Tankless water systems

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

Please provide information regarding instant propane or natural gas tankless water systems.

[SylvanLMPParticipant]

BOOM

[fourth yearParticipant]

They need a lot of electricity or gas to heat the water as it goes through the system. A gs unit will need a much larger chimney flue due to the larger burner. Unless it has a flow regulator to limit the water velocity through the heater, the outlet temperature will drop was the flow increases beyond the optimum for the burner input. Scale buildup in the heater will reduce its efficiency tremendously. And when you need parts or repairs, there is a good chance the company will be out of business and the parts, being specific to that heater, will no longer be available. And you will not save a lot of energy, since you will still have to run the cooled water out of the pipes before you get hot water at the faucets, just like a tank type. The only justification for a tankless heater is if you do not have space for a conventional one, or you are going to install multiple units and locate them at the various bathroom units to eliminate the water wasting while waiting for the hot water to arrive.

[Jim WilsonParticipant]

I must respectfully disagree with fourth year.
If you buy a top brand tankless water heater you won’t have a problem getting parts years later.
Look at gas models Bosch (Aquastar) and Myson or for electric nothing beats Eemax brand. All three have been made for MANY years. All three are reputable companies and won’t go out of business.
Thankless heaters do cost more initially, and they are more complicated (and therefor do need service more often than a regular water heater).
In the U.S. you can buy all three online from PlumbingStore.com
They do save a significant amount of energy.

[GuestParticipant]

Will a water softner and a recirculating system mediate the two main problems you have with tankless water heaters?

[fourth yearParticipant]

Jim:
Tankless heaters are like solar water heaters in Arizona several years ago. While there were incentives, everyone and his brother was making and installing them. Then the bust came and none of these companies were around except for the main manufacturers. There are a few mainline tankless companies, but there were, and are, Italian and Japanese brands for example, that had a big push for sales and then the companies went out of business and there are no parts or service available for them. Even with the good companies, service can be a problem if the technician is not familiar with them.

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