On Demand Water Heater - Help!
Hi, We live on the top two floors of a brownstone and our hot water heater is close to 11 years old. We have had a couple of problems with the hot water staying hot and would like to have the heater replaced. To save on gas (our bill was a bit scary for December!)…
Hi,
We live on the top two floors of a brownstone and our hot water heater is close to 11 years old. We have had a couple of problems with the hot water staying hot and would like to have the heater replaced.
To save on gas (our bill was a bit scary for December!) we are looking at On Demand water heaters.
Something like the:
Rheem EcoSense On Demand 6.6 GPM Natural Gas Indoor Direct Vent Tankless Water Heater
Will this have enough power to get water to the top floor bathroom and washer/dryer?
The existing water sits in the basement next to the boiler. Of course, we will get this done by a plumber, but want to make sure going with On Demand will give us enough hot water and water pressure 🙂
Advice much appreciated!
Thanks.
I would go with the tankless, wall hung hot water heater.
I have used both types and you cant compare the two.
The tankless, wall hung water heater is the size of a small cabinet, can be installed at 3-4 feet off the floor. Sleek looking and tucked in a closet.
Unlike the tank type which keeps re-heating the water so that it is always ready for when you need it then runs out on you when you are in the middle of a shower, the tankless never run out of hot water.
The tankless consumes zero when not in use.
The tankless lasts longer.
Also check out Rinnai and Takagi brands.
Dont worry about the pressure, you will get what you need when you need it.
Hands down, best choice you will ever make.
Good luck,
If you would care to discuss the costs, advantages and disadvantages to solar domestic hot war heat, please feel free to contact me at heat@moltenmechanical.com.
-Steam Man
Just noticed the price of the Rheem (900?!) is much less than tankless used to be a couple of years ago for that size…so if they do last 20+ years, it changes the ROI compared to a tanked w/h at 70% of that price. One more thing for me to muddle through.
On indirect, MP can probably give you advice. Boilers are theoretically more efficient than w/hs, but there’s the pumping and secondary heat transfer losses which may make them similar. Remember that the efficiency of a tanked w/h is rated including standby loss (at 0.6 or so) but for boilers the rated value is combustion efficiency which is obviously higher but it’s apples and oranges.
Gas bill not outrageous (tho’ coming off renting, I can see why you’re surprised); my 4-flr semi-detached (3000 sq ft) is about double that, and you’re on the top floor. W/h costs only $40-50/month unless you have a leak or something.
From much research, apparently not too much to choose among reputable brands; I’m going AO Smith. State and Bradford also seem good. If you can do the venting, a sealed combustion model is higher efficiency, but again at $10/month savings…
Cheers cmu. Trying to get to grips with being a new home owner after renting for 8 years and not having to deal/understand any of this! We had quite a big gas bill bill for December ($300) for a 1600 sq. ft. apartment and I attributed much of that to the hot water heater, which we have to have turned up to the max (another long story about hot water only lasting for a minute and going cold…covered in a previous post!). Of course, starting to learn about weatherizing, so that probably has something to do with it.
If we go with a regular hot water heater then, is there any particular one you recommend? We have a dishwasher, washer/dryer and of course the bathroom.
Also, I read about indirect water heaters to use with the boiler. Is this worth investigating or is it another hyped up sort of venture?
Cheers 🙂
On demand w/h has should have no correlation to water pressure.
Do you have the gas line capacity? It’s 200,000 btu as compared to your old probably 40-50,000, so figure cost of additional line. And can you vent it correctly? some need a separate vent to the exterior.
Supposedly you save up to 30% but take that with a grain of salt. Besides, w/h is about $40/month, so you’re saving $12/month at 30%.
You can’t hand wash dishes or use hot water at low volumes.
I think on-demand is a technology that does not fulfill its expectations, even though it’s marginally “greener” than a tank.