Tankless water heater?

Post #236,390 by Steve Lowe 11/29/05 2:46:10 AM Reply	Tankless water heater? I happened into the bathroom the other day while my son was bathing (playing with Bionicles is more accurate) and noticed that the bathwater was yellowish. My first question was "Did you pee?!?" "No," came the reply. So I shrugged my shoulders figuring maybe it was the soap/shampoo/conditioner that he hadn't used yet. Then I stoppped in my tracks. Went back in the bathroom, filled the (white) sink with cold water. Clear. Turned on hot water, noticed the odor, filled the sink when it ran warm. Looks like light-colored pee, and smells rank. Yup, it's time for new hot water heater. Perusing the home depot/lowe's sites, I notice that the tankless water heaters are becoming common. I seem to recall someone here mentioning they'd installed one and were happy with the results. Admin maybe? Search isn't helping me. In quick comparison, I'm looking at ~$350-400 for a 40-50 gallon standard hot water heater, and ~$500-600 for what looks like the equivalent capacity tankless unit. The advantages being 1) they're much more efficient. 81-82% vs. 56-58% I'm seeing on standar units, 2) take up much less space, and 3) longer service life. 1 and 2 are obvious, 3 remains to be seen. So, is anyone using one, or have other comments about these? Did I mention the transmission in our van started acting up today? I think it's going to be an unusually expensive December. -- Steve [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu]
Post #236,393 by tuberculosis 11/29/05 3:20:05 AM 8/21/07 12:47:40 PM Reply	I've used several different kinds Never owned one though. Our flat in Paris had a gas on-demand heater that also heated up the water in the radiators. It noticed flow rate on the hot water pipes and lit up - few seconds later and it was scalding hot. Electric ones I've seen are the shower head variety - don't cover the whole building. New microwave based ones have come out recently. I'd wager they're pretty decent these days. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 12:47:40 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #236,401 by broomberg 11/29/05 6:38:39 AM Reply	Review this discussion It was triggered by the marketing announcement of a microwave based one, which was deemed a really poor alternative to the others. But the discussion itself has a lot of good info on water heater technology. [link\|http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/25/0413215&threshold=1&tid=126&tid=14\|http://science.slash...=1&tid=126&tid=14]
Post #236,403 by Another Scott 11/29/05 7:08:13 AM Reply	Discussion here. [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=128805\|#128805] (found by searching for "tankless"). HTH. Luck with the heater and the tranny! Cheers, Scott.
Post #236,965 by lincoln 12/3/05 9:59:12 PM Reply	"This Old House" is big on them these days They've been installing them for the past 2 or 3 seasons. Would love to get a pair myself - our house was built in the fall of 1999 and it seems like both hot water heater tanks are taking longer to heat up the water, and it doesn't get as hot as it did when we bought the house 3 years ago. lincoln "Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from." -- E.L. Doctorow Never apply a Star Trek solution to a Babylon 5 problem. [link\|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net\|contact me]
Post #236,969 by Steve Lowe 12/4/05 12:25:35 AM Reply	I ended up conventional. I looked at several local stores, nobody stocked one adequate for a whole home - but they'd be happy to order one for me at 2-3 days delivery. Since I felt failure was imminent, and failure would ruin a living area of our home, I opted for the 'better' (their rating) GE 40 gallon model from Home Depot. Next time, I hope to make a pre-emptive strike. -- Steve [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu]
Post #236,970 by drewk 12/4/05 12:42:04 AM Reply	Never happen Hot water heaters are one of those things that never gets replaced until it fails. And once it fails, you don't have time to research it. === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]
Post #236,987 by Ashton 12/4/05 6:58:46 AM Reply	Re: "This Old House" is big on them these days Two questions come to mind: How hard is the water there? Have you ever partly- drained the water heater to get some of the bottom sediment out, before it turns to insulating concrete around the coils? OK: 2\ufffd - ever hear popping sounds, as the heater warms up? (That's usually chunks coming off the solidified coating; for most - that signals, "you waited too long".) All other things being 'normal', and the odds against failure of two thermostats (even to '05 standards) being long.. I wot that very few ever use that drain valve. (I include myself, though I tend to remember at least annually; so far OK after ~ 20 yrs. Not terribly 'hard' water though.)

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