Tank or Tankless Water Heater?

sneha1965 · #1 01-21-2012, 08:19 PM

I'm looking to get a new water heater and have been considering going tankless. I have heard however that it can take longer to get the water hot with the tankless. Does anyone have a tankless who can speak to this? Do you like the performance or is a tank water heater still the way to go?

iamlowsound · #2 01-21-2012, 08:32 PM

Tankless is better if you have natural gas in your home, if you don't get a regular tank heater.

lowsound

pie_man_25 · #3 01-21-2012, 08:32 PM

I've had a tankless in my place for the last year and a half or so. It's had a few problems with it, it was a bit of an adjustment and we had increase the water intake pipes to accomodate the fact that it heats the water as it gets it. We've also had a minor problem with an electronically controlled valve leaking. Other than that the performance has been flawless. We had to figure out a few things to get the thing working properly, but after that it was pretty good.

hover · #4 01-21-2012, 08:48 PM

I am getting a Rheem electric one installed in-line just for my shower. Old house, side-tank hot water off the boiler just doesn't cut it.

Soon. I hate half-warm showers.

MakiSupaStar · #5 01-21-2012, 08:55 PM

I like them but out here in California you have to have them near your gas main. You can't just replace the water heater with one. We have to put it by the main then run pipe to the bathrooms from it. To replace our water heater with one will cost me 3500 bucks.

nortonrider · #6 01-21-2012, 09:24 PM

if you have a lot of minerals in your water, a tankless can clog up.
just something to consider.

MJ5150 · #7 01-21-2012, 11:32 PM

We switched to a Rennai tankless about five years ago, and we love it. We never had a problem with time to heat up, it was actually quite faster. No issues running out either. The water pressure would decrease just a hair when the heater kicked on, but it always stayed hot.

At our rental here, it is a tank. I sure miss the tankless. I know a plumber here who may put one in for us while we live here.

-Mike

sneha1965 · #8 01-22-2012, 10:18 AM

Was the house with the tankless one or two story?

RosieB · #9 01-22-2012, 11:26 AM

I've had a tankless for about 5 years now. I hate it. We waste a lot of water waiting for the hot water to show up. Much more than with the tank. And there has to be certain amount of water pressure before it kicks on. No small stream of hot water is possible, even after the hot water arrives. If the pressure isn't pretty high, the water heater turns back off. And we still have to schedule showers due to the water pressure issue. Our is electric, and our house is a ranch.

I do have a friend who uses them for additions when a bathroom is involved. They seem to work well like that, just not necessarily whole-house.

MJ5150 · #10 01-22-2012, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneha1965

Was the house with the tankless one or two story?

Two story, 1836 square feet. Three showers, dishwasher, and washing machine. It was common to have two showers going at once, or back, to back, to back, then one of the washers going.

I can check on the model of the Rinnai if you want me to. It is a natural gas model.

RosieB....I wonder if something is incorrect with your install, or your model is undersized. Honestly, we never had any of those issues with ours.

-Mike

Floyd Eye · #11 01-22-2012, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Tankless is better if you have natural gas in your home, if you don't get a regular tank heater.

lowsound

This^

sneha1965 · #12 01-22-2012, 01:20 PM

We are electric. Don't know if that matters? We are two showers, dish washer and washing machine. Currently we loose a lot of water pressure if the shower is going and the toilet is flushed.

Jay Ralston · #13 01-22-2012, 01:24 PM

I just replaced my hot water heater 2 weeks ago with a 50 gallon one from Home Depot. I bought the extended warranty with it which cover parts and labor for life. It was too good of a deal to pass up on. While shopping for it though I asked the Home Depot guy about the new tankless ones and he said they were not worth the money. He said he did a figure comparison against the one I was buying and by the time he would have gotten his money back on the tankless one, it would have been in excess of 30 years not to mention all of the re-plumbing a person needs to do.

sneha1965 · #14 01-22-2012, 01:29 PM

Wow. So we have some folks who like them and some who don't. This is a similar split I have when talking with friends family. My youngest sister just finished building a custom home and they opted for the tank stating reasons Ray has mentioned. My eldest sister had purchased a tankless for her rental and stated that she had never had a problem. As of now I'm still on the fence.

iamlowsound · #15 01-22-2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosieB

I've had a tankless for about 5 years now. I hate it. We waste a lot of water waiting for the hot water to show up. Much more than with the tank. And there has to be certain amount of water pressure before it kicks on. No small stream of hot water is possible, even after the hot water arrives. If the pressure isn't pretty high, the water heater turns back off. And we still have to schedule showers due to the water pressure issue. Our is electric, and our house is a ranch.

I do have a friend who uses them for additions when a bathroom is involved. They seem to work well like that, just not necessarily whole-house.

Sounds like something isn't set up correctly with your plumbing.

lowsound

Mike N · #16 01-22-2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I like them but out here in California you have to have them near your gas main. You can't just replace the water heater with one. We have to put it by the main then run pipe to the bathrooms from it. To replace our water heater with one will cost me 3500 bucks.

Sure can buy a bunch of tank style heaters for that kind of money.

i_got_a_mohawk · #17 01-22-2012, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosieB

I've had a tankless for about 5 years now. I hate it. We waste a lot of water waiting for the hot water to show up. Much more than with the tank. And there has to be certain amount of water pressure before it kicks on. No small stream of hot water is possible, even after the hot water arrives. If the pressure isn't pretty high, the water heater turns back off. And we still have to schedule showers due to the water pressure issue. Our is electric, and our house is a ranch.

I do have a friend who uses them for additions when a bathroom is involved. They seem to work well like that, just not necessarily whole-house.

Depends on the kind of you get I guess. My one takes 10-15 seconds from turning the tap for the water to get hot. I only have one bathroom in my flat, but you can have the shower running and the hot water taps without any real drop in pressure. At my folks house you could have all three showers running without any noticeable drop in pressure too.

While you will use a bit more water, you don't waste energy keeping water hot (or heating water which ends up not getting used and ends up needing heated again). Also nice not having to wait for the water to heat!

But I guess it does come to personal preference in many ways. Certainly don't think I'd go back to having a tank.

sneha1965 · #18 01-22-2012, 01:40 PM

I sure do like the concept of the tankless. It seems a waste to heat water constantly.

MJ5150 · #19 01-22-2012, 01:53 PM

We didn't buy ours for the money saving aspect, the tank was just fine when we replaced it. That being said, I have no idea on the RoI for that. I just wanted more room in my garage, instant hot water, and I got a chance to play with PEX and SharkBite fittings.

-Mike

sneha1965 · #20 01-22-2012, 02:04 PM

Mike, you did your own install? You need a special certification to install those correct? Maybe you're certified?