Do you go with a tank or not?

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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:37 pm

My hot water heater just went out. I'm considering going with a tankless, on demand water heater. I understand these are found frequently in Europe. What has your experience been?

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:57 pm

I've used just about all combinations - growing up my family had a tank and that was a nightmare if family were staying as there was never enough water in the tank for everyone and it took an age to warm back up. My own first few properties in the UK were new-builds and they were tankless gas-fired boilers with immediate hot water and our last property had an oil-fired boiler that could be used to produce instant hot water, but also had tank for some reason as well.

Must say that I prefer the instant water option out of all of them.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:09 pm

I live alone so I rarely have a lack of hot water. However, I do regularly host family and friends visiting, since I have the room. It's during these times that I get the cold shower.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:09 pm

If you go tankless, be sure to have an expert evaluate all of the affected piping. We had a new high-end condo project go up with the wrong stuff and it all went to hell in a few months. All 400+ units had to have walls torn up and piping replaced to the tune of $13,000 each.

Ugly.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:14 pm

I have pex plumbing and would have the plumber that installed the original piping replace the water heater.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:15 pm

Definitely a review then as it was a pex issue!

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:30 pm

I replaced my Tank a couple years back and it was cheap, easy and gives me more hot water than the old one. By just going with the 'Flow' so to speak you don't need to do anything special or spend more than a few hundred dollars.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:48 pm

In Britain at least we have pretty high standards in terms of energy efficiency and about the only type of gas fired heater we are allowed to fit is a high efficiency, condensing combination boiler. These usually do heating via radiators and hot water on demand. They are a lot more complicated than the old direct heaters and make much better use of the fuel. On the downside they are quite expensive compared to a plain old immersion tank. They limit flowrate too, so if you're used to a brutal hosedown then you may be disappointed. With that said, they only use what fuel they need so you will see a saving there, and you'll never end up with the sweepings and leavings of an over used tank.

If you decide that the climate where you are doesn't justify having central heating, you could go for a condensing water heater without the central heating side. This will take most of the guts of the combination boiler out of the equation and reduce the cost of the device - and installation - dramatically.

I've had combination boilers fitted in both my last houses and in both cases they used double walled plastic pipe with locking quick-fit connectors. This is almost universal here as it installs very quickly, easily and reliably and will withstand the whole range of heat and pressure seen in a domestic system. The worst mistake installers can make is not fitting the thermosetting inserts in the cut ends of the pipe. If this happens the pipe softens and flexes, and eventually releases from the claws in the connector, and you need to replace a carpet, or a ceiling, or both. Scratches or cuts on the pipe near the end can cause slow leaks but a competent fitter will avoid this.

See how much you're paying for energy at the moment and figure out how much you could save, and how long payback would take, and what the convenience is worth.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:51 pm

I prefer the Jagdpanzer 38t Hetzer (Baiter) because it looks cool.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 11:33 pm

My inlaws live where energy is very expensive so the solar heated hot water is boosted by a tankless system. The system has a 500 gallon tank on a flat roof, solar collectors and a tankless heater next to the master bath. While there is unlimited hot water, there is a large time delay before the system sends hot water down the line. Until I started typing this out I though it was due to the water line from the roof to the first floor. It is not. The lag before the water gets really hot is due to the thermal inertia to get the heater up to temperature.

For all my life I have been spoiled by having a shower inches away from the tanked water heater. I had a boss show me his timer controlled pump that moved hot water through the lines in his house just before he showered in the morning. I don't need such a thing.

As far as capacity, our house was built with two tanked water heaters. One for my shower, the laundry and the kitchen. The other is for the rest of the house. We have never run out of hot water.

Most of my neighbors have tankless systems but when my water heater goes out I will replace it with another tank.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 11:42 pm

I've been thinking about replacing my Tank with an "On Demand" system. Let me know if you go tank-less how it works out.

TYVM.

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:39 am

Several "cons" on the tankless, for me, are that I live alone and rarely need it. I have very hard water and do not like soft water and it does crazy things to my skin. The Tankless would necessitate the switch. Looking at the estimate, there's a $3000 difference and I'm not sure I would ever see the savings. It would require a completely new exhaust. I currently have a stainless steel one and pvc would be required. Right now, I'm leaning toward a larger tank.

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 5:01 am

Funny Mod said:

Quote:

My hot water heater just went out

Paraphrasing Carlin: 'If It's Hot Water; Why do you Need to Heat it?'

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 11:42 am

If you have an older house, I'd go with the tank. Your plumbing was configured and installed for that system. I don't know if you have a septic tank or sewer, but there may be problems with the hook-up to the new system.

I own a house that was built around 1920 and it's been a nightmare adding modern plumbing, heating cooling etc. I gave up-as long as the local service folks stock the part, I'll keep repairing the old systems.

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:03 pm

I see. My house is small and very little plumbing to it (all copper). My hope was that an on demand would save space but if it requires soft water then no space saved in the grand scheme.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:05 pm

If you go tankless with gas check your gas line for compatibility as well. I've had friends get most of the way through the decision only to find out that they didn't have enough feed from their fuel line.
Tanks have much lower "instantaneous" fuel requirements so the current feed for your tank may not support a tankless...

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:43 pm

I'm going with a larger tank.

Thanks everyone for the input!

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