<p>Anyone have one? What do you like or not like? Brands? We are thinking of switching to tankless, the gas company is offering a nice rebate, but we are just beginning the research.</p>
<p>We just put in a new gas water heater, not tankless though. Here’s a good article on them from consumersearch - they compile reviews on anything you can imagine from a variety of reputable sources:</p>
<p>[Tankless</a> Water Heaters - Water Heaters Reviews](<a href=“http://www.consumersearch.com/water-heaters/tankless-water-heaters]Tankless”>http://www.consumersearch.com/water-heaters/tankless-water-heaters)</p>
<p>My Dad has one. He said he can’t get hot water in his kitchen sink unless he turns the spicket all the way up. When I did dishes there recently I mainly used cold water. I wouldn’t get one if I had to live this way.</p>
<p>We bought a new 90% efficient water heater that is all new technology and I love it…it is amazing.
Vertex by AO Smith…Ed Begley is pushing it on Youtube and so is Jay Leno…anyway…it is so terrific…and qualified for the Tax Credit…a rarity for a tank water heater</p>
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<p>That is a tankless job.</p>
<p>My parents went tankless last year. They’re not happy. Main complaint seems to be that it takes FOREVER to actually get any hot water. They waste incredible amounts of water waiting for any warm water to begin coming through.</p>
<p>Like above poster, they get so frustrated waiting, they sometimes just go ahead and wash the dishes, clothes, or (gasp) themselves in cold water.</p>
<p>A friend in the trades whom I respect very much (and who had nothing to gain either way) told me, “The technology’s just not there yet. It will be in 3-5 years, and the companies selling these systems will swear it’s already here, but it’s just not.”</p>
<p>My parents would agree, and really regret ever putting it in.</p>
<p>For more information about tankless water heaters, check out the recent article in This Old House. Tankless water heaters may require a different flue system; if I recall correctly the flue gases may be hotter than for other water heaters (?). I’ve been considering getting one for several years but have concluded I don’t want to be an early adopter. It’s not easy to find an installer and installation is quite expensive. Home Depot sells them and says they will help you find an installer but they were not able to recommend any installer to me.</p>
<p>We got a tankless water heater about two years ago. It is a Noritz. It works really well. I do not know what these people are talking about. It takes less than a minute for the water to heat up when you turn the water on. After that, the water stays hot for as long as you want it hot. The Noritz is supposed to be an excellent brand. We have no complaints with it at all…</p>
<p>^^^ That’s the brand we have too. Love it. No complaints about it either. We saved alot of money on our gas bill over the past 2 years and had the tax credit benefit. Hubby installed it himself.</p>
<p>People confuse the term “tankless” water heaters with “instant” water heaters.
There IS a delay. But over all they more efficient, sans any hard water issues.</p>
<p>I did a lot of research on tankless before buying our Vertex, our monster efficient tank water heater (pricey plus has to have a very specific way to pipe out gas). The Vertex also allows for other applications like use of water for baseboard heat. </p>
<p>I think Tankless is a great direction. We almost chose a Rinnai tankless. The issue of the Sandwich (cold water in pipes before the hot arrives) is present but is less of an issue depending on where you install your tankless. If you don’t like the distance the hot water has to travel, (our issue) some applications work well with a recirculating pump. We installed a recirculating pump in our house along with the Vertex and hot water is instant and plentiful in a long home with only one tank and a lot distance between water and showers. The pump is timed to be “off at night”. There are articles on line on ways to install a small recirculating pump with tankless strategically depending on your layout. </p>
<p>I was a little anxious about the tankless needing to be serviced and not confident that our local people would be clever enough to do that well. However, our contractor is installing a lot of tankless now and the architect we consulted loves them. </p>
<p>The Vertex is a 40 gallon tank hold using a new technology that is pretty amazing. I can’t imagine not having enough hot water even with company and a houseful of people. It recovers instantly.</p>
<p>Tankless heaters have issues sometimes with very cold ground water depending on your location geographically that also factor into the time you must have before the water gets hot to your bath. </p>
<p>I think tankless is also very useful when you can install more than one in a home in dedicated areas. So efficient. </p>
<p>Remember that some appliances require hot water…dishwasher, clothes washer and factor their needs in as well…some dishwashers today heat water used for instance as part of the cycles.</p>
<p>anyway, I may go tankless someday in another home but my Vertex is doing the work and our tax rebate is a plus.
google recirculating pump and tankless and sandwich and read up on some solutions.</p>
<p>We have one tankless hot water heater and it has been a never ending source of problems. The heater itself works fine, it is the installation that is the problem.</p>
<p>Having fought it for almost three years, the biggest issue is that we retrofitted - don’t do this without an extremely experienced person involved who not only knows how to put it in but where it needs to go. Ours is in an attic, just behind the wall of one of the bathtubs. The shower in that tub is almost unusable because the water is so hot. When my DD moved home and started using that shower all the time, we had to get a plumber come in twice and put some sort of device on it to let some of the heat disspate. The first visit he tried diverting through a short loop, that fixed her problem, but then there was no hot water in the kitchen, none. DD was at college for the first two years we had the system, so until then our biggest problem was hot water in the kitchen. The amount of time ti took the water to warm up at the sink depended on the time of the year, which sink, kitchen vs laundry room, vs sink on outside wall of the house.</p>
<p>What we have learned is that the system probably would work best in a central location in the house, closest to laundry and kitchen where people are less likely to be scalded if the water is hotter. Avoid pipes on exterior walls, it accentuates the leading cold water effect (and we live in the deep South…I’m not sure we would ever have hot water at the sink in a colder climate, our kitchen sink is on an exterior wall).</p>
<p>I truly think we will have to remove the system to sell the house, I would nver retrofit another one.</p>
<p>I spoke recently with our plumber about this and he told me we shouldn’t do it unless there’s also a reservoir tank - because we’d have to wait. He suggested an instant heater could be placed closer to specific uses, like the sink.</p>
<p>He actually suggested solar hot water. I have no idea what’s practical for you, but solar hot water is panels that heat water in a German tank in the basement that doesn’t lose heat because it’s so well made. It’s essentially an add on to you existing hot water that reduces the demand for heating by 2/3 or so. There is a tax credit available. </p>
<p>We have 2 hot water heaters and are thinking about what to do in the future.</p>
<p>Personally, we opted against it. The extra cost of the unit, plus the extra cost of the additional plumbing and venting meant for us, that the savings would not justify the cost.</p>
<p>We thought about getting one and then I learned about venting regulations and because we had to go straight up we exceeded the 25 foot max allowed by the manufacturer.</p>
<p>We installed a Rinnai tankless 2 years ago. Yes, you do have to run the water a bit before it makes it to the top floor bathrooms. However we never run out of hot water, two showers can run at the same time . And another person can follow without worrying about the dreaded cold shower! The dishwasher can run at the same time the washing machine is going. I think it’s great for a house with teens ( or husbands!) who like to take long showers. Water is only heated on demand. Installation was done professionally and we have yet to have any problems.</p>
<p>we have had 2 tankless units (Bosch) in 25 years. Ours is old style with a pilot light. Newer ones have electronic ignition, greater efficiency, side thru-the-wall-vent.</p>
<p>If you really want to save $$, get a washing toilet seat. Wash only where its needed with proper temperatured water.</p>
<p>We have a tankless HW Heater that came with the house when we built it 16 years ago. Oil-burning furnace. This tankless heater provides water for domestic use (showers, dishwasher, sinks, washing machine, etc) AND the hot water baseboard heating system in the house.</p>
<p>We’ve had very few problems and really like it. I think that the problem some people might have listed earlier might be that their water temperature isn’t set high enough?</p>
<p>On the plus side - we never run out of hot water. We can run hot water all day long. My parents have a traditional water heater and we used to run out of hot water and have to wait for more to heat up.</p>
<p>Minus - in the winter, if the (hot water baseboard) heat is on, the system can only generate enough hot water for one person to shower at a time. If D and I both try to take showers at the same time, both will end up with tepid water. But if I get into my shower the second she gets out of hers, we both get hot showers.</p>
<p>In the end, I’d get another tankless heater if/when we have to replace this one.</p>
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<p>[Haha, and Ewee](<a href=“Kohler C3 Series Toilet Seats Offer Hands-Free Butt-Washing, American Style”>Kohler C3 Series Toilet Seats Offer Hands-Free Butt-Washing, American Style)</p>