roscoe
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2002
- Messages
- 21,780
Re: Tankless Hot Water Heaters
My brother-in-law and my cousin are both plumbing contractors.
THey will install them, but spend plenty of time trying to talk people out of them.
THey explain about all the maint, instal, repair issues.
Often times they can't repair them for lack of parts and tech support.
BIL says that in larger homes, he installs 3 of them in different locations, and the extra install costs and logistics can be a pain and costly.
They also warn about temperature rise issues.
Claims by manufacturers are inflated.
Says he has installed a few dozen, and on at least 10 units, he cannot get the claimed temp rise.
This is a big issue here in WI, as our ground water is 40-45*.
Trying to get 70-85* temp rise can be problematic.
One option is to install a second, smaller, electric tankless heater, to "pre-heat" the water 20-30 degrees so the main heater can reach the desired temp.
I too will be keeping the old style tanked heater for many of the reasons stated, and any heat lost from the tank and pipes is used to warm my house, so it is not necessarily all wasted energy.
My brother-in-law and my cousin are both plumbing contractors.
THey will install them, but spend plenty of time trying to talk people out of them.
THey explain about all the maint, instal, repair issues.
Often times they can't repair them for lack of parts and tech support.
BIL says that in larger homes, he installs 3 of them in different locations, and the extra install costs and logistics can be a pain and costly.
They also warn about temperature rise issues.
Claims by manufacturers are inflated.
Says he has installed a few dozen, and on at least 10 units, he cannot get the claimed temp rise.
This is a big issue here in WI, as our ground water is 40-45*.
Trying to get 70-85* temp rise can be problematic.
One option is to install a second, smaller, electric tankless heater, to "pre-heat" the water 20-30 degrees so the main heater can reach the desired temp.
I too will be keeping the old style tanked heater for many of the reasons stated, and any heat lost from the tank and pipes is used to warm my house, so it is not necessarily all wasted energy.
