"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
Considering switching to tankless water heater. Busy house, lots of
kids, so the neverending supply seems attractive.

I have always heard that they have trouble really heating the water hot
enough, especially here in the upper midwest when water comes out of
the ground pretty cold (maybe 40 degrees??)

Any experiences out there?

"Tankless" hot water is a system where the heating system boiler is designed
and fitted with a copper coil that installs into the boiler where the
domestic water is heated by the boilers water.
This is not to be confused with an "indirectly fired hot water" tank which
is a large storage tank much like a gas or electric hot water heater that
has coils inside the tank that run hot water from a separate zone on your
heating system boiler through the tank to heat up the domestic water inside
the tank.

Tankless systems would never be considered if you are looking for endless
hot water. They produce between 4 to 7 gallons of hot water per minute
depending on brand, size of boiler, and age of unit. When large amounts of
cold water run through the tubes in a smaller system the water would barely
get warm. I have one in my own home with teenagers. Trust me on this one.
They work best in low volume households.

What you want is the indirectly fired hot water system. I have installed
many of these systems in new homes and my customers love them. Get a 74
gallon tank and you are good for 4 teenage girls and a wife with a whirlpool
tub.

Ground water is generally 55 degrees, globally, if not drawn from near the
earth's surface (dug wells).