Tankless water heater or standard 50 gallon

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dja4260

dja4260

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Greenville, SC
My current gas H20 heater is from 1996. I'm planning to replace it in the near future. It's the ONLY natural gas using unit in my home. My gas bill is roughly $18-20 per month.

I can purchase a 50 gallon gas H2O heater for roughly $600. A quality tankless will run me $1000. I have room to change the anode rod and will be installing & servicing whatever unit I go with.

I don't think I'll ever break even on the additional cost of a tankless.

Anyone have any opinions?

What am I missing?
 
In my case, I ran the numbers and considered the pros and cons. I came to the same conclusion as you did. Today's heaters are probably not as good as your 1996 model regarding lifespan.

Did you include possible changes needed (extra costs) to install the tankless?
 
It's likely the tankless will use less gas than your old tank. However, even that depends on many factors and your water use. Condensing water heaters are uber efficient at 97% and will beat out a tankless unit every time.
 
Tankless will use less gas, but not appreciatively, what's more important is how many people in the household that will take showers/baths. With tankless you'll never run out of hot water, but if you check $ & cents tankless is more expensive.
 
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We currently have a 40 gallon and haven't experienced any lack of hot water issues. I have two small kids and I do know that the demand will only rise. Going with a short 50 gallon h2o heater would be a simple swap.
 
I don't think tankless heaters are reliable yet.
Seen too many duds.
 
I was thinking of a tankless water heater but when the water heater quit working on yes a Saturday , the tankless water heater store was closed I went to Home Depot and bought a regular tank water heater and an hour later had a new water heater installed.
 
FWIW: Building a new home in 2017, I chose to go with the 99% efficient tank-less gas unit with 15 year heat exchanger warranty. It is the Navien NPE-240S (~$900 installed).
I never run out of hot water (set to 125°F) and have serviced it annually with the descaling kit I purchased. It has an Energy-Guide EPA rating of is $191/year (EF rated 0.99).

I've been VERY pleased with my purchase and I know it will be very efficient for me to run it.

In my old house, I had a 40 gallon NG hot-water (GE) heater that I flushed twice a year and "should" have changed out the anode every couple of years (EF was 0.56) or so. Even with all that, I would expect to have to replace it every 10-12 years or so given my water quality, usage, etc. I installed it myself (in 2008) and paid ~$500 (I think, at Lowes).

I prefer my new tank-less unit and I do think it will be more efficient to run over the next two decades over the tank unit (and takes FAR less room in my garage as well).
Given my research and discussion with my plumbing supplier and builder, I expect to get 20 years or more service out of it without issues. I did install a surge suppressor (whole-house and at unit).
 
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If one were so inclined, could you drink hot water straight from the tap with a tankless system? Since it has none of the issues of a tank system?
 
Tankless has to be sized significantly bigger than you would expect if there is going to be multiple uses at once. Another thing to remember with a tankless heater, if you have a large draw and then open a second load on the heater, the temperature rise will drop off with the heavier loads. So, if you just turned on a single faucet at 1.0GPM you may get a 75* rise in temp, but if you have a shower going and the washing machine and a faucet you may only get 45-50* rise in temp. Can be quite the shock to whoever's in the shower... ask my wife how I know
lol.gif


Go with a standard tank heater, at least 50 gallons, with the highest efficiency and highest recovery rate you can find. It will cost more than the $600, but your family and your wallet in the long run will be thankful.

I bought the highest efficiency electric heater I could find because at the time our neighborhood didn't have gas lines (now it does), so as soon as I have to replace the electric you can bet your bibby that I'm getting a gas one. The difference in cost of operation is staggering between an electric and gas water heater over the lifetime of the unit (win goes to gas).
 
Going through similar, getting a whole house re-pipe done, and have a 13 year old water heater that has never been serviced or drained (my own fault).
Figure I would get that taken care of at the same time.
Talking to several plumbers about replacing the heater during the re-pipe, every single one of the said stick with a conventional water heater.
The cost of the tankless (making new vents and mounts and such), plus initial cost, minimal fuel savings, annual maintenance on them, and their short lifespan, make them a no-go.
So you know when the guys that would make money from the sale and repairs of it tell you not to do it, you should not do it.

My current 40 gallon does fine for me. With a 16 yr old daughter and 13 yr old son, they take long hot showers, and I still have not run out of hot water.
I am sure if there were 2 showers going at the same time we might if they were long, but there have been times when both are going (or a shower and the dishwasher or washing machine) and no issues.
 
I bought a Bradford White Defender series 6 years ago and just changed the rod in it recently with a drain/fill for any sediment. Inside looks like new with boroscope camera other than some minor calcium here/there. I have carbon block and sediment filters on the water line from the city which also filters the water going into the tank. It's a 50 gallon with power vent. Super happy with it. Just if you do decide to go with a tank instead of tankless. They are built to last from what I read and it's not uncommon to get 30+ years out of their units as long as the rod is inspected and changed when needed.
 
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Originally Posted by dja4260
My current gas H20 heater is from 1996. I'm planning to replace it in the near future. It's the ONLY natural gas using unit in my home. My gas bill is roughly $18-20 per month.

I can purchase a 50 gallon gas H2O heater for roughly $600. A quality tankless will run me $1000. I have room to change the anode rod and will be installing & servicing whatever unit I go with.

I don't think I'll ever break even on the additional cost of a tankless.

Anyone have any opinions?

What am I missing?


Consumer Reports just had an article on this yesterday.

I do not believe there was a considerable saving in gas. And the install costs are high for a tank conversion to tankless. The tankless need to be flushed of scale yearly by pumping 5 gallons of vinegar through it. Needs to be plumbed with extra valves to allow the flushing. You may need a larger gas line to the appliance and venting can be different.

One benefit of tankless is they can handle continuous hot water where a hot tub may need 100 gallons of hot water and you can only partially fill it with a 50 gallons hot water from a tank.
 
i have one installed in 2007. still running like new. i descale it every couple of years, but because our water here is pretty good i don't get much . when doing a conversion from a tank the supply line needs to be checked to see if its big enough for the tankless.

the greatest benefit was the space that i recouped after going to a tankless. the area the old tank was in my garage , i put a 80 gallon compressor in that spot . many new houses are coming with tankless as standard now.
 
The OP said that he had an 18-20 dollar monthly natural fuel bill.

Don't expect that to drop much with a tankless.

At my last house near Austin, the natural gas company would sometimes miss a read, and would estimate the bill, then catch it up the next month.

As it turns out I would get bills for 0 units of fuel used, would be very similar to a normal bill.

The account fee is the bulk of the gas bill in Texas. Also natural gas is dirt cheap.

The only time I would consider tankless is if you have the tank in an area where a leaking tank will destroy the house.
 
Do you have recirculating hot water for heat? That is what I have, and IIRC the burner has a separate loop in it for hot water. No tank and no tankless setup. Seems to work. One side benefit is that the furnace runs year 'round. It is not getting fired up at the same time it is needed for a cold snap.

I spoke once with the PO of my house and he said he wished he had put in a tank, but so far, knock on wood, I've not had problems with it.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
I was thinking of a tankless water heater but when the water heater quit working on yes a Saturday , the tankless water heater store was closed I went to Home Depot and bought a regular tank water heater and an hour later had a new water heater installed.



Wait... wait.. wait a minute...

CT8 I thought you took a bath in the creek out back behind your place Grizzly Adams style
lol.gif
 
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