# Tankless water heater



## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Yesterday we had a tankless water heater installed,supposed to be a whole lot more energy efficient. We will see.
Anyone had experience with one of these? Heats 3.5 gallons a minute while running shower or faucet.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Only from tv. Please, let us know how it works out. Me, living alone,I think it would be great, but not sure of the multiple uses at my fiances house.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Please report back in a week or so and let us know what you think. I really like the concept, but have no idea if they as well as advertised or not.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

Used them when I was in Japan for 12 years from 84-96. They are so awesome and I have no idea why America is so far behind the power curve on getting them as standard equipment in place of convential water heaters even on RV's! Don't know if they are really all that energy effceint to justfy a retrofit but being able to take a hour long scalding hot Hollywood shower until your fingers are wrinkled is golden!!!


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

If I was building a house today I would get a gas operated model no if, ands or buts about it!!!


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## Sharkbait (Feb 9, 2014)

Working in the HVAC industry,I"ve installed many of them over the years.Didn't sell as many vs standard hot water tanks due to the price difference,but yes they are much more efficient than a standard tank and never running out of hot water is the greatest.We've had ours for maybe 6 years now and it definately cost less to operate than our old tank did.


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## Rob Roy (Nov 6, 2013)

slewfoot said:


> Yesterday we had a tankless water heater installed,supposed to be a whole lot more energy efficient. We will see.
> Anyone had experience with one of these? Heats 3.5 gallons a minute while running shower or faucet.


got any pics?


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Rob Roy said:


> got any pics?


I have no pics. this is a link to the one I bought.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart...ectric-Tankless-Water-Heater-ECO-18/203316216


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

slewfoot said:


> I have no pics. this is a link to the one I bought.
> EcoSmart 18 kW Self Modulating 3.5 GPM Electric Tankless Water Heater-ECO 18 at The Home Depot


Thanks Slewfoot! That is really cheap. I thought they were much more expensive than that. That is less than I paid for the traditional water heater I put in a few years back.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

Propane/gas or electric?
Electric units require a lot of power.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Remember, the temp of the water going into the heater matters.... they will raise the temp x degrees and if your water is coming up from a deep well at 50 degrees...

I talked to a local contractor here..he said you needed to make sure you got the right unit based on your water temp

here is a good online article

What You Need to Know About Tankless Water Heaters Page 5


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## Hemi45 (May 5, 2014)

Sharkbait said:


> Working in the HVAC industry,I"ve installed many of them over the years.Didn't sell as many vs standard hot water tanks due to the price difference,but yes they are much more efficient than a standard tank and never running out of hot water is the greatest.We've had ours for maybe 6 years now and it definately cost less to operate than our old tank did.


They take up a lot less space too! I really can't speak to energy savings but we really like ours and would definitely get another if/when we move.


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## ajk1941 (Feb 17, 2013)

I've had a tankless hot water tank for a couple of years now. I've cut my LP usage by about 35% for the year.
Happy to have this reliable source of hot water. The down side is that in a power failure, it will not operate 
with out 110v. My 7500 watt LP generator will operate it along with most of the other circuits 
with the exception of the A/C.
I would not go back to the old style hot water tank...


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Can you get these that run on propane that don't need electric?


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## Casie (Feb 26, 2014)

I'm jealous!

We looked into it a couple years ago and were sad to discover our fuse box was the absolute minimum requirements for the unit. We decided it was risky and went traditional tank... just bigger.


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## SquirrelBait (Jun 6, 2014)

The only problem I would have with the tankless is that I would have no clean water storage is SHTF. As it stands now I have 50 Gallons to fall back on.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

tango said:


> Propane/gas or electric?
> Electric units require a lot of power.


Electric, It only comes on when you turn the hot water tap on. Does not keep coming on to keep the tank hot like standard heaters do, therefore very efficient.


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## ajk1941 (Feb 17, 2013)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Can you get these that run on propane that don't need electric?


The ignition is electric and I think the turbo for the LP is also 110volt. As soon as you turn off the hot water faucet the system shuts down.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

ajk1941 said:


> The ignition is electric and I think the turbo for the LP is also 110volt. As soon as you turn off the hot water faucet the system shuts down.


Awwww nuts then it wouldn't do me much good I'm looking for hot water when I'm off the grid. 
I'm going to be using a 12 volt pump out of a camper and tap into the pluming that I have now.
I have a small solar set up and I was thinking that flushing the toilet and taking a hot shower with the lights on would be
nice after the grid goes down.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

We have one at the cabin. I does use electricity for ignition but ours is powered by the solar panels, batteries and the inverter. You can't get further "off the grid" than the cabin.


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## KA5IVR (Jun 11, 2014)

Here is a photo of the one I put in last year. Supplies HW for my whole house. You can daisy-chain more than one together, if your demand requires it.

I vented it directly out of the side wall. You will need to use the service valves to Flush the tubes in the heater out every so often, which is about the only maintenance. It does not draw many Amps (110v), I was able to run it with my little 2000w generator during a ice storm this past winter.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

KA5IVR said:


> View attachment 5995
> 
> 
> Here is a photo of the one I put in last year. Supplies HW for my whole house. You can daisy-chain more than one together, if your demand requires it.
> ...


Looks to be gas. is your electrical used to ignite it?


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## KA5IVR (Jun 11, 2014)

slewfoot said:


> Looks to be gas. is your electrical used to ignite it?


Yes, the electric is to ignite it, run the control board, and it makes a sounds like there is a fan inside too when in use. That is why it is only 110v.

Basically... Tankless water heaters are Gas or LP and are for high demand of a whole house. The older and smaller Insta-Hot type water heaters which are Electric are for a "point of use" lower demand, like a single sink. A lot of people confuse the two or the terms.

Also, since the tankless heaters run on a gas, it is required to be vented to the outside. These tankless heaters use different vent piping than the tank type gas water heaters using the metal type B vent. The vent pipe is a double wall type of plastic because the exhaust is a low temperature and it provides fresh intake air as well. Lots of YouTube videos on these.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

KA5IVR said:


> Yes, the electric is to ignite it, run the control board, and it makes a sounds like there is a fan inside too when in use. That is why it is only 110v.
> 
> Basically... Tankless water heaters are Gas or LP and are for high demand of a whole house. The older and smaller Insta-Hot type water heaters which are Electric are for a "point of use" lower demand, like a single sink. A lot of people confuse the two or the term


Last night just to give it a test My wife showered in one bathroom while I showered in the other at the same time and we had no shortage of hot water and it is all electric 240 volt. So far we are quite happy with it. Now to wait a month to see how much less the power bill will be.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Was your old tank type water heater electric too? 

KA5IVR, can you please post the power (120 volt amp or wattage) spec for your gas heater?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

I think an instant hot water heater should be installed under every tap. That way you don't waste water running the water down the drain until it warms up. The instant hot water heater use a small tank - about two quarts that is kept warm so when you turn on the water it is hot - then the tankless water heater takes over and keeps the water hot for as long as it is on.


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## KA5IVR (Jun 11, 2014)

paraquack said:


> KA5IVR, can you please post the power (120 volt amp or wattage) spec for your gas heater?


Here is a link to the MFG's website: Commercial Tankless Gas Water Heaters
The model I have is the Rinnai RL94i, which can supply up to 9.8 gpm. Gas or LP, 120v, 97w, or less than 1 amp.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

paraquack said:


> Was your old tank type water heater electric too?


 Yes it was.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Inor said:


> Please report back in a week or so and let us know what you think. I really like the concept, but have no idea if they as well as advertised or not.


Well it has been a week now and we find no problems with it. It will take until the first of next month to see what the savings on the power bill will be.
Very happy with it.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

slewfoot said:


> Well it has been a week now and we find no problems with it. It will take until the first of next month to see what the savings on the power bill will be.
> Very happy with it.


Thanks for the update.


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## Smokin04 (Jan 29, 2014)

Inor said:


> Thanks Slewfoot! That is really cheap. I thought they were much more expensive than that. That is less than I paid for the traditional water heater I put in a few years back.


+1 Inor....


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Electric contractor here would love to sell me one with an install but he said not worth it in my case. We use a lot of hot water and have a very good 80 Gallon tank.
SHTF I will be using a system that passes through a wood/coal stove.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Got the power bill to day. The tankless water heater was in place for 3 of the 4 weeks billed for. The bill went from $214.46 down too $175.23. It will pay for its self.


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## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

I have this setup we use for camping and it works great!


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