Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Some of you may remember the thread I started a month or two ago here .

Long story short... we are in the house now. We have no separate hot water storage tank in the house.

We can take a shower... and I guess the water is "hot enough". But I come from the city where I am used to HOT HOT water (I am talking 140 degrees and up) This is somewhat of a culture shock for me now being in my first house.

We are going to start to explore the option of a supplemental hot water heater. We have two options that I can think of.


Hot water heater tank: Would need to be installed in a separate area from my furnace (some piping would need to be run... maybe 10feet or so). I have the space available.... but I heard electric for these tanks can kill you since its on all the time (whether you are running water or not).

or

Tankless water heater: This is a new technology that I did a search on this website and nobody seems to talk about. Here is a link to one I am talking about. This device will heat your water on-demand... meaning it will only run when you run your hot water. This will use a lot less electric. The size of it will also allow me to install this right next to my furnace which will keep the piping needed to a minimum. This will also run endlessly if needed... and I would theoretically never run out of hot water since there is no tank to empty.


I have 100A breakers in my house... and installing either option would probably mean I would have to upgrade my electric first. I know the tankless heater has some hefty electrical requirements to run (when its on). Does anyone here have a hot water tank of at least 30gal and have 100A electric?

Both options would probably cost the same to install (around $1500 or so).


I am leaning towards giving the tankless solution a shot since it seems more practical. But I don't know a single person that has this in their house... I don't want to be a "guinea pig".


Any opinions on this?

Thanks.

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Why dont you just raise the temperature of the water on your boiler?

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

I know a two people with the tankless and its on our our "wish List" for future upgrades on the house, its just not a necessity right now. They both have great things to say about it, I think the initial setup is more expensive but its compact and more efficient energy and $$ wise.

From personal experience the electric hot water heater will kill you with LIPA, can you get a Gas hot water heater?

I agree, with Scott too in that a simple solution would be to turn up the water temp on the boiler, typically we turn it down in our house in the summer and up in the winter.... its actually too hot - I have to warn people not to burn themselves.

HTH

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Rich, Call your oil company.....Do you have a contract? Their responsible for repairing your boiler
Scott

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

We had a tankless and unfortunately I did not like it. we actually just disconnected it and installed a traditional 40 gal tank. For these on-demand heaters to work everything has to be perfect, gas flow, pilot. height and strength, etc. Also there are very few people who service these and no one ever has parts to fix it so you have to wait to get it repaired, which means no hot water.I would not recommend it. You never run out of hot water though.

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

I'm not sure I understand your question. Mine was totally free standing and was not connected to the furnace at all. It had coils that would heat up and it was connected to a gas line and water line. When we needed hot water it would run the water through the coils to heat it. Our heat is oil and had nothing to do with the water heater. Basically if you are using it as a backup to something else you should be ok, just wanted to give you feedback as to having it at your only hot water source.

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

we actually had it turned down cause it was to HOT

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Hey....I used to work in HVAC as a cust svc rep. I could send you to some of my old co-workers that can give you pros and cons of tank vs tankless, etc.

Let me know if you want a referral

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

My DH's cousin had this installed last year,SWEARS BY IT.
We also love the idea & just like you,it would be a "booster" to an already exsisting furnace. In other words,not your only water source.
Although he said it cost him $1000. Maybe because he,himself installed it?

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

found this info for you! Hope it helps!!

info on tankless water heaters

Re: Hot Water Heater Options - Tank or Tankless ???

an article from the times
December 18, 2005
Your Home
Water Heaters: Tanks or No Tanks?
By JAY ROMANO
FEW people would run a car all day so it's warm when they're ready to drive. But many homeowners basically do something just like that when they use tank-type water heaters in their houses. "That's why I like tankless water heaters," said Alex Wilson, executive editor of Environmental Building News, a trade newsletter published in Brattleboro, Vt.

Mr. Wilson said that with tank-type models, water is heated to a preset temperature and maintained at that level 24 hours a day. "Think of the energy you're wasting heating water sitting in the tank," he said.

A more energy-efficient alternative, he said, is a tankless unit, where the burner is activated by a flow valve and the water is heated only when used.

But not all tankless heaters are created equal. While older tankless water heaters use a pilot light to provide ignition, newer models use an electric spark, eliminating the energy loss attributable to the pilot light. With many older tankless heaters, Mr. Wilson said, the burner is either all on or off, making it difficult to regulate the temperature when the supply coming in is cooler (such as in winter) or when more than one appliance is being used.

The new generation of tankless water heaters addresses that problem. Bobby Bellini, president of Varsity Plumbing and Heating in Flushing, Queens, said that by using modulating controls, the burners produce enough heat - and only enough heat - to raise the temperature of the water to the desired level.

"Think of it this way," Mr. Bellini said. "If your tankless heater has four burners, you might use only one burner when you're using tap water, two burners when you're running the shower, and all four burners when you're running the shower and the washing machine at the same time."

He noted that since it takes more energy to heat water running through a tankless unit to a preset temperature than it takes to maintain water already at that temperature, the burners in a tankless unit typically consume more energy when they're working.

But, he said, while a tank-type heater is always busy maintaining the preset temperature, a tankless unit is working only when necessary. And that, Mr. Bellini said, translates into lower energy bills if the same amount of hot water is used.

Alan B. Linsky, president of Seneca Plumbing and Heating Supply in Buffalo, said other advantages of tankless heaters are that they take up less room, that some have remote-control devices, and that all produce a virtually endless supply of hot water. Also, he said, while tank-type heaters have a life expectancy of 10 years or so, tankless units can last 25 to 30 years.

But, Mr. Linsky said, since the gas supply lines in many homes may not be not large enough to adequately supply a tankless heater, larger gas lines may have to be installed to maintain a proper flow rate. And since tankless heaters burn hotter than tank-type units and use more air for combustion, the heater should be properly vented and have an adequate supply of incoming air.

Tim Carter, a nationally syndicated home-improvement columnist, said that while tankless heaters may be more energy-efficient than tank-type units, homeowners should ensure that the savings they hope to achieve will justify the cost of buying and installing a tankless heater.

Most gas-fired tank-type heaters, he said, cost $250 to $500. A gas-fired tankless unit costs $500 to $1,000. Since most homes already have a tank-type heater, he said, installing a tank-type replacement results in minimal installation costs. Installing a tankless unit is more complicated and can be much more expensive - costs vary according to location and labor - particularly if gas lines have to be changed. "You have to crunch the numbers," Mr. Carter said.



Copyright 2005The New York Times Company