Tankless Waterheaters

[Unkle_John]

Well the time has come that we are going to be forced to do a home improvement before we are ready. Our current water heater (purchased in 1994) is leaking. Leaking enough that the shelf it sits on is slightly warped. Julie and I are going to have to replace it soon (don't worry we are catching the water to use on the house plants). Since we are having to do this we decided that now would be a good time to get a tankless water heater.

There's a slight problem though.

We contacted the local plumber who only deals with one brand (Rheem) and including installation it will be $2200. Eff that. I've seen units way cheaper and when we had HVAC service men out last year on estimates on central air, they all commented that the water heater closet is set up perfectly for a tankless water heater.

My questions are:

Where can I get one for us for the cheapest?

&

Can I install this myself with little to no plumbing experience (I only messed with PVC pipes)?

The water heater isn't leaking bad, a few drips an hour, but we want this taken care of before it gets worse. Also, anyone have any ideas for recycling the old heater? I was thinking of making a robot out of it.

[LIBRA]

Well we just did one for a customer and it was a rinnai brand tankless hwt and it was about $1700 there expensive and from what I gathered kinda time consuming. Took our guy most of the day to install it. My brother can do one in a few hours though, he has installed many of them and it was a first for the other intaller.

We have had problems with everyone we have installed so far, water scale build up, not enough hot wtr, pressure issues. Is your water hard or have you ever had it tested? City water seems fine but country folk with wells are the ones with issues.

I can ask my bro's tomorrow what they think about them and post it. I gotta go for now.

[Unkle_John]

We are in the city.... there is minimum scale build up. Very minimum.
We have one shower/tub and two sinks (bathroom and kitchen) that's all that requires hot water. Julie and I occasionally take showers together (it's not comfortable in this smaller designed tub/shower), but usually take separate showers. My shower time is under 10 mins.. usually 5-8 minutes. Her's is the same. If that will help. Also, our washing machine is set up out in the garage and does not use hot water,

I saw somewhere how to run the water lines through solar panels, but I think you still need a tank for that.. and solar panels.

Thanks Denise!

[CowboyHippy]

i helped install a bosch brand purchased at menards (kinda like lowes and the home creepot) and if i recall it was just shy of 700 bucks, not counting the installation stuff. he has had it about a year with no complaints

it's just him and his wife

checked amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-AquaStar-Water-1600H-NG/dp/B000KXWZ4G/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1215639257&sr=1-8

needs an install kit and dats not cheap

they may have other brands too

[LIBRA]

We had a customer with pressure problems, and had to install a pressure regulator. Weve put in the Bosch brand two. I looked up a few installs and they all ran around the same price, pretty expensive. And my brother is fair with his estimates.

I didnt get to ask my bro any pros or cons yet, he was grumpy this morning, so I will wait till later.

[Hippie Staff]

We put one in last year when our old one went..was around 700 or so. Had some friends put in.

Pros: saves energy, heats faster

If you have an old house like I do, you may also have a ton of old piping. It would behoove you to reduce extra piping and make connections more direct. Our friend went under the house and found that we had a gazillion extra feet of pipes rerouting everywhere, like taking a round the world tour..every time we turned on the water. The extra pipe was brought to the recycling center - think we made $120.

Cons: (if any) I can hear it. It's right outside our bathroom wall, which is connected to our bedroom. It makes like this low humming 'choo choo' train sound. It only goes on when hot water is used, and goes off quickly - but at first, I thought I was going nuts.."WHERE IS THAT TRAIN NOISE COMING FROM". It's not an offensive noise, it's just a new noise.

[Unkle_John]

I hear you on the noise. Our current regular tank sounds like an Atlas rocket getting ready to take off. Funny thing is, it stopped leaking for now. I'm still looking into replacing it though.

[PEACE FROG]

My 2 cents. As cowboy said Home Depot's bosch unit is doable. Now, if it is gas you'll need 3/4 supply line for the volume needed. most houses bell reduce immediately to 1/2 as it is easier to run through the walls. And electric one requires a 200 amp service and if your home is older you might require an upgrade. A couple things to consider.:) I'd look into a solar pre-heater with a conventional tank heater maybe.

[Unkle_John]

Thanks Ed!

You know of any sites that offer solar heaters like that for sale (I'm going to look around after I type this)? We have gas in the house.