Water heaters

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  • mforsta

    Pops
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jun 25, 2012
    494
    28
    Denham Springs
    Well it’s happened. My water heater, which of course was installed in my attic, started to leak. I’m looking for options and opinions on tankless water heaters. If anyone has one, let me hear some pros and cons.
    Thanks.
     

    Bangswitch

    Well-Known Member
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    1   0   0
    Jan 10, 2019
    2,221
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    a location near you
    I rented a place with one while my house was being rebuilt. I loved the endless hot water. You need either a clean source of water or a good filter. My service guy swears he won’t have one because they easily develop issues if the water has a lot of sediment or minerals.
     

    MOTOR51

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    72   0   0
    Dec 23, 2008
    6,342
    113
    here
    My sister has one in their house and I don’t notice much of a difference as far as temp. It might take a little longer to get the hot water to you but I’d be happy to not have to mess with a tank. The heater today are junk.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    noob

    enthusiast
    Silver Member
    Rating - 100%
    41   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    4,284
    48
    New Orleans
    I replaced mine last year. With the newer version of the same heater, looks almost exactly the same. Works, I don’t have issues with running out of hot water though, and I want to say the unit was over 10 years old and was making a clunking noise from time to time so I replaced it.
     

    Magdump

    Don’t troll me bro!
    Rating - 100%
    163   0   0
    Dec 31, 2013
    9,396
    113
    Hammond, Louisiana
    I considered the tankless but after talking to a few previous owners and doing some research I just went back to the same style big ass heater I was removing. Every person I talked to including a local plumber told me they go cold faster than a big tank type. Gas over electric when you can.
     

    Nail Gun

    Blissfully Ignorant
    Rating - 97.4%
    38   1   0
    Aug 18, 2010
    846
    18
    Slidell
    I just had to replace my gas water heater. I went back and forth but decided to go with the familiar tank. I did the math and figured it would take too long to recoup the cost v.s. the monthly gas savings.

    Both the old tank and new tank were/are 50gal. With a family of 7 we have never run out of hot water.
     

    Barry J

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Dec 5, 2011
    1,334
    48
    Thibodaux
    I have a total electric house. When a water heater went out, I looked into a tankless. I was told they they take so much electricity that I would have to have another circuit run to the water heater. With the extra cost of an electrician, I decided to go back with a conventional water heater. I have two in my house, one for the two bathrooms and one for the kitchen and laundry.
     

    Bangswitch

    Well-Known Member
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    1   0   0
    Jan 10, 2019
    2,221
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    a location near you
    I considered the tankless but after talking to a few previous owners and doing some research I just went back to the same style big ass heater I was removing. Every person I talked to including a local plumber told me they go cold faster than a big tank type. Gas over electric when you can.

    From what my service manager says that’s a symptom of scaling causing valves in them.o to stay open.
     

    BlueShamu

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Oct 21, 2015
    319
    18
    D'town
    Replaced my attic gas fired water heater (tank type)earlier this year, like in kind.

    Rented a manual lift from Home Depot. My 20 y/o son helped me by cranking the lift while I worked from the attic. Wasn’t a bad job. Just be sure to drain the tank completely before you get started. Empty 50 gallon tank is small enough to bear hug and move around...at least for me, it was. I also got creative with some choker slings and used those to help me get a better grip.

    Good luck!




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    shrxfn

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Oct 25, 2015
    855
    28
    SWLA
    Once you go tankless you won't go back. I haven't had one last less than 12 years. The first one I installed in my old house is still working and I think that thing has been in there for like 20 years. The one in the new house had the circuit board go out after about 12 years and just got a new one with local support. The guys that installed it come out once a year and fluch the system to remove any scale in it so I figure it is just routine maintenance. I love never running out of hot water as the wife and kids take full hot water showers.
     

    MetalVendor

    Well-Known Member
    Premium Member
    Rating - 100%
    83   0   0
    Jan 16, 2017
    1,542
    83
    Jefferson
    Tankless are only good for gas hookups. If your house and current water heater are electric, tankless won't really work for you. But, if you're looking for a water heater manufacturer that is 100% made in the USA and good quality, you want a Bradford White. I can tell you with total knowledge and confidence that all Bradford White water heaters are completely manufactured in the USA (Michigan to be exact, so almost Canada! haha) with all American made components.
     

    mforsta

    Pops
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jun 25, 2012
    494
    28
    Denham Springs
    Right now I have a 50 gal electric Rheem water heater that is 22 years old. I'd say I got a good life out it. I added gas to the house a few months back with a possible swap over in mind so that's not a problem. Problem is I would have to replumb the water lines for a new location for the heater because of where the vent stack has to go. Back when I had gas run in the house the plumber gave me rough quote of $3000 for a tankless heater. Does that sound about right?
     

    shrxfn

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Oct 25, 2015
    855
    28
    SWLA
    Was that quote for the plumber to install it and buy it? I think I bought mine from my local gas company and they installed it for ~$1800 total. Usually around ~$1000 will get you a tankless heater that will service 3 hot water outlets at one time so say 2 showers and the kitchen sink at once. But I would ask for an itemized quote maybe the plumber was quoting you for all the other work as well like the new plumbing lines and vent stack and running gas lines to it.
     

    thperez1972

    ESSAYONS
    Staff member
    Gold Member
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Dec 28, 2015
    5,712
    113
    Baton Rouge, LA
    Once you go tankless you won't go back. I haven't had one last less than 12 years. The first one I installed in my old house is still working and I think that thing has been in there for like 20 years. The one in the new house had the circuit board go out after about 12 years and just got a new one with local support. The guys that installed it come out once a year and fluch the system to remove any scale in it so I figure it is just routine maintenance. I love never running out of hot water as the wife and kids take full hot water showers.

    I had to replace a water heater where I used to live and looked into tankless about 3 years ago. I will be replacing my water heater where I live now and again looked at tankless to see if there were any major advances. From what I have read, a lot of the monthly savings will be spent on the yearly flush.
     

    shrxfn

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Oct 25, 2015
    855
    28
    SWLA
    I saved a ton of money in my old house when I switched to tankless way more than if I had kept the tank version and I never flushed it out and it is still going strong after 20 years but it is also an indoor unit so that may have something to do with it.

    In the house we had built we went to a larger heater and it is an outdoor unit so it has to deal with a lot of weather as well as water quality. The original unit was a Takagi something or other and it lasted about 11 years and then the circuit board went out. We are on rural power so there are a lot of brownouts and flickers which could have contributed to the circuit board going out but until that happened it was going strong. The new unit is a Rinai I think and I am doing the flush out of an abundance of caution but think I could probably do it every other year and be fine.

    I think the biggest thing for me is never running out of hot water ever. I mean we can take 4 showers in a row and the water never gets cool. I mean you can't get that with a tank unless it was some huge tank.
     

    Jack

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    40   0   0
    Dec 9, 2010
    8,602
    63
    Covington
    Well it’s happened. My water heater, which of course was installed in my attic, started to leak. I’m looking for options and opinions on tankless water heaters. If anyone has one, let me hear some pros and cons.
    Thanks.

    This is why you should service your water heater. You should flush it every year or so and replace the anode rod. They make tanked water heaters with lifetime warranties(provided you flush them and change that rod).
     

    JADSCOOP

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 28, 2010
    73
    6
    LMP #1593
    Master Plumber
    I had one in my last house. I have one in my current home.
    If the tankless water heater is installed as per manufacturer specs. The owner services the water heater on a regular bases. It should last a long time.
    The number one problem we run across with non functioning tankless water heaters is the gas line is undersized.
    The home owner had a tank type water heat before they install a tankless in its place. The B.T.U. rating on the old tank type is 40,000 B.T.U. the new tankless water heater is 199,000 B.T.U.
    The tankless water heater will show a error code for insufficient fuel.
    On Christmas and Thanksgiving, without fail, we will get a call from a customer. "I have a house full of guest and no hot water." The washing machine and dryer is running, the dishwasher is on, the central heater is going, the stove and oven are in use. A tankless water heater is usually at the end of the gas line. It will starve for natural gas at that capacity.
     

    Jack

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 100%
    40   0   0
    Dec 9, 2010
    8,602
    63
    Covington
    Jadacoop, in your experience are the majority of issues with water heaters related to not flushing/changing anode rod? That’s what it seems like to me, but I’m sure you have infinitely more experience.
     

    JADSCOOP

    Well-Known Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 28, 2010
    73
    6
    These are the most common problems my plumbers see
    1) Improper Installation (gas line undersized) (not vented properly)
    2) Not Flushing The System ( scale build up ) ( descaling is something most home owners can do )
    3) Computer Board ( electrical problems)
     

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