Post by sugardumpling on Feb 19, 2013 12:54:51 GMT -5
Hi all. I have not posted in a long time. I used to post regularly on TN. My story: Old farmhouse in Hudson Valley area of NY. I love our home, even if it has been a labor of love trying to rehab it. Just this past weekend we had some friends over and it was so nice to see the look on their faces when they saw the transformations we've made.
December 2011 we had a puff back which was a blessing in disguise. It forced us to gut out main floor and get closer to finishing home. Thank God no one was home when it happened.
We still need to do something with our kitchen which was an addition in the 40s, repaint siding, paint front porch floor, install a banister and hang art/photos.
We have been toying with the idea of changing propane hot water heater for a tankless system. If you have one, do you like it? Any details would be greatly appreciated.
I'm guessing that the fact that you have propane now means you don't have natural gas and are considering an electric one? Or can you run a tankless from a propane? (I have no idea. I've never lived without natural gas, so I'm just guessing on those questions.) I'm certainly no expert on the topic, but I've heard electric's a very expensive way to go, so you might want to research utility costs if that's what you are considering. We have a natural gas tankless, installed by previous owners 6+ years ago and we haven't had a moment's problem with it. Love it.
Post by sugardumpling on Feb 19, 2013 13:39:52 GMT -5
Hi Mrs. J! I did a quick skim and did not see anything about them but will look again.
Juno - There is no natural gas in our area. There are tankless systems which can run on propane. I had posted the same question on another board and 2 people said they had issues with sytem working all the time and/or length of time it took to get water to certain areas in home. Which brand is your Tankless heater?
I'll have to update with the name this evening. We only have 950 or so square feet, so it's quite possible that in a larger home, it would take longer for the hot water to show up at the fixture. However, I don't notice a significant delay. Also, I would think that with any system there's going to be cold water sitting in the pipes that you have to drain before the hot water arrives. My neighbors just installed a system with a switch that circulates the water in the pipes so that they can flip the switch, wait a moment, then turn on instant hot water. Maybe that could mitigate a larger house lag time? I don't know. Hopefully Fox will chime in
The only time we've ever noticed not getting enough hot water was about a month ago when DH and I were running a bath and a shower, separately, in the same bathroom. The shower was only luke warm while the tub filled, so we had to take turns. However, I shower often while the laundry or DW is running with no problem, so I suspect that the bathroom problem was more of a delivery capacity thing (both running through the same supply pipe?) than a water heater problem. But I'm not sure. Our contractor told us once that it should always be able to support two major appliances at once (DW/shower, clothes washer/DW, etc.). I guess it could be that when I'm showering, the water in the DW is only luke warm, but I'm not sure how I'd go about finding that out!
We have one and love it (with natural gas). The one hang up that some have when installing in an older home is the location. If your old hw heater wasn't next to an exterior wall the venting material can be expensive. Or at least was when we installed 3 yrs ago.
Post by sugardumpling on Feb 19, 2013 14:49:12 GMT -5
We do have an older home and it is approximately 1100sf. Our hot water heater was vented through our chimney. I understand we cannot vent tankless through chimney. I am going to schedule a estimate from our local Rannai dealer to see if it is even an option for us. What I have learned is due to our area, electric tankless water heater is not the way to go.
Yes do not go with electric tankless they use far more energy than an electric tank water heater.
Rinnai is a good brand. Is there a particular reason you want to go tankless? Is there something wrong with your old one? Tankless are expensive and more work to fix and maintain than a good old tank water heater. An electric tank water heater would actually be more efficient than a propane tank WH. A lot cheaper too. An electric tank WH will set you back only $300.
Post by sugardumpling on Feb 19, 2013 15:37:44 GMT -5
Hi All. Thanks for the wonderful feedback.
Fox - since we no longer have a furnace, the h wants to clear everything from basement. If time and money allow, he'd like to finish basement into family/game room.
There is nothing wrong with our current unit. I was not aware an electric tank heater would be more efficient than a propane one.
I see. But a tank water heater can fit in almost anywhere. A small closet is all it needs. Yes electric are slightly more efficient because there is no heat loss from the combustion gases going up the flue. 100% of what energy goes in comes out. It's just electric isn't always the cheapest way to heat compared to NG but it's definitely cheaper than propane. When homes are built the WH fuel type is normally decided on by the furnace fuel type and no additional thought is put into it besides that. Electric isn't a very fast responding WH though so you do need to make sure your unit is plenty big for your usage if you use a lot of hot water at one time (may need to be one size bigger than what you currently have).
If your DH really wants no tank he'll have to be willing to foot the bill. Tankless units alone are $1500 or more and the install cost is higher as well. But it will give you instant hot water. If you use a lot of hot water it may actually cost you more than what your current propane tank heater costs you to run so don't buy that cost/energy saving crap without doing some homework first.
I'm guessing you might be on a well like us if you don't have NG so your water may be hard. You'll want to add a big water softener if you don't already have one (which will take up more floor space in your basement haha) because tankless WH don't play well with hard water. Water softeners that meter how much water you're actually using before it regenerates are the way to go. They save you a lot of salt and water by regenerating every 14 days instead of every 3.
Post by davescatch on Feb 20, 2013 14:03:05 GMT -5
Hi SD!!! It's DT - I am so glad to see you on here. Just wanted to give you a welcome and virtual hugs. You were so sweet when my son died last year - we are coming up on the one year anniversary, hard to believe.
I'd love to see before and after photos of all the work you've done, it must feel so good when you look around.
Post by sugardumpling on Feb 21, 2013 11:13:40 GMT -5
DT!!!!! How are you? I was thinking of you and your son over the weekend. The anniversary is in March, correct?
I will have to post some pictures soon. It has been quite a transformation. I need to figure out how to upload pics from my phone.
Fox - we actually have city water and sewer. I'll keep you posted with updates from Rinnai guy. I will also check out electric hot water heaters too. Thanks for all your help.