it is that you end up taking longer showers because you never run out of hot water.

[energy_rater_La]

Quite a few tankless water heaters in my area.
I don't recommend electric unless rates are REALLY cheap in your location.
Electrical will require at least 90 amps, which adds up quickly on that utility bill.
If you have gas..it is a good investment. I prefer the outside wall location because the venting pipe is fairly expensive and really offsets the savings when venting thru the roof..more cost on high pitched roofs.
Also EnergyStar offers a $300. rebate on many tankless gas units, which will
make them more affordable for many people.
Standard gas tanks have an efficiency rating called an Energy Factor. On the most efficient standard tank this EF will be .65..least efficient standard tank is .56 Tankless water heaters EF start at .82 (just fyi!)
When they first started being a demand for them in this area the homeowners loved the idea, the plumbers hated it.
Now they have learned to install correctly and are promoting the tankless installs.
(don't ya love progress??)