Tankless water heater

[krinkle]

Farm boy Im surprised to hear they sized 2 heaters for your house but then where able to meet your needs with one 50 gallon. 200,000 btu units will deliver 5 to 6 gallons a minutes of continues hot water. That 2 showers and a sink running at the same time. Plenty good for most average families.

You want someone that knows what they are doing to install your tankless heater. What we look at for installation is gas piping, where we can vent and fresh air, water pipe sizing in the home, distance to fixtures and if a recirc loop will be needed (tankless heaters offer endless hot water not instant hot water. It will take longer to get hot water to your fixtures.), pipe insulation, hardness of water, electrical source and how the well is cycling.

[ribsey_77]

I have 2 Bosch units and i love them. One for domestic use and the other one is for my in floor heat. I can run two showers and sink no problem there at all, and never run out. You do need to have the right size and pressure gas line cause most tankless heaters take more BTU's than everything else in your house. If you have any questions contact your gas company. And farmboy why would you not be able to place one your area, cause the inspector has no idea how they work so that does means that they are not ok?

[Farmboy1]

The plumbing insector in Rochester says that you are unable to determine the quantity of water (ie size the unit properly) so they are currently not allowing them. This has caught on in the surrounding communities that is serviced by one subcontracted inspection firm (CMS), so they are not allowed in these areas either. I expect this to change, but at this time they are not allowed if you are getting inspections.

[Redlantern]

Farmboy, that inspector seems to be missing something or else I am. Any plumber with a license ought to be able to tell how much volume can go through the pipes. It's all in the codebook. Same thing with gas requirements.

[Farmboy1]

Farmboy, that inspector seems to be missing something or else I am. Any plumber with a license ought to be able to tell how much volume can go through the pipes. It's all in the codebook. Same thing with gas requirements.

I agree, and I think it will take some time, but Rochester has always tended to have their own little code book. Not much can be done about it until it is sorted out. Really stupid IMHO.

[MNice]

The plumbing inspector in Rochester says that you are unable to determine the quantity of water (ie size the unit properly) so they are currently not allowing them. This has caught on in the surrounding communities that is serviced by one subcontracted inspection firm (CMS), so they are not allowed in these areas either. I expect this to change, but at this time they are not allowed if you are getting inspections.

Sorry, but you have a bad plumbing inspector. All the specs are in with the unit and in the code.

[FishLocker]

I used tankless heaters for years in my carpet cleaning company with intense use, the abuse of bouncing around in the back of the truck and sometimes running for 8 or 9 hours without stopping. Never had a breakdown. The brand was Junkers (Yunkers, German company) that has been bought out by Bosch.

[FishLocker]

I found maintenance pretty easy even under heavy commercial use. I would keep an eye on the HSO classifieds for Water Heaters. You may find an electric as well as a Tankless for sale.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Just wondered how this turned out?

I have a 7.4gpm Paloma (Rheem) tankless and it was the best money I ever spent. Bought it online for half of retail ($550) spent 300 on install supplies. Installed it myself, pretty simple if you have a little experience.

It needs it's own gas line,and soft water is a must. If you have problems,the unit is undersized,installed improperly,or is a poor machine. We can run both showers,washer,dishwasher,and open 4 hot taps on our sinks and all will scald you.

I ran a seperate line outside that I hook up to my power washer,dial the heater up to 180 degrees,and it's great for degreasing tractors,engines.

The more water you use,the more you'll save. We use a ton of water,and we save $80-$90/month over the 100gal. Rheem marathon electric we used to use.

I researched them for quite sometime before making the jump,and after digging deeper into the poor reviews,they were almost always caused by one of the reasons I listed above.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Still thinking about it. For now our 20 year old tank is working ok, so I will not jump into anything until summer when I can work on an install comfortably. I need to vent it differently than the tank.

[Archerysniper]

Have you checked into off peak electric heaters most areas you can talk to the eletric company and get a break on the cost of the heater and you get a break on the power cost through off peak. All the energy you put into a electric heater goes too heating the water you don't loose any thru venting like a gas heater. Just another thought.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Our elec co doesn't offer any off peak programs,but they did sell us the 100 gal Rheem marathon for $200.

Besides the cost of operating,@3 gal per minute,it'd run cold after a little over a half hour,and with the daughters showering,washer,dishwasher running,it happened every night. Unlimited hot water is nice.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Nope, the project is dead for now. Moved on to something else for now. Will have to address the issue someday, but for now we will just continue to wear out the tank we have now. Thanks for all the input and I hope some others read this too and learned a thing or two.

[MNice]

FYI, I just finished installing my eternal heater and it's great. 145,000 btu, did 2 showers wonderfully, don't know about 3 yet. The energy sticker on my electric was $580, the gas is $220 ish I think. Total cost to me is about $1600 with all parts, venting,gas,etc. I did get the unit for cost so that was a big savings, after the 30% tax break it won't be much more than a power vent tank model. Hope this trial does well.