OT: Tankless Water Heaters

[dbnm]

I had a Navien NCB-210E installed about 2 years ago. It does the baseboard heat and hot water for the house quite easily.

Lowered our bill a lot as well.

If you are buying the unit, definitely shop online. Huge price differences between the local shop and online.

[Bentley]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Keep in mind tankless water heating systems need regular maintenance at about $300 annually for budgeting purposes.
They can also save space in your residence if that is of any importance.
You might also wish to explore gas vs. electric versions with your plumber, too.

Can you explain this? I’ve never done a $300/yr maintenance on mine and I was never told to do anything but drain the unit about 1 yr, that ain’t $300.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Bentley

Can you explain this? I’ve never done a $300/yr maintenance on mine and I was never told to do anything but drain the unit about 1 yr, that ain’t $300.

Might depend on whether you do it or have a plumber do it....I don't think a plumber would show up for less than a $300 job.

[buddybikes]

Review if any energy credits (from your gas/electric company) or tax deduction.

We just had IBC combo unit installed, I am very happy. Understand that they should be cleaned/drained once a year to keep calcification/lime build up. Appears easy to do, but haven't studied it yet.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

”...Keep in mind tankless water heating systems need regular maintenance at about $300 annually for budgeting purposes.
They can also save space in your residence if that is of any importance.
You might also wish to explore gas vs. electric versions with your plumber, too...”

Had my primary residence completely redone with new HVAC, water heater, electrical upgrades, and plumbing fairly recently.

The high-end supplier I used offered a variety of tankless and regular water heater options. Authorized dealer and technicians for each. Based on an analysis of our typical usage, it was optimal to select a quality traditional water heater.

The technician indicated “plates need to be removed, descaled, and occasionally replaced” (going from memory) and we should plan on about $300 in annual maintenance both to preserve the warranty and keep tankless system running as efficiently as possible.

[Cat3roadracer]

Rinnai here. 2008 installation. Zero maintenance.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by Cat3roadracer

”...Rinnai and a sweet collection of bicycles here. 2008 installation. Zero maintenance...”

Fixed it for you!

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Cat3roadracer

Rinnai here. 2008 installation. Zero maintenance.

Dude, stay on topic - this has nothing to do with bicycles.

[Don49]

Originally Posted by joosttx

The brand and model he is recommending is a Navien NPE-240. Anyone know anything about this brand and model or thoughts in general about tankless water heaters.

I just had a Navien NPE-180 installed in the garage, there was a $200 rebate from the gas company. I went tankless just to make space for a utility tub in the garage for cleaning up when working on bikes. The utility tub with tankless above it uses less space than the old water heater.

I also had a dedicated recirculation line added although that involved opening walls and wasn't cheap, but well worth it to get almost immediate hot water to the shower. Rather than using a constant recirc mode I put the Navien into a mode where it learns your water use schedule over time and has the recirc primed for you. That works well if you do something like a shower at roughly the same time everyday. An alternative is the Navien "Hot Button" which starts recirc on demand when you press the button a few minutes before needing hot water. Here's a video on making that wireless: https://youtu.be/ekFH0boYs3w

I'm happy with the Navien after three months use, but really not much cheaper to operate than regular water heater. It's a complicated looking device with the cover off, like looking inside of a missle, lots of tubing, parts, and wiring. I'm hoping it proves to be reliable. Oh, I put it downstream from a water softener so that should increase reliability and eliminate scaling. There is a filter that has to be drained every few months.

[Don49]

Originally Posted by Cat3roadracer

Rinnai here. 2008 installation. Zero maintenance.

Originally Posted by Louis

Dude, stay on topic - this has nothing to do with bicycles.

Yeah, that bike in the middle is blocking the view of the water heater.

[KarlC]

My experiance with Tankless Water Heaters and its pretty much the same with everyone I have talked to. You will save on your gas bill but your watter bill will go up as you have to run the watter for a long while before the hot watter gets to you.

.

[buddybikes]

>>Yeah, that bike in the middle is blocking the view of the water heater.

to keep it clear for fire dept, you must remove that bike and ship it my way!

[54ny77]

For those complaining about long wait time for hot water after having a tankless unit installed , you got screwed by your plumber. He sold you a box of goods that isn't properly spec'd for your specific layout. Or at best isn't educated in their installation and operation.

[Ken Robb]

I don't understand why we would have to run water longer if it was heated by a tankless heater vs. a traditional heater.

A recirculating pump system would solve the wait problem for either heater, right?

[speedevil]

The recirculating pump on the hot water supply is a great water-saver. Hot water in seconds, and for a very small electricity cost.

Ours uses a timer, so it runs in the morning, and then from before dinnertime until bedtime. It gave us a noticeable reduction in water consumption, and the convenience of hot water right away.

This is in a system with an 80 gallon conventional electric water heater. Tankless systems are not practical in our home.