Hot Water heaters,...

[JENSSEN]

Question for the masses; I am going to be replacing my water heater in the near future and I am looking at tank VS tankless options.

Anyone run a tankless hot water heater? Is it worth it? Long term reviews?

Or recommendations on tank units? Looking for any and all opinions!

Thanks!

-J

[fug]

I went through this same question a month or so ago and ended up just going with a normal hotwater tank.  After doing some research a couple of things made me decide to go that route.  Initial cost of the tankless is quite a bit higher than a hotwater tank.  Maintenance:  Tankless require quite a bit more maintenance than the tank

[Immortal]

Tankless is more maintenance than a tankless?
Feel free to nuke this when you edit your post mister.

[fug]

Tankless is more maintenance than a tankless?
Feel free to nuke this when you edit your post mister.

Sigh... Day drunk again.  I fixed it.

[AstraX]

My mother-in-law put in a tankless as soon as they started installing them from the plumbing place she works for.  She loves it.  They put one in their travel trailer as well.  I think the initial cost is really the biggest drawback.

[RckyMtnTJ]

I have no tangible info on the subject as I don't own a tankless, but when we went to show homes we found the lag waiting for hot water in houses with tankless to be excessive.  I like hot water quickly. Not running the water for 45 seconds before it comes.

[Traktor]

A friend of mine installed one about a year ago. He says it may be a bit cheaper but has the same complaint about lag time. He told me not to do it.

[Matt4x4]

You can get smaller tankless water heaters right at the sink.

[JohnB]

If you go tankless, make sure you have a softener first.

[2doorJK]

We've had our Rinnai since mid '08. We haven't had a single complaint since day one.  The unit hasn't required maintenance yet, it has been trouble free.

We are feeding it softened water from a chlorine free and salt free water softener.

We expect the Rinnai to eventually throw a "LS" code which will signify that it's time to back flush with pure food grade white vinegar. This is a simple procedure, we have had the necessary items available since 2011 but the unit hasn't thrown a code yet.

The unit supplies all of the hot water we require, it is slightly over spec for our household requirements. We installed this unit during a major renovation in 2008 as we were also installing a large air jet tub and didn't want to install the two hot water tanks that would be required to fill this tub.

Our experience has been very positive and we would install the same system without hesitation. I've done a lot of research into tankless systems and the only unit I would purchase is a Rinnai. We chose the best and we have no regrets.

- Installation is critical with these units, do not compromise, find a knowledgeable installer.
- The lag time has nothing to do with the source, it has everything to do with the distance from the source. The unit sends hot water at 140F within 4 seconds of opening a faucet. It will do so indefinitely unless you run out of nat gas, electricity, combustion air or water.
- The hardware cost should be roughly equal to conventional hot water tanks over a twenty year period.
- Operating costs will be considerably lower over the same twenty year period.
- Never running out of hot water again? Priceless...

[Immortal]

- Installation is critical with these units, do not compromise, find a knowledgeable installer.
- The lag time has nothing to do with the source, it has everything to do with the distance from the source. The unit sends hot water at 140F within 4 seconds of opening a faucet.

THIS!!!!
There's a reason they're called INSTA-HOTS.

[TL-Iguana]

We are looking at installing a couple of the tankless models on the farm and possibly one in my house. My tank is now over 45 years old... but running on well water it seems to have lasted... No chemicals.. The reason being that we have guest houses and no need to store a tank of wasted energy. The lag time if you think about it... Is it not the same as the lag you have now? You dont typically turn on a faucet and get instant hot water from any system do you? The overall cost is the same as building your jeep, or building it right... You may spend a bit more up front, but in the long run it will cost you less....

[bRIBEGuy]

My experiences mimic those of 2DoorJK.

I installed a Noritz tankless waterheater (made in the same factory as Rinnai) back in 2007, and used it to supply both hot water to the house, and to the "furnace" (high efficiency fan-coil set-up).  Proper set-up is key, as is the water-line distribution to your fixtures (shorter = better).

I initially had a lot of issue with sediment in the line, and this would clog the inlet screen, slowing flow, and reducing the heat output of the unit.  Initially I just "fixed" this with frequent (every 1-3 month) cleanings (5 min job).  The heater was running for a couple of years without a water softener, and didn't have too many issues, though eventually it did start to scale up.  Small pieces would break off, and again clog up the inlet screen.  At this point, I opted to install a 1" inline y-filter to help with the sediment, and a Nuvo water treatment system (salt free) to help with the scale.  I also descaled the unit at the same time (takes 2 hrs, but is VERY easy to do with vinegar).  After that, the unit ran perfectly for years with virtually no further work required.  I'd clean out the y-strainer and inlet screen every 3-6 months when I'd swap the furnace filter, and that was about it.

Getting hot water at the tap was pretty quick, but did seem s bit slower than the tank I had previously.  I got used to it quick though, especially after realizing it does require a different "method" for best results (IMO).  If you want warm water, turn the hot tap on to FULL.  When it gets hot, then throttle it down and add cool.  The higher the flow requirement through the heater, the faster (and hotter) it will heat (you can use a pump to assist with this also).

When my wife and I moved a couple years ago, we opted to go back to a standard hot water tank based on what the builder wanted to charge for going tankless (it was a $6600 upgrade....bwa ha ha ha).  My initial surprise was how long it took to get hot water to the taps.  WAY longer than before with my tankless set-up.  I think this is certainly testament to the fact that the line routing/length plays a much bigger roll than the heat source.  Once funds allow (could be a while since I own a JEEP), I will definitely go tankless again.  Smaller, cheaper to run, and just all around awesome.

My 2 cents.