Anyone got rid of their water heater....

[Rob Littleton]

and got one of those intant water heaters that take up a quarter of the size of the original. Rinnair I think is a brand but I see the borg has them too. I'm seriously thinking about doing it. Any experiences out there? good or bad? cheers

[Jim Becker]

I had planned on replacing the old electric water heater when it died a couple years ago with one, but couldn't satisfy the flue requirements for the 240,000 btu unit I wanted to install. So we ended up with an 82% efficiency power-vented gas 50 gallon tank unit that we could accomodate within code. (The tankless could not use the existing flue and could not be exhausted properly otherwise due to the way our basment is totally underground on three sides and had no way to get a 5" stack our through the 22" thick stone walls on the one side that is exposed about a foot or so)

That said, I'd seriously consider one for our future addition which will have independed HW (and HVAC) from the rest of the house. There are a number of brands out there. One site that has several (not an endorsement, just for illustration) is http://www.tanklesswaterheaters.com/

[Norman Hitt]

Rob, do a search here on the forum, because there was a post about this a while back that had quite a few replies and a lot of good information in them. One thing that came up was that some models have a small 1 or 2 gal tank, (and I think they were electric models IIRC), but everyonme said that after a year or so, the water they put out has a very bad taste and smell, and to be sure to get a true "Tankless" model. Other than that, the replies seemed to all be positive.

I can say, that I had about 5 1/2 years experience with one in an apartment when I lived in Europe, and I can't say enough good things about it. It was a Tankless, gas fired unit, and you literally could not run it out of hot water, but I don't know what size it was either. Since the runs to the sink, and bathroom were short, the hot water was almost instantaneous. It gave absolutely no trouble, and the water there was LOADED with minerals. I have no idea how old the unit was, as it was in the apartment when I moved in and sure didn't look new then, and it was still going strong when I left 5 1/2 years later.

[Bob Mooney]

Rob,

Rinnai is supposed to be an excellent brand. I posted a question about this a few weeks ago, and I'm going that route. Its stated on Rinnai's web site that it produces 8.5 gallons per minute. I spoke with a plumbing inspector from NJ that said he's got one, and he knows of quite a few people in his area that have 'em and love 'em!

Bob

[Hal Flynt]

I installed a Takagi Tankless about 3 months ago and won't go back to a tank.

[Jim Dalton]

We just built a new house in NC and installed a Rennai. It has been teriffic. Our builder will not build without putting one in. It will make hot water till your well runs dry. I could not recommend it more strongly.

[Joe Mioux]

I have had one in my greenhouses for years. It is the only way to go.

[Kevin Beck]

Does anyone have any experience with electric tankless water heaters? My water heater is on its last legs (18 years old) and I am considering going tankless. No possibility of using natural gas or propane in our house.

Thanks,

Kevin