Tankless Water Heaters

[allterrainwarrior]

heatherv Said:

So what's the average price of one of these?



They run from $200 to $1000. You have to see what you need. They make electric and gas units. Some people who have really big homes with several feet of Plumbing going from up to down stairs may find it better to buy a seperate unit per floor or per item. Alot of hotel use these because they save so much money and we bought a heater by Steibel it is a dual unit that supports to showers at a time. It cost us $639 to buy over the Net and $250 to install

 

[FarmerChick]

thanks so much...you gave a wealth of info in this thread and I can move forward for researching! I appreciate the help!!

 

[ChickenTender63]

There are a number of different units out on the market now, and if you go with a decent manufacturer, they are fantastic. I have installed a number of the Rinai gas systems for people, and they are not difficult to install.

If you are handy with electrical and plumbing repairs, you shouldn't have any problems installing one yourself. I would not buy one at Lowes or Home Depot though. These are lower BTU units, and you may have trouble with increased hot water flow rates if you are trying to run several faucets or showers, or even the big garden tub someone else managed.

Most plumbing companies want in excess of $1,000 to install these, and that is not justifiable in my book. All of the conversions I have done take less than half a day to complete.

If you have other questions on these, feel free to ask me.

Good luck!

 

[FarmerChick]

hey CT
(I love that ChickenTender name..HA HA)


got a question since you know.

3 people (2 adults --1 --3 yo girl)
morning showers for 2 adults
nightime bath for daughter and 2 showers sometimes for adults (depending on work for the day---yea alot of showers..LOL)

no hot water for clothes..use cold only

regular use of hot water for washing dishes...only 3 of us so not alot of dishes usually.

occasionally run the dishwasher at night late after showers and such.

So basically things don't run at the same time except the shower and bath are kinda on the same time table.

Now the question since I think I gave ya enough info on water usage......How many BTUs should I buy???? Interesting you said that Lowes etc. has low BTU units, so I am interested for what amt. of BTUs that I can get away with for the above usage.

Hope you can help me....thanks

 

[ChickenTender63]

Karen, in your case you may be one of the few that could get away with the lower btu range heater. My wife and I are the same way, it is just the two of us, no children unless you count our cocker spanials, 2 loads of laundry a week and 2 loads in the dishwasher. She showers earlier than I do, so we are never running at the same time.

The units that I have installed are in the 230,000-280,000 btu range. I haven't checked in awhile, but last I looked, Lowes and Home Depot heaters were in the 150,000-180,000 btu range.

Thats a big difference in heat. Now, if you only have a small family, you should probably be fine with that, and I probably should have said that in my first post.

Now, let's compare those figures to your average tank hot water heater. Most of these are in the 40,000-48,000 btu range. Even if you just step up to the homeowner level model offered at Lowes and HD, it is a significant increase, but needs to be because you are heating water on demand.

Now, if you are a family that is going to be running a washing machine, having a couple of kids taking a shower, and mom wants to go soak in her 90 gallon garden tub, then you need to go with one of the big boys which can be picked up by the public at Fergusons Plumbing Supply or any other plumbing supply houses. These models will start at $975 and go up to about $1,500 for the unit.

Either way you go though, you are still going to be money ahead in the long run by getting rid of the tank heater.

Now Karen, do you sell any chickens to raise, or do you just sell the eggs. I am getting ready to need some in about a month or so.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[FarmerChick]

We used to raise and sell our chicks and such but time demands and cost, we now buy 16 week old pullets from a hatchery in Claremont. I think "shook poultry" wis I could remember clearly...LOL..haven't bought any in about 1 year...Tony orders them. When our hens hit about 2 to 2 1/2 years old we sell them at the sale barn and are raising up the 16 week olds to take their place. So at this point we don't sell the chickens just as an individual sale. We have no roosters.

We sell the eggs at Charlotte Regional farmers market, Gastonia market, Mt. Holly market, Denver market. We sell to a few stores/health food stores also.


THANK YOU SO MUCH on the info about the tankless heaters. I would think for our small family and our water usage we would be fine with the biggest offered from Lowes or HD. You are right, the morning showers are staggered cause Tony works at Commscope and he gets up 5 am and I don't shower until at least 6-7 range usually...so there is not a double pull demand on it either.

And Nicole just gets a kid sized tub of water, not full up like for an adult.

So it sounds like I should be OK with top range of a store bought unit.

THANKS again...you set my mind a little more at ease with the changeover!!! Will be checking into this soon and I know I want that elec. eating tank gone!

 

[ChickenTender63]

No problem, just let me know if you have any questions when you get ready to do it. It is easier than you think it is.

Have a great week!

 

[FarmerChick]

"Anything easier than I think it is"----is definitely for me. THANKS!

 

[Farmfresh]

I have had a Bosch natural gas tankless hot water heater for about 6 years and continue to love it!

Once we got it installed properly, (we had to increase the gas intake line and the vent size) we have had no problems other than a bird that dropped into the vent stack while our chimney was being repaired.

Hubby was impressed because it is SO easy to maintain and repair if you should ever have troubles. All of the parts ... and I mean all of them ... are for sale on line, along with a repair manual.

The only other thing is that during the dead of winter the water does not get quite so hot as during the summer. (It is still hot enough.) Around here the temps get COLD and so the water comes to the house quite cold. This could be easily solved by having a water storage barrel of some kind that would fill and warm slightly by room heat before going to the heater, this would still retain the energy savings and allow the water to be hotter at the tap.

 

[FarmerChick]

thanks farmfresh
another post saying this is a good thing makes me happy to see----I will be changing over in time!