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Looking to replace our water heater before it leaves a flood on our floor like the last one. I'm considering the new tankless heaters. Anyone here have any experience with these?
Tanks in advance.
Mike
I work on the 50-50-90 rule: If there's a 50-50 choice, I'll pick the wrong one 90% of the time!
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All I can tell you is that the install is pricey. Gas or Electric? I put in a Rheem 4gpm (gallons per minute) for a friend and I had to run a 240v #10 wire with a 2 pole 60 amp breaker. 4GPM will barely run a shower and nothing else. I would bet a whole house unit would require a larger electrical service.. And, it can leak too. If you are worried about water heaters leaking, just buy a better water heater and replace it at it's life expectancy. And, install a pan under it. They make them with drain lines. They usually don't blow out all at once, usually you see signs of leaking for quite a while before they go.
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Snipe Hunter said:
All I can tell you is that the install is pricey. Gas or Electric? I put in a Rheem 4gpm (gallons per minute) for a friend and I had to run a 240v #10 wire with a 2 pole 60 amp breaker. 4GPM will barely run a shower and nothing else. I would bet a whole house unit would require a larger electrical service.. And, it can leak too. If you are worried about water heaters leaking, just buy a better water heater and replace it at it's life expectancy. And, install a pan under it. They make them with drain lines. They usually don't blow out all at once, usually you see signs of leaking for quite a while before they go.
Installation cost isn't a problem, I can do the electrical work, and my neighbor is retired from the gas company, so he can do the gas lines. I'm looking at a Rinnai unit rated at 7.5gpm.
The last tank rusted out at the bottom without warning, flooded the basement and was running while I was at work, no idea for how long, it still had 2 years left on its' "predicted" lifecycle. This unit is at the same point in time, so want to get a jump on it.
Obviously, a tank is an option. but thought I would look at the tankless ones available here. When I was in England tankless was all they had, and I noticed no real difference. But, the units they have there are not the same manufacturers we have here, so ours may not operate the same. Reason for asking about them here.
Mike
I work on the 50-50-90 rule: If there's a 50-50 choice, I'll pick the wrong one 90% of the time!
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Many are made by a company in Japan and just re labeled ie under the Rinna I name which imo is an overpriced name as they spend lots on advertising.
Lots of others out there. I have thought about one as well however they have one major issue and that's increased water and gas usage. When you have never ending hot water the females in our house would never get out of the shower. They need to incorporate some kind of timer that would shut the hot water off for a minute and prompt them to get out of the shower.
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If you want to do your whole house, go gas. I looked at one for my previous house but didn't do it since we were all-electric. Electric tankless will require almost a separate service and won't perform as well as gas.
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Mike
I work on the 50-50-90 rule: If there's a 50-50 choice, I'll pick the wrong one 90% of the time!
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crokett™ said:
If you want to do your whole house, go gas. I looked at one for my previous house but didn't do it since we were all-electric. Electric tankless will require almost a separate service and won't perform as well as gas.
Yep. Gas is the method I'm going with. All of the lines are in place, and he (neighbor) says the supply line is large enough to handle the extra demand of a tankless.
I also lucked out that the kitchen was all electric when we bought the house. It's now gas, but I left the 220 runs and the breaker, so hookup will be easy as well.
Mike
I work on the 50-50-90 rule: If there's a 50-50 choice, I'll pick the wrong one 90% of the time!
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We've had a Rinnai since 2004. It's still going strong. It's NG. We can take 2 showers at the same time. It does cool down slightly for about 10 seconds if someone starts a shower when the other person is already in the shower. Not a big deal for us. We'll never install a tank type water heater again.
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What model do you have, any idea? What's the gpm rating?
Thanks, need to hear from users.
Mike
I work on the 50-50-90 rule: If there's a 50-50 choice, I'll pick the wrong one 90% of the time!
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I'm tempted to post a welcomeless post.
