Thoughts on tankless water heaters

[Enthusiast]

I've been working on some house projects lately and thought that it's been 7 years since my last water heater has to be replaced. Last time I caught it right after it sprung a leak before it flooded beyond the floor of the utility room. Unfortunately, the room doesn't have a drain and it's in the finished basement so I worry about what happens if I am not so lucky next time.

I've heard others claim that tankless heaters have sensors to prevent such leaks from flooding.

The only person I knew when has used one was an early adopter and hated it saying it didn't get things as hot as advertised.

I have read they require annual maintenance.

Here are my questions

1. Is this true that tankless water heaters will not result in flooding when they fail when compared to tank water heaters?
2. What are your experiences good and bad with the units?
3. Can the annual maintenance be a DIY job for a noob or is this a professional only job? And what are typical annual maintenance costs for a professional?
4. How long do they typically last in the real world?

 

[JWC86]

1. Not sure

2. I’ve had both, they have there pros and cons but I like tankless better.

3. Yes they need to be flushed or they will probably not last long. More so if you have hard water. It is a very simple job. I picked up a small utility pump for around $60 I think and two short hoses that are meant for a wash machine hook up. All you have to do is put the pump in a bucket with a gallon of vinger and hook of the hoses to the heater. I let it run for a couple hours. Very easy to diy and after buying the pump/hoses it only cost you a gallon of vinegar, a few bucks from Costco. I do this 2-3 times a year.

4. I’ve had mine for 11 years so far.

Main benefit is you never run out of hot water. The other day we ran the dishwasher, wash machine and 4 of us had showers back to back.

Biggest down side is it takes a while to get hot water to the tap. You’ll never wash your hands with hot water again lol.

 

[loneryder]

It depends on your location. If you’re not in the Deep South, electric will not work for you. You need a natural gas heater. They are noisy so you need to put them on an outside wall of the garage. I had an electric one in SW Florida and it worked great. It was next to the dishwasher and I still had to run it to get it up to temp before turning on the dishwasher. Once it’s hot you never run out of hot water.

 

[Lapham3]

We decided to replace our 42 year old traditional water heater and considered tankless, but our utility that we use as insurance for a replacement program of failed appliances, wouldn't include tankless as they said too many failures.

 

[Kira]

I must've used a score different ones throughout Europe. They were all different ages.
I was an "easier to please" young man then, so if the soap got off me, I was OK with it.

No idea about 1, 3 and 4.

I've heard that rinsing the shampoo from longer hair is a common complaint.

 

[wander2039]

We've had our Rhianna tankless for 7-8 years. The big big question is gas or electric?? I'd only go gas tankless. No issues yet. Every year I do a vinegar flush for a hour. It's no louder than the washer or dryer it sets next to. We can run at least 3 faucets at once. It did take quite a bit to install.. but our house needed new gas and water lines so I did everything at once. 3/4 csst and 3/4 pex with 1/2 branches.. spoils a person!

 

[Snagglefoot]

I saw the invoice of a lady who had a natural gas fueled tankless water heater installed. The invoice, including tearing out the old water heater tank and installing the tankless unit was equivalent to $3500 US. A ordinary tank style water heater could have been done for 1/2 that. There was some piping done to get the unit to the wall. Can anyone describe what it cost them to purchase and have a tankless unit installed?

If the the original tank unit was in a heated basement ( very common in Canada) , a tankless unit does not really offer much energy savings except perhaps in the summer if the house is air conditioned and a water heater would have added excess heat, or alternatively if the tank unit was in a unheated basement and had heat loss to the basement air in winter. The part about endless hot water is correct and might be the ticket for large families.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I have a rinnai natural gas - builder installed 9 years ago. I love it. Endless hot water, operating cost seems low. Your supposed to back flush it annually with vinegar - but I never have - our water here is naturally pretty soft with no minerals so I think that would depend a lot.

FWIW - two teanage daughters - off to college now but that thing ran constantly for years.

I imagine now that I am bragging on it - it will fail tomorrow. Either way I got my money out of it.

 

[doitmyself]

I've heard others claim that tankless heaters have sensors to prevent such leaks from flooding.

I cannot find any info in a Google search that shows this. It seems that both tankless and tank water heaters can corrode and leak. There are add-on sensors and shutoff valves systems available for both styles.

I would investigate the installation and operating costs of each system and especially compare the pros and cons to see which best suits your needs. My initial investigation regarding flood prevention did not differ with either system. Maybe someone with knowledge can cover this.

 

[Cujet]

Just a reminder that a Hybrid water heater, in the garage, does a wonderful job of keeping the garage cool. So, at least for hot locations, the hybrid water heater has a nice secondary benefit.

I wouldn't want one inside my home, if I were up North. As it would cool off the home during the winter. Remember, the "heat" has to come from somewhere.

 

[tbm5690]

Advantageous for multiple users, large soaking tubs, etc. You can also install a recirculation pump to truly get unlimited hot water immediately after cracking open the faucet.

 

[Cropduster172]

7 years isn't that old for a water heater. Replace the anode rod, flush it once/year and get something like this:

https://a.co/d/5P3bC3J

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Biggest down side is it takes a while to get hot water to the tap. You’ll never wash your hands with hot water again lol.

That has a lot to do with the sizing of your lines and distance. Older homes have larger supply lines throughout the house so they have to move more water.

 

[JavierH19]

Living in Texas where outages happen a lot i will never want something electric given how many times my natural gas boiler worked during power outages. Same with my heater, it still needs power but way less so it'll run on regular gas generator power.

 

[JWC86]

That has a lot to do with the sizing of your lines and distance. Older homes have larger supply lines throughout the house so they have to move more water.

Our home is about 10years old, not sure if thats what you consider old or not.

 

[JustinH]

I have a gas tankless heater in a 2019 house in Texas. Rinnai brand.

We like it fine, it takes a while to get hot water rolling to the taps, especially the back bathroom (master).

Aside from that you can do laundry and run two showers at once no problem, and never run out of hot water.

Takes a while to get water up to temp in winter, but winter is short lived down here, not sure how much patience it would take in the north to get it hot.

Mine is mounted on an interior wall of the garage, and I can hear it running. Flush with vinegar twice a year, no big deal.

 

[alarmguy]

For the first time in my life after decades of owning homes we have a tankless water heater in our new home of 6 months old.
After living with it for 6 months I can say without doubt I prefer a 50 gallon water heater. We never ran out of hot water with a 50 gallon heater. It's maintenance free pretty much just replace every 10 to 15 years.

The tankless heater works fine in our new home but will REQUIRE as much as annual coil cleanings depending on your water supply.
As another commented, forget about ever turning on the faucet expecting hot water anytime soon. I do not think they save any money, I most likely run and waste more water than ever waiting for the hot water to wash my hands and actually just turn on the cold water for that and my toothbrush or else I am firing up the tankless heater only to turn off the water before I get any hot water *LOL*.
It's a well known brand Rannai and its not bad but I dont get the point of it when I can have 50 gallons of hot water ready for me all the time and not have to have the coils cleaned to maintain the hot water.

It is true that it saves space and that maybe important in some homes, including our new home, but if your someone with a basement I wouldnt replace a standard water heater with a tankless. For the cost and installation of the tankless and maintenance over ten years it would exceed replacing a standard heater every 10 years I would think.

To me, tankless is a cost saving measure for new home builders and a 50 gallon standard water heater is the new luxury.

 

[SHOZ]

Make sure to match it to the incoming water temp. 40F-50F rise is about the best you can get I think.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The only people I've ever heard say anything negative about tankless heaters are those who do not own one.
I have never heard anyone who has a tankless heater have anything negative to say about them.

 

[thastinger]

Advantageous for multiple users, large soaking tubs, etc. You can also install a recirculation pump to truly get unlimited hot water immediately after cracking open the faucet.

No, you can't. You would be heating water nearly continuously doing that with a tankless. If you want that, get a tank heater.