Tankless Water heaters?

S

shokunin

New member
So our nearly 12 year old water heater seems like it's about to explode... I'm trying to be a bit proactive and get it replaced or upgrade to a tankless here in the near future.

Anyone here replace a traditional tanked water-heater to a tankless ones?  Are ya happy you did it?  Opinions seemed mixed.  While  you save on natural gas from heating the tank, it appears to take longer for the water to get hot (out of the faucet), thereby wasting water.  Any opinions either way?
 
I'm Walking Dead this thread... for those of you who live in the newer homes or had a tankless water heater installed, what are the pros/cons of it?
 
Pros: Cost savings for heating water... It's on demand not like the older Water heaters that are on 24 hours a day.

Cons: Takes a while to get hot water (not really that long).. cost of installation and the unit itself is pricier.
 
We just went through this decision process and after a while of thinking about it -- installed a tank. Savings with a tankless would have been minimal at best since our tank runs on natural gas. Our gas bill is so low. The cost of installation for the tankless would have been twice the price with extra steps involved. Also, we would have had to shell out for running a new circuit -- that was something the store didn't tell us but the installer did when he was putting our tank in. Make sure you see about that. Good thing we didn't do tankless. We've never run out of hot water and I don't like waiting so I'm happy with the choice. I also wasn't excited about the idea of putting instant water heaters under several sinks if we wanted it more quickly. Mr. SoCal is happy we have something to drink out of in case of emergency. That's not something I really took into consideration but I guess it's a plus.
 
Just moved into a new home with a tankless water heater. I have not seen our first bill yet but the water does take a while to get hot. For example, the kitchen sink which is close to the garage takes ~20 seconds to get hot water. The shower in the master bath which is the furthest away from the tankless water heater takes about 30-40 seconds to get warm. It is definitely not instant and it could be annoying when you have to deal with it everyday. It does not give you the feeling of living with the latest technology.

Having said the above, I am not sure of what if any the savings are so I will reserve my complete judgement on this until then.

 
@socaltrojan81:

I remember some posters who moved into The New Home Collection mentioning a button (usually in the master bath) that flushes the non-hot water out... to allow the hot water to come out more quickly... do you have one of those?
 
I had a tank in my old home and tankless in my new home.  I don't notice a difference in how quickly hot water comes out, both are slow in my opinion.  While my gas bill was low with a natural gas tank water heater, it is ridiculously low with a tankless.  The actual dollar difference in the gas bill is not really a lot though,  since gas is cheap to begin with.  So, I guess if I had to pay for the tankless, it would take a looooong time for me to recoup the cost.
 
we have a 75 gallon tank, would have hated having a tankless water heater. like trojan 81 said, what is the point of the tankless water heater if you dont get hot water on demand.
 
In all the homes I've lived in... the slowest to hot was either the kitchen sink or the master bath.

I would probably just add a instant-hot unit to the kitchen sink source and to the master sinks source (not as easy to add to the master shower though... but I don't take HOT showers).

From what I'm reading, the good thing about tankless is the unit lasts longer and takes up much less space. But retrofitting an older home and the cost of the unit is much higher. Also, volume is less... so not going to work as well if running the dishwasher, washing machine and taking a hot shower.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
@socaltrojan81:

I remember some posters who moved into The New Home Collection mentioning a button (usually in the master bath) that flushes the non-hot water out... to allow the hot water to come out more quickly... do you have one of those?
Click to expand...

There is no button ..I think what you are referring to is the 'Priority Button' that lets you override the temperature for one use. Anyway it would have been a nice feature to have but would have been an upgrade for sure.

 
I don't know if the button was in all 2010 collection homes but was definitely in the 2 tracts by brookefield home.
Monterey in WBE & montecito in WB. letting it circulate the cold water in the pipes definitely reduces the time to hot
in the master bthrm.


irvinehomeowner said:
@socaltrojan81:

I remember some posters who moved into The New Home Collection mentioning a button (usually in the master bath) that flushes the non-hot water out... to allow the hot water to come out more quickly... do you have one of those?
Click to expand...
 
waitin4ever said:
I don't know if the button was in all 2010 collection homes but was definitely in the 2 tracts by brookefield home.
Monterey in WBE & montecito in WB. letting it circulate the cold water in the pipes definitely reduces the time to hot
in the master bthrm.

irvinehomeowner said:
@socaltrojan81:

I remember some posters who moved into The New Home Collection mentioning a button (usually in the master bath) that flushes the non-hot water out... to allow the hot water to come out more quickly... do you have one of those?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Did they explain how that worked?
 
tankless is more susceptible to hard water. and hard water will avoid the warranty. I think Irvine water hardiness is slightly out of spec for the Rinnai tankless water heaters (for IPAC new homes). There is a procedure to use vinegar to clean/regenerate tankless once a year. So this may be a little more hassle compared to traditional water heaters.
 
The Motor Court Company said:
tankless is more susceptible to hard water. and hard water will avoid the warranty. I think Irvine water hardiness is slightly out of spec for the Rinnai tankless water heaters (for IPAC new homes). There is a procedure to use vinegar to clean/regenerate tankless once a year. So this may be a little more hassle compared to traditional water heaters.
Click to expand...

This ought to be interesting only cuz all of the new homes being built have tankless water heaters.
 
you can look it up in the owner's manual from Rinnai, which talks about water hardiness, de-liming and the vinegar flush.

Google
"rinnai tankless vinegar flush"
 
The Motor Court Company said:
tankless is more susceptible to hard water.
Click to expand...
I think a whole house water softener is a must for homes with tankless heaters.  Plus it's great for your skin, hair and appliances. ;)
 
I flushed my Rinnai Tankless this past weekend.  It's a piece of cake.  I bought a submersive pump & bucket from HF, Whirlpool washer hoses from Amazon and 4 gallons of vinegar.  Total spent $70 vs. $200+ a plumber would charge.  I let the pump flush the vinegar through the Rinnai for a hour.
 
seems too much DIY for Irvine's Asian buyers

NASCAR24 said:
I flushed my Rinnai Tankless this past weekend.  It's a piece of cake.  I bought a submersive pump & bucket from HF, Whirlpool washer hoses from Amazon and 4 gallons of vinegar.  Total spent $70 vs. $200+ a plumber would charge.  I let the pump flush the vinegar through the Rinnai for a hour.
Click to expand...
 
Verry true for me.  I think I'll stick to tankFULL water heaters.  :p

The Motor Court Company said:
seems too much DIY for Irvine's Asian buyers

NASCAR24 said:
I flushed my Rinnai Tankless this past weekend.  It's a piece of cake.  I bought a submersive pump & bucket from HF, Whirlpool washer hoses from Amazon and 4 gallons of vinegar.  Total spent $70 vs. $200+ a plumber would charge.  I let the pump flush the vinegar through the Rinnai for a hour.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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