Tom, A couple of thoughts for you:
First, remember that a "tankless" water heater is a differential heater. This means that, at a certain flow rate, the device will raise the temperature of the water a specified number of degrees. E.g., at 5 gal / minute, a unit may raise the temperature 40 degrees. More if the flow rate is less, less if the flow rate is more. So when you are looking at the options, you really need to know what the coldest the water supply to your house gets and how hot you would like the water. Second, tankless water heaters use two to three times the amount of current as a traditional water heater, so you will have to install a much larger breaker and run larger gauge wires to the unit. Third, there are two types of tankless water heaters, "point of service" and "total service." Point of service units are small and intended to be installed at or near the appliance they serve, e.g., under a sink to serve just that sink. Total service units are, of course, installed in the hot water piping system and are intended to serve the entire house. I have looked into buying a tankless heater, mostly to conserve space in my garage by removing the large tank heater. But, I live in central Florida where the temperature rarely dips below freezing and my water service rarely gets below 75 degrees. Units that will serve my needs are not much more expensive than tank models. But, from what I have seen, If you live up north and require a Unit which can really heat up very cold water, the price really goes up $1,000 or more. I can get one that will work here for around $250. Darrin Darrin Porter Senior Technical Engineer United Ocean Services, L.L.C. 601 South Harbour Island Boulevard, Suite 230 Tampa, Florida 33602 (813) 209-4247 (office) (813) 744-0011 (cellular phone) (813) 242-4849 (fax) [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tom Hodges Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Tankless Water Heater My water heater is about to quit on me after about fifteen years of service and I'm considering converting to a tankless water heater. I am considering going to tankless because I've heard there could be considerable savings in the long run. Does anyone on here have any experience with tankless water heaters or would anyone have a recommendation for a particular brand. On the other hand, would anyone recommend that I not go this route, and stick with the tank heater, due to a bad experience with the tankless type. Any help on this subject would be appreciated. Regards, Tom Hodges [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ________________________________ Attention: This email and any accompanying attachments constitute confidential and/or legally privileged information. If you have received this email communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the message and any attachments from your system. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
