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#1
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home
for my wife and myself. I'm thinking about actualy including two of them, one for bathrooms and one for Kitchen and Laundry demands but not sure on the total number to have yet. I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. |
#2
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Along with reading the info you will get in response to your current
question in this group, may I suggest you perform a Google Groups search on the subject. This question has been discused in alt.home.repair, alt.building.construction, misc.consumers.house, misc.consumers.frugal-living and many other groups. There is a lot of information from various sources available in these groups. Go to http://groups.google.com/ and enter your query. Good Luck! Gary KW4Z wrote: My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home for my wife and myself. I'm thinking about actualy including two of them, one for bathrooms and one for Kitchen and Laundry demands but not sure on the total number to have yet. I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. |
#3
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
your far better off to go with 2 standard larger tanks.
are you trying to get endlkess hot water? or more concerned with saving a little money on energy? 2 tankless will require large gas service and remember a power failure probably means no hot water standard tanks even forced thru wall vents have enough hot water stored for a couple showers |
#4
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
"Gary KW4Z" wrote in message ... I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. At what elevation are you? It's been recommended to me that a tankless water heater loses considerable efficiency at higher altitudes. -- NuWave Dave in Houston |
#5
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
NuWaveDave wrote:
"Gary KW4Z" wrote in message ... I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. At what elevation are you? It's been recommended to me that a tankless water heater loses considerable efficiency at higher altitudes. I have the Bosch and would recommend it. It has a built in ignition system that runs by the water turning a wheel to create the spark so it will even work when the electric fails. I bought the smaller 1 use at a time unit but for a family of 3 or more I would recommend the larger unit. But for me the 1 use is just fine. It installed easily (by myself) and has worked flawlessly for 3 months that I have had it. Rich |
#6
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
wrote in message ups.com... your far better off to go with 2 standard larger tanks. are you trying to get endlkess hot water? or more concerned with saving a little money on energy? 2 tankless will require large gas service and remember a power failure probably means no hot water standard tanks even forced thru wall vents have enough hot water stored for a couple showers If I understand correctly, one correctly sized tankless could supply enough hot water for all the appliances plus showers and baths at the same time. As for the electric outages, a UPS - uninterruptible power supply, just for the controls - should take care of that. My concern is the reliability, and I hear some of the tankless heaters are not good. I've been using hot water dispensers for years and those tanks goes out about 5 years (something always goes out in about 5 years) and I just couldn't justify replacing a tankless every 5 or even 10 years. Hot water heater: $500, Tankless: $3,000. Tankless has to save a lot of energy to justify the extra cost. Anyone know what the payback is for tankless? |
#7
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
I had a Noritz N-069M http://www.noritz.com/n069.html in my newly
constructed home of about 2500 sqft with 3 1/2 baths. I love it! With no circulation pump at all, most hot water locations get hot water within a minute. The only real wait time for hot water is the master shower, it takes about 2 minutes. But the jetted tub just a few feet from the master shower gets hot water in about 30 seconds. More water volume to the tub vs. the shower head really cranks up the heater. I'm in west Texas with very hard water - it is highly recommended that you have a water softner in place in hard water conditions. Give Noritz a pre-sales call, they were very helpful when I spoke to them. I considered zoning two units, but the sales guy conviced me the N-069M would be sufficient, but suggested that if you ever needed to, you could simply add a second unit. They are designed to work in tandem with a connector cable. ....Bob |
#8
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Gary KW4Z wrote: My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home for my wife and myself. 1) Demand- 2 shower heads, 8 body washers in one shower and trying to fill a whirlpool ain't going to cut it. 2) Location- some one in the northern part of the country where service water comes in @ 40 degrees 4-6 months out of the year is a lot different from someone in the south where service water is seldom under 70 degrees. Run the numbers and you'll be fine, don't believe what someone tells you. kenny b |
#9
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
If I understand correctly, one correctly sized tankless could supply enough hot water for all the appliances plus showers and baths at the same time. As for the electric outages, a UPS - uninterruptible power supply, just for the controls - should take care of that. My concern is the reliability, and I hear some of the tankless heaters are not good. I've been using hot water dispensers for years and those tanks goes out about 5 years (something always goes out in about 5 years) and I just couldn't justify replacing a tankless every 5 or even 10 years. Hot water heater: $500, Tankless: $3,000. Tankless has to save a lot of energy to justify the extra cost. Anyone know what the payback is for tankless? the payback period exceeds the expected life of the unit, say 10 years thats the longest warranty on a tankless. any companies locally for service? so for 500 bucks you can get a standard tank with a 12 year warranty. you would have to save more than 2500 bucks before saving a dime in energy. check the energy guide labels of tanks thats probably the entire operating cost of a regular tank. mine says 250 bucks a year, times 10 years wheres the savings? worse assuming your tank in in a heated part of the home the wasted energy in the heating season helps heat your home so its not wasted at all....... for the heating season. true its a loser for AC new regular tanks are actually very efficent, you can get higfher btu models and larger tanks for never run out showers if you want. my 50 gallong 75,000 btu is near that, next tank will be 75 gallons, the 50 barely fit my existing space.... new furnace and more space. think of another thing regular tanks are actually very reliable, other than spring a leak at end of life few have other troubles and are a bargain at 500 bucks. you could likely save a few hundered a year in heating costs for your new home by doubling wall thickness and upgraded insulation...... at say 30 grand extra. thats not a good deal either |
#10
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
I don't even need to research to know: DON'T DO IT! DerbyDad03 wrote: Along with reading the info you will get in response to your current question in this group, may I suggest you perform a Google Groups search on the subject. This question has been discused in alt.home.repair, alt.building.construction, misc.consumers.house, misc.consumers.frugal-living and many other groups. There is a lot of information from various sources available in these groups. Go to http://groups.google.com/ and enter your query. Good Luck! Gary KW4Z wrote: My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home for my wife and myself. I'm thinking about actualy including two of them, one for bathrooms and one for Kitchen and Laundry demands but not sure on the total number to have yet. I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. |
#11
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Three months? You are kidding, aren't you? Rich wrote: NuWaveDave wrote: "Gary KW4Z" wrote in message ... I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. At what elevation are you? It's been recommended to me that a tankless water heater loses considerable efficiency at higher altitudes. I have the Bosch and would recommend it. It has a built in ignition system that runs by the water turning a wheel to create the spark so it will even work when the electric fails. I bought the smaller 1 use at a time unit but for a family of 3 or more I would recommend the larger unit. But for me the 1 use is just fine. It installed easily (by myself) and has worked flawlessly for 3 months that I have had it. Rich |
#12
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
I know the payback: there is none. # Fred # wrote: wrote in message ups.com... your far better off to go with 2 standard larger tanks. are you trying to get endlkess hot water? or more concerned with saving a little money on energy? 2 tankless will require large gas service and remember a power failure probably means no hot water standard tanks even forced thru wall vents have enough hot water stored for a couple showers If I understand correctly, one correctly sized tankless could supply enough hot water for all the appliances plus showers and baths at the same time. As for the electric outages, a UPS - uninterruptible power supply, just for the controls - should take care of that. My concern is the reliability, and I hear some of the tankless heaters are not good. I've been using hot water dispensers for years and those tanks goes out about 5 years (something always goes out in about 5 years) and I just couldn't justify replacing a tankless every 5 or even 10 years. Hot water heater: $500, Tankless: $3,000. Tankless has to save a lot of energy to justify the extra cost. Anyone know what the payback is for tankless? |
#13
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Yes, don't believe anything you hear. Especially, don't believe this. wrote: Gary KW4Z wrote: My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home for my wife and myself. 1) Demand- 2 shower heads, 8 body washers in one shower and trying to fill a whirlpool ain't going to cut it. 2) Location- some one in the northern part of the country where service water comes in @ 40 degrees 4-6 months out of the year is a lot different from someone in the south where service water is seldom under 70 degrees. Run the numbers and you'll be fine, don't believe what someone tells you. kenny b |
#14
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
On Thu, 4 Jan 2007 09:11:51 -0600, "Bob Dozier"
wrote: :I had a Noritz N-069M http://www.noritz.com/n069.html in my newly :constructed :home of about 2500 sqft with 3 1/2 baths. I love it! With no circulation ump :at all, most hot water locations get hot water within a minute. The only :real :wait time for hot water is the master shower, it takes about 2 minutes. But :the :jetted tub just a few feet from the master shower gets hot water in about 30 :seconds. :More water volume to the tub vs. the shower head really cranks up the :heater. :I'm in west Texas with very hard water - it is highly recommended that you :have :a water softner in place in hard water conditions. : :Give Noritz a pre-sales call, they were very helpful when I spoke to them. :I considered zoning two units, but the sales guy conviced me the N-069M :would be :sufficient, but suggested that if you ever needed to, you could simply add a :second unit. They are designed to work in tandem with a connector cable. : :...Bob I have the same unit: Model N-069M-OD. It includes the remote control unit, which I use on a daily basis. I set the temperature somewhere between 110 and 120 depending on the weather when I'm going to take a shower and leave it at the lowest setting (100 degrees) for sink stuff (the rest of the time, except laundry). It cost $4000 including professional installation. It was installed by virtue of a city sponsored program, so it didn't cost me a cent. Part of why they did it was to solve the problem of how to route a vent for my dryer. Putting the water heater outside (which is how these are installed) resolved that problem. The water heater it replaced was a standard 40 gallon gas tank heater. I would never have had the idea of going tankless if the rep hadn't suggested it, and I wasn't going to refuse! It works OK. I realize that at this point I'm on my own and I just hope it lasts a real long time because I don't presently like the idea of spending big bucks to fix or replace it. I have a question about it myself, being how it deals with changes in demand. Obviously as flow of hot water increases or decreases the unit has to respond by decreasing or increasing the gas flame so that the water comes out at the appropriate temperature. I wonder if _overusing_ this will cause something to go bad. IOW, is it better to leave the flow when washing dishes in the sink at one flow rate or is it OK to keep changing the flow rate like I always did with my tank water heater. The responses in this thread already taught me one thing: I think I need a UPS if I don't want to do without hot water in the event of a power failure. I guess it's no big deal, actually. Power failures, at least ones that last longer than a few seconds, are pretty rare here. Being without power would be a much bigger inconvenience than being without hot water. And I guess a UPS that would supply power for more than 1/2 hour or so is going to be costly. So's a generator. Dan |
#15
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
7 LAMPSTICKS 7 FEASTS 7 AGES OF DISPENSATION 7 BOWLS 7 TRUMPETS 7 SEALS
wrote: And an earlier quote from this know it all: Yes, don't believe anything you hear. Especially, don't believe this. I know the payback: there is none. I like the depth of knowledge that you expound on this thread but I do like your quoted statements! Now go away and bother some other group with your depth of knowledge please! Maybe alt.youdontknowwhatiknow.andicanproveit Rich # Fred # wrote: wrote in message ups.com... your far better off to go with 2 standard larger tanks. are you trying to get endlkess hot water? or more concerned with saving a little money on energy? 2 tankless will require large gas service and remember a power failure probably means no hot water standard tanks even forced thru wall vents have enough hot water stored for a couple showers If I understand correctly, one correctly sized tankless could supply enough hot water for all the appliances plus showers and baths at the same time. As for the electric outages, a UPS - uninterruptible power supply, just for the controls - should take care of that. My concern is the reliability, and I hear some of the tankless heaters are not good. I've been using hot water dispensers for years and those tanks goes out about 5 years (something always goes out in about 5 years) and I just couldn't justify replacing a tankless every 5 or even 10 years. Hot water heater: $500, Tankless: $3,000. Tankless has to save a lot of energy to justify the extra cost. Anyone know what the payback is for tankless? |
#16
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Boy, created quite a stir of replies! I have some comments - for what they're worth.... - I've seen some posts about payout. Who cares about payout? If you can afford one, get one. In my opinion, it uses gas only when you turn on the hot water it will be hot as long as you wish. In a 3 1/2 bath house, when you have your kids and grandkids visiting, you will ALWAYS have hot water. If you deplete a 50 gal tank heater, it's gone and you will have to wait until the entire tank heats up, however long that takes - been there, done that, not pleasant. - I've also seen some posts about price. Find a reputable dealer and/or plumber and you can get one for about half of the prices I've seen posted - installed! Just do an Ebay search for N-069M. Although you do need to have a plumber install the unit for warranty purposes, it really does not take rocket science to correctly size or install the unit. Just make sure you have the properly sized gas line supply as well. I am very pleased with mine for over 6 months. I'll see how long it will last, but so far, I will install another one in the next house I build. Again, just my 2 cents, no flames please. ...Bob "Gary KW4Z" wrote in message ... My plans are to specify a (Gas) Tankless Hot Water Heater in our new home for my wife and myself. I'm thinking about actualy including two of them, one for bathrooms and one for Kitchen and Laundry demands but not sure on the total number to have yet. I've looked at Takagi, Rinnai, Noritz, Paloma, Bosch, and Rheem. Like everything else most familiarity with Tankless hot water heaters comes from advertisements on the radio and TV and of those Rinnai seems to put the most money in that area. Of you who have a tankless hot water heater which ones are the most trouble free and which would you recommend? Thanks, in advance, for your help and input. |
#17
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
And I guess a UPS that would supply power for more than 1/2
hour or so is going to be costly. So's a generator. Dan Should be cheap as not much power required to control the gas fired unit. Go to any office or computer store and get one suitable for you unit - should be under $100. You need to replace the UPS battery once every few years. |
#18
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
# Fred # wrote: And I guess a UPS that would supply power for more than 1/2 hour or so is going to be costly. So's a generator. Dan Should be cheap as not much power required to control the gas fired unit. Go to any office or computer store and get one suitable for you unit - should be under $100. You need to replace the UPS battery once every few years. ahh check the current use of the tankless, if it uses a fan for exhaust you may need a really large UPS. did you knpow there are commercial size regular hot water tanks, they can supply a hotel continiously so one home would be easy.. kinda pricey but available |
#20
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
In article .com,
says... # Fred # wrote: And I guess a UPS that would supply power for more than 1/2 hour or so is going to be costly. So's a generator. Dan Should be cheap as not much power required to control the gas fired unit. Go to any office or computer store and get one suitable for you unit - should be under $100. You need to replace the UPS battery once every few years. ahh check the current use of the tankless, if it uses a fan for exhaust you may need a really large UPS. My Takagi draws less than an amp maximum, and that's briefly while the blower is clearing the exhaust after the burner shuts off; most of the time it's much lower draw. Any decent UPS can handle 120W loads. -- is Joshua Putnam http://www.phred.org/~josh/ Braze your own bicycle frames. See http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html |
#21
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
In article ,
says... It works OK. I realize that at this point I'm on my own and I just hope it lasts a real long time because I don't presently like the idea of spending big bucks to fix or replace it. Remember that when you do eventually need to replace it, you probably won't be re-doing the gas plumbing, wiring, or potable water plumbing for it. You'll just remove the old unit and install a new one. Your N-069M-OD sells for under $1,000 on-line. My Takagi is under $900 these days. Replacement is simple enough you can do it yourself if local code allows. (OK, be honest, how many people take out the required permits to replace their tank water heaters?) -- is Joshua Putnam http://www.phred.org/~josh/ Braze your own bicycle frames. See http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html |
#22
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
My Takagi draws little enough current that if the power is out, I can
run it off the pocket-sized power inverter I keep in my car. No added cost for that, I already had the inverter anyway. -- is Joshua Putnam Odd the Takagi website doesnt list current consumption,' In any case those who vent up a chimney are probably low power users in comparison with direct vent models that must use a blower & motor for exhaustion of course chimney type often need chimney upgrades because the high BTU models are perhaps 3 times the BTU of a average forced air furnace. this makes me wonder about that big flue exhausting heated home air 24/7 all winter long... humm I wonder the same about my standard hot water tank and furnace, must be like leaving a big window open permanetely. wonder if anyone has ever done studies of flue heat losses? Because oif this awhile ago I had decided to go with forced vent standard high BTU tank..... |
#23
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
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#24
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
CptDondo wrote: wrote: this makes me wonder about that big flue exhausting heated home air 24/7 all winter long... humm I wonder the same about my standard hot water tank and furnace, must be like leaving a big window open permanetely. wonder if anyone has ever done studies of flue heat losses? Don't most current building codes require outside combustion air these days? --Yan many furnaces and most standard hot water tanks use room air, a bad idea if you ask me. |
#25
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters (Thanks for the Response)
Thank you to everyone that contributed on each board. While I haven't
totally made up my mind about what I will do, and I have plenty of time to do that thankfully, I am leaning (due in part to opinions on these newsgroups) to staying traditional, with a 50 gallon high efficiency, Gas, Hot Water Heater with a long warranty. Being that there is mostly the wife and myself I think that will due us even when we have the grandchildren over. Again thank you for each of your input and I will continue to follow this thread and also do research into past question regarding tankless water heaters. Could be by the time I actually build things will change again but for now I'm changing my mind, back to the Gas Tank model. The reason is that even with the cost savings of the tankless I'm very concerned that they will not hold up over as long a time as tanks have proven to last and apparently the manufacturers don't necessarily think they will either by the warranty length they assign to them so that's my reasoning for changing my mind. |
#26
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Theres no harm in getting a 75 or even 100 gallon high BTU tank.
regular tanks are about 40,000 BTU my high output is 75,000 BTU 50 gallons. thats a lot of water. by the time i am done getting a shower, dressed and go downstairs with the laundry the tanks burners are shutting off, and my shower has the flow restrictor removed |
#27
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters (Thanks for the Response)
"Gary KW4Z" wrote in message ... Thank you to everyone that contributed on each board. While I haven't totally made up my mind about what I will do, and I have plenty of time to do that thankfully, I am leaning (due in part to opinions on these newsgroups) to staying traditional, with a 50 gallon high efficiency, Gas, Hot Water Heater with a long warranty. [snip] Having experience with both tankless and conventional, I much prefer conventional. Consider this: We have a standard large tanked water heater which serves kitchen, laundry and two bathrooms. When we renovated the back half of the house we added a small cabinet in the new hobby room with a second water heater tank inside which serves only the adjacent master bathroom. This gives us hot water within seconds. ( We also did a few other unconventional things such as adding an outdoor sink and shower so that you can clean up and shower after working in the garden or coming in from fishing. Since the "utilities" side of the house (with the shower, plus nearby well pump, central air conditioners, etc.) is behind a 6' concrete block and tile wall privacy is not a problem.) With this experience, during any future renovation I'd consider another hot water tank, perhaps a low-boy unit or attic unit, for almost-instant hot water for one or more of the other bedroom suites -- Regards -- |
#28
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
In article . com,
says... My Takagi draws little enough current that if the power is out, I can run it off the pocket-sized power inverter I keep in my car. No added cost for that, I already had the inverter anyway. -- is Joshua Putnam Odd the Takagi website doesnt list current consumption,' It's in the PDF manual, towards the end. this makes me wonder about that big flue exhausting heated home air 24/7 all winter long... humm I wonder the same about my standard hot water tank and furnace, must be like leaving a big window open permanetely. Haven't done a formal study of it, but while testing for drafts I blew smoke around our water heater on a cold day, didn't have any noticeable convection up the flue. But our flue is mostly horizontal, definitely needs the blower. Our long-range plan is to convert it to use outdoor combustion air once we get around to the finished cabinetry in the pantry where it sits. -- is Joshua Putnam http://www.phred.org/~josh/ Braze your own bicycle frames. See http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html |
#29
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
On Thu, 4 Jan 2007 20:42:44 -0800, wrote:
:In article .com, says... : : # Fred # wrote: : And I guess a UPS that would supply power for more than 1/2 : hour or so is going to be costly. So's a generator. : : Dan : : Should be cheap as not much power required to control the gas fired unit. Go : to any office or computer store and get one suitable for you unit - should : be under $100. You need to replace the UPS battery once every few years. : : ahh check the current use of the tankless, if it uses a fan for exhaust : you may need a really large UPS. : :My Takagi draws less than an amp maximum, and that's briefly while the :blower is clearing the exhaust after the burner shuts off; most of the :time it's much lower draw. Any decent UPS can handle 120W loads. You know, I really don't think it's worth it to get a UPS just to insure I have hot water if my power goes out. I'll be a lot more concerned about the power and especially the food in my refrigerator going bad. Hot water? Holy smokes, my ancestors had to build a fire to get it. I'm not going to be such a pussy about it. Dan |
#30
Posted to alt.home.repair,alt.building.construction,pdaxs.services.plumbing
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
On Thu, 4 Jan 2007 20:50:08 -0800, wrote:
:In article , says... : : It works OK. I realize that at this point I'm on my own and I just hope : it lasts a real long time because I don't presently like the idea of : spending big bucks to fix or replace it. : : :Remember that when you do eventually need to replace it, you probably :won't be re-doing the gas plumbing, wiring, or potable water plumbing :for it. You'll just remove the old unit and install a new one. : :Your N-069M-OD sells for under $1,000 on-line. My Takagi is under $900 :these days. Replacement is simple enough you can do it yourself if :local code allows. (OK, be honest, how many people take out the :required permits to replace their tank water heaters?) Good point. I suppose if I still live here and my Noritz goes bad I might well opt for a similar tankless to replace it since the gas and plumbing are all right there, and they were AFAIK professionally and well-installed. To put in a tank water heater would be problematical because it would have to stand away from the wall at least enough to clear the dryer vent. The contractor who authorized all this told me I couldn't do that because I would not be able to strap and support the tank. This is earthquake country. |
#31
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
In article ,
says... You know, I really don't think it's worth it to get a UPS just to insure I have hot water if my power goes out. I'll be a lot more concerned about the power and especially the food in my refrigerator going bad. Frozen casseroles from the deep freeze will keep the fridge cold enough that milk lasts for many days. Think of it as an icebox with edible ice. Some of the frozen stuff is going to thaw anyway, might as well put it to use. Hot water? Holy smokes, my ancestors had to build a fire to get it. I'm not going to be such a pussy about it. While the house was jacked up getting a new foundation, we spent 6 weeks with the gas disconnected. Boiling water on the stove for baths gets old fast when you have twin toddlers. -- is Joshua Putnam http://www.phred.org/~josh/ Braze your own bicycle frames. See http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html |
#32
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Not for nothing, but my 40 gal gas (spec grade) was installed when the house
was new in 1978 and is still going strong. Tankless are really good for cabins and the like. Don't believe I would put one in a new home unless it serves a single fixture located a long distance from the water heater. Just doesn't make any cents (don't forget to figure additional costs for increased gas lines, larger meter, assoc. as well.) so for 500 bucks you can get a standard tank with a 12 year warranty. you would have to save more than 2500 bucks before saving a dime in energy. check the energy guide labels of tanks thats probably the entire operating cost of a regular tank. mine says 250 bucks a year, times 10 years wheres the savings? worse assuming your tank in in a heated part of the home the wasted energy in the heating season helps heat your home so its not wasted at all....... for the heating season. true its a loser for AC new regular tanks are actually very efficent, you can get higfher btu models and larger tanks for never run out showers if you want. my 50 gallong 75,000 btu is near that, next tank will be 75 gallons, the 50 barely fit my existing space.... new furnace and more space. think of another thing regular tanks are actually very reliable, other than spring a leak at end of life few have other troubles and are a bargain at 500 bucks. you could likely save a few hundered a year in heating costs for your new home by doubling wall thickness and upgraded insulation...... at say 30 grand extra. thats not a good deal either |
#33
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Dan, there are straps made specifically to anchor water heaters not located
directly aganst a wall. In fact, most of the installations I've inspected did not bear directly on the wall in back of the heater. In seismic D1 & 2, you only need to strap in upper and lower 1/3 to withstand movement, and there are many ways to accomplish this. well-installed. To put in a tank water heater would be problematical because it would have to stand away from the wall at least enough to clear the dryer vent. The contractor who authorized all this told me I couldn't do that because I would not be able to strap and support the tank. This is earthquake country. |
#34
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Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Dennis wrote: Not for nothing, but my 40 gal gas (spec grade) was installed when the house was new in 1978 and is still going strong. We put in a Paloma PH6-DP in 1987, and have never made a repair (although I bought a similar unit, for parts, for $50. about 15 years ago- hard to find these old units). My local propane distributor has one like it for their kitchen/ washrooms. We also cook with gas. Our water pressure is about 20psi max (gravity system from a spring up the hill) and this thing has always worked fine for us (family of 7 then, 3 now).The only thing I'd want different is the auto lighter- piezo or "the little turbine" (Bosch), because of the gas- but the unit is on the wall next to the toilet (in NW earthquake country- 2 shakes, no problems), so it probably heats that space- a little. Tankless are really good for cabins and the like. part of the home the wasted energy in the heating season helps heat your home so its not wasted at all....... for the heating season. true its a loser for AC We do have a small place- around 1000sq'- and the space for a tank is also an issue. When we heated and cooked with wood, I had a tank that ran through the woodstove... and took all insulation off of it- using it as a radiator, as well as a hot water tank. That setup, w/ a solar water panel, would be my favored Luddite fallback mode... you could likely save a few hundered a year in heating costs for your new home by doubling wall thickness and upgraded insulation...... at say 30 grand extra... thats not a good deal either Amen to that... I'd favor going to radiant floor heating, if the house is situated to take advantage of that... and, if I lived in horse 'n dairy country, I'd go for the 250 sq' slab with pipes embedded, on the downwind side of the house, upon which manure is piled, to fire the heat exchanger in my own slab flooring... ^..^ |
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