Tankless Water Heater + Water Softener Installer Recommendations

woodburyowner

Well-known member
Socal Gas has crazy rebates of $600-$1000 for a tankless water heater.  Looking at the Rheem or Noritz EZ tankless system.  I have quotes of $1k-$1.2k for labor.  Was also thinking of adding a water softener at the same time to leverage some of the install cost.  Anyone have recommendations on installers? 

Also, after installing the tankless water heater, did you remove the platform box and guard pole that was needed for the standard water heater?  What was this process like?
 
woodburyowner said:
Socal Gas has crazy rebates of $600-$1000 for a tankless water heater.  Looking at the Rheem or Noritz EZ tankless system.  I have quotes of $1k-$1.2k for labor.  Was also thinking of adding a water softener at the same time to leverage some of the install cost.  Anyone have recommendations on installers? 

Also, after installing the tankless water heater, did you remove the platform box and guard pole that was needed for the standard water heater?  What was this process like?

I removed the 50 gallon water heater and replaced it with a Noritz tankless water heater.  I took out the guard pole and podium box that the water heater was sitting on and had the drywall patched up.  I think I paid around $900-$1,000 for installation by a licensed plumber...took more than half a day...then I did epoxy on the garage floor.
 
woodburyowner said:
Socal Gas has crazy rebates of $600-$1000 for a tankless water heater.  Looking at the Rheem or Noritz EZ tankless system.  I have quotes of $1k-$1.2k for labor.  Was also thinking of adding a water softener at the same time to leverage some of the install cost.  Anyone have recommendations on installers? 

Also, after installing the tankless water heater, did you remove the platform box and guard pole that was needed for the standard water heater?  What was this process like?

I think Costco has special package on that right now actually
 
You guys should keep the podium box for the kids to sing from on Karaoke night.  C?mon, think about the children.
 
aquabliss said:
You guys should keep the podium box for the kids to sing from on Karaoke night.  C?mon, think about the children.

Needed the extra space for cars and car parts.  haha
 
Dr. CA Real Estate said:
woodburyowner said:
Socal Gas has crazy rebates of $600-$1000 for a tankless water heater.  Looking at the Rheem or Noritz EZ tankless system.  I have quotes of $1k-$1.2k for labor.  Was also thinking of adding a water softener at the same time to leverage some of the install cost.  Anyone have recommendations on installers? 

Also, after installing the tankless water heater, did you remove the platform box and guard pole that was needed for the standard water heater?  What was this process like?

I think Costco has special package on that right now actually

I don't see anything on Costco.com.  Do you mean in-store? 
 
Got a few more quotes from plumbing companies and it's absolutely absurd what some charge.  I got a quote for $1800 and $3900 just for labor.  This is even after explaining how standard/basic my set up was.  I guess people pay these prices or else they would quote them.
 
woodburyowner said:
Got a few more quotes from plumbing companies and it's absolutely absurd what some charge.  I got a quote for $1800 and $3900 just for labor.  This is even after explaining how standard/basic my set up was.  I guess people pay these prices or else they would quote them.

Those quotes are basically "I'm too busy but if you want to overpay me I'll do the job" quotes.
 
Looks like the tank -> tankless change is more of a pain than I thought.  Standard water heaters usually have a 1/2" line going in.  Tankless requires 3/4".  This will add a lot more to the install cost. 

Has anyone actually gone from tank -> tankless?  Maybe it's just not worth it..
 
woodburyowner said:
Looks like the tank -> tankless change is more of a pain than I thought.  Standard water heaters usually have a 1/2" line going in.  Tankless requires 3/4".  This will add a lot more to the install cost. 

Has anyone actually gone from tank -> tankless?  Maybe it's just not worth it..

I did and it was totally worth it...total cost with the tankless water heater was around $2k.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I posted this on another thread but do those salt-free water system really work? I keep hearing ads about LifeSource.

I don't think they do...based on my quick 5-10 min research before I put in my water softener, we go through 1 bag every couple months, lets say 7 bags, maybe 8 a year if we have a lot of visitors/family staying overnight.  That's not too bad in terms of annual cost, not sure what upfront for a saltless is.
 
I have a saltless called HALO 5.  It doesn't seem to work.  It was a leftover from old owner.  Water is still hard.
 
I got the SoCal water water softener and filter system installed 4 years ago and have been very happy with it.  I put in 4 bags of salt in every 4-5 months.
 
Have you looked into heat pump electric water heaters? I looked into it as a way to use some of solar electricty over production but our gas tankless water heater is only a few years old so it did not make sense.

Unexpected bonus of the heat pump electric water heater, it cools your garage in summer  ;D

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Rovg4cyyY[/youtube]
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
woodburyowner said:
Looks like the tank -> tankless change is more of a pain than I thought.  Standard water heaters usually have a 1/2" line going in.  Tankless requires 3/4".  This will add a lot more to the install cost. 

Has anyone actually gone from tank -> tankless?  Maybe it's just not worth it..

I did and it was totally worth it...total cost with the tankless water heater was around $2k.

How did you address the 1/2" to 3/4" issue?  Did you have a 3/4" line behind your drywall or something?
 
If you're investing thousands of dollars into a tankless system, you should install a water softener.  It will prolong the life of your unit and there will be less crap to flush.  You will still need to flush the unit annually for maintenance.
 
momopi said:
If you're investing thousands of dollars into a tankless system, you should install a water softener.  It will prolong the life of your unit and there will be less crap to flush.  You will still need to flush the unit annually for maintenance.

This exactly! Our water is incredibly hard and it has to be treated (softened) before going into the tankless heater.
 
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