Tankless Water Heater- good idea?

[nzulmer]

Sounds to me like your tank regulator is going bad. Take a look at your flame on your stove (if gas) when its operating well. then when you are having issues. I bet it will be lean. Extremely common for them to get lean in the cold when failing. Fwiw i have diff brand and its an outdoor unit so its self venting (no ducting), i live in the mountains and we average 20s/30s (nov-april) and get a few days well into teens and even single digits. My gas company wont fill my tank until it hits at least 15%. Never had any of these issues. But i’ve had 2 regulators fail in 12 years symptoms are always lean flame in cold weather

I am on my second regulator. We swapped it out initially to rule out the issue. But you make good point and having actually checked for that yet. I will have to check that out when the issue happens again. Thanks!

 

[Crusty]

We have two, opposite sides of the house and this avoids long waits to get the hot water out the faucet.

They are 15 years old, on NG and run like Champs. Vinegar flush once a year is simple with bucket and sump pump, HF specials. A dedicated water softener system will help avoid the lime calcium buildup that will occur if you don't flush yearly.

They throw codes when a problem occurs and a knowledgeable tech is sooo important. We had a recent issue where the thermostat meter was stripping off because the ballast needed cleaning, the temp was too high and it shut down. Easy fix to clean and works like perfect again.

They are great IMHO, ours easily have another 10 years of use because they have been maintained.

 

[Mr.T]

Thank you all for the input so far. Initial cost is also a factor, so I’m not sure two tankless heaters instead of a recirculating system is an option.
That puts me back to a traditional tank heater with recirc, as it drives me crazy running the water forever to get hot.

For those on LP. How much LP do you go through? I know location make a big diff. We’re in Phoenix (Desert Hills)

 

[nzulmer]

Thank you all for the input so far. Initial cost is also a factor, so I’m not sure two tankless heaters instead of a recirculating system is an option.
That puts me back to a traditional tank heater with recirc, as it drives me crazy running the water forever to get hot.

For those on LP. How much LP do you go through? I know location make a big diff. We’re in Phoenix (Desert Hills)

I'm in SoCal. I usually have to fill my tank up 2 times a year. 200gal LP tank, I fill it at 30-40%. That's with a family of 3 and regular use. No recirc pump. I would assume you'd see more LP usage with the recirc pump. But they are timer based, so you can set them up to what best suits your needs.

 

[zilla68]

I believe they need yearly cleaning. Installation with the correct valving make it an easier process but when I looked into them, they start to plug up in hard water situations without yearly flushing. I may have read that electric systems are much more expensive to run than a natural gas system. Been awhile since I dug into the info. I had decided I would stick with a gas unit though.

we have 30 duplexes i oversee and most are tankless, and we've never cleaned them, i know we should but man we did like 2 and it was a damn chore lol