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Old 01-25-2021, 01:00 PM
Slothead56 Slothead56 is offline
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Default Tankless Water Heater-experiences and recommendations?

We have a 4 bedroom (sleeps up to 8) seasonal beach house in NJ. Our current full size heater is 80 gallons, gas fired.

I’m looking to replace this, maybe soon, maybe not, with a tankless. Primary reason is the seasonality of the property. 6 months a year no one is home. I turn the temp down on the HWH but still burning gas and have to wait for it to reach temp when I turn it back on.

Our heaviest use is a housefull of people returning from the beach....could be as many as eight showers in short order (though typically it’s 3 or 4).

Looking for opinions, brands, efficiencies (or not)....

Thanks!
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Old 01-25-2021, 01:35 PM
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rllink rllink is offline
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I had a condo in San Juan, PR up until two years ago. It was only 700 square feet, two bedroom one bathroom. We used a Marey Power Pack Plus.It worked pretty well. We did not run a dishwasher with it but we did some clothing in the wash and it did fine I think. The plus, you never run out of hot water, unless. A few considerations, most of them are 220/240 volt systems so you will need access to that kind of voltage to run it. They are actuated by pressure and flow which can be a ptoblem. When cruise ships were in they would load up with water and we would lose enough water pressure up on the hill above that it would not activate the heater. Also water pressure in Old San Juan fluctuates even then cruise ships aren't docked there. We planned showers accordingly. Also they steal pressure themselves, so by the time the water goes through the heater you lose some pressure there too. The point is, they can be finicky. I was always adjusting it to get the setting that would provide enough heat and still have pressure. When they are adjusted and you have good water pressure they are great.
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Last edited by rllink; 01-25-2021 at 01:42 PM.
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Old 01-25-2021, 01:40 PM
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My experience in my last home was nothing but positive.

The only reason I don't have one in my current home is I installed a whole house backup generator. And while tankless is super efficient over the lifetime of the unit, when they burn THEY BURN. There could have been a conflict between the generator and the water heater, overwhelming my gas meter, and causing some circuits to shut down in the house.

We spent a 13 hour stretch without power in the last two weeks. It's a pretty regular thing.
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Old 01-25-2021, 01:54 PM
ericcsong ericcsong is offline
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I posted questions here: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=582159

We ended up going with a tankless rinnai and love it. We only heat water when we need it and it's an endless supply. No waste in energy to heat up previously heated water gone cold.

Only draw back is letting water run until it gets hot. We timed recirculation to fix that problem giving us instant hot water at certain programmed times.
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Old 01-25-2021, 02:47 PM
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Your useage profile is perfect for a tankless. Seasonal use, but heavy demand when it is used.

Our Rinnai is 13 years old. Tankless heaters do require some maintenance. A flush with vinegar is a 30 minute operation, we've done it 4 to 5 times over the years though the manufacturer's recommendation is more often than that.
Depending on your location, you may get bugs sucked into the burner area that need to be cleaned out. With us, it's moths. That operation is a step beyond DYI for me ... we've had it done twice.

Highly recommended for your particular situation.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:31 PM
The Watchman The Watchman is offline
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Friend of mine got a gas one. His gas and water bill went up because wife and kids started taking longer showers. Word to the wise.
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Old 01-25-2021, 03:48 PM
Napman41 Napman41 is offline
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Default Tankless Water Heater-experiences and recommendations?

There are 2 very important things to take into consideration when installing a tankless-on demand AWH.
1. Incoming gas pressure I.e W.C. In inches
2. The quality of the water- specifically if the water supply has a high mineral content or is on the high side of hardness.
Hard water wreaks havoc on the small passage ways in the heat exchangers.
The manufacturer of most units require 5-7” W.C of gas pressure along with a dedicated properly sized gas riser straight from the gas meter.
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:04 AM
Dirk Hofman Dirk Hofman is offline
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Installed one in our cabin in Tahoe some years back for a lot of the reasons you list in the original post, and because our 50 year old tank had died. Just don’t see a downside. All the hot water one needs on demand, and we aren’t heating a big tank the 95% of the time when we’re not there. It does make a whirring noise when it's running hot water, but it’s in no way objectionable.
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:48 AM
RedJoker RedJoker is offline
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We installed a gas one a couple years ago. I'm not sure it's going to save us a ton of money but it's nice to have as much hot water as we want. Originally, I was thinking that I wouldn't like it because when the power goes out, at least I have a tank full of hot water. Then I realize that in order to take a shower, I'd have to have the generator running for the well and the gas, tankless heater uses very little electricity so it's actually better than the old tank. I'd STILL have as much hot water as I want!
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Old 01-26-2021, 01:01 PM
Chickee Chickee is offline
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I just got a quote to change from tank to tankless water heater. 3400 sq ft mother daughter home, four adults, two children, with a 70gallon tank now keeps running out during the day. Plumber says all in $6k for complete change over to tankless. We are thinking about it.
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Old 01-27-2021, 07:36 AM
woodenstrings woodenstrings is offline
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Rinnai is the brand I settled on. Its great
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Old 01-27-2021, 08:05 AM
llew llew is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by woodenstrings View Post
Rinnai is the brand I settled on. Its great
Yep...I have one too. Along with an electric 60 gallon that does split duty. The Rinnai carries the bulk of the load however.
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Old 01-27-2021, 08:29 AM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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I've considered it. We have natural gas at our place for our water heater, clothes dryer, cooktop and furnace. I also plumbed a gas manifold on the back porch for my grill. Gas works much better and cheaper than electric heating appliances.

The only drawbacks for me arise from the need for a bigger gas supply and completely new exhaust venting these units require. Going electric, here where electricity is cheaper than anywhere else in the world, is an option, but there's just no way any resistive element can compete efficiently with a 2000 F flame.

I'd have to replace several feet of 1/2" gas pipe with 3/4" which would require tearing up a bunch of my finished basement ceiling (then redoing it after). I could no longer simply vent the exhaust into my furnace outlet - it would have to go out of my basement wall somehow, which again requires some major tear out/redo of the upstairs bathroom floor, including pulling out and reinstalling my jetted tub.

I remember how much work it was initially finishing out my basement and completely gutting and remodeling the bathroom above my utility room 14 years ago. Paying someone else to do all the work would easily top $15 - $20 k. Our current 40 gallon gas heater is more than enough for my wife and I, and worked fine when the kids were home as well.
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