Tankless water heater suggestions?

[Owen Lucas]

Thank you to all who answered my previous thread about conventional water heaters. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/electric-vs-propane-water-heater.392537/

I decided to go ahead with a condensing tankless using LP. During my research Rinnai kept coming up highly recommended.

What are your thoughts on Rinnai?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rinnai-Sup...ior-Interior-Tankless-Water-Heater/5015128501

 

[Rand]

are you on well water? (many who dont have natural gas are)
I'd skip tankless.. but if you do go tankless make sure you set it up with all the extra valves so you can flush it/soak it 2x year etc.
esp. with well water.

 

[Owen Lucas]

are you on well water? (many who dont have natural gas are)
I'd skip tankless.. but if you do go tankless make sure you set it up with all the extra valves so you can flush it/soak it 2x year etc.

Good advice on the flushing part. I've just learned about this requirement. I will have to spec this into the installation.

Yes I am on well water and have a lot of upgrades to do before I install the water heater:

- New pressure tank
- Arsenic filtration tank
- Water softener
- Sediment and carbon filtration
- Associated plumbing

I will have the water tested to make sure what kind of treatment I need but I know for sure I need a water softener and arsenic removal. Arsenic is slightly high at 15ppb and softeners are common here. There is no indication of water staining or issues but I am spending about $300 on a very thorough test to make sure I purchase the right treatment solutions.

 

[wander2039]

We've had a Rinnai tankless I think for 5 years now. I flush it the 1st of January every year with vinegar. Love the endless hot water and unfortunately so does one of our teenage boys. The downside is when you're somewhere and they have a regular tank. Their a big name in that industry so don't foresee any issues long term.

 

[Opelman]

A friend of mine had a laundromat and the 2 Paloma water heaters were rock solid. They once ran a month straight due to a slab leak. Far easier to get service parts for than the much more troublesome Bosch over on the car wash side.

 

[DemoFly]

If you have hard water and use less than 50 gallons a day I wouldn't recommend tankless. It will be cheaper and less maintenance to have a dual element electric. I work in propane and am always shocked at how much people spend for hot water, especially factoring in the hidden costs of propane such as tank rental, maintenance, delivery and surcharges. I do however, totally agree with moving away from something with a standing pilot. You're paying $120 a year just to have that pilot lit.

 

[factorytuned2012]

I agree with Demofly, 40 Gallon 3500 watt water heater good for 2-4 people. all you need is a 240v 20a circuit.

 

[Passport1]

I have one and the cost of LP is way beyond annoying. I'd stick with a conventional 50/55 gallon electric water heater for a normal sized family.

 

[Fitter30]

Before you buy one need to know the coldest water temp and the highest gpm of hot water usage.
Just touch each box to change setting to gpm
https://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources-and-design-tools/calculators/water-mixing/water-mixing

 

[JustinH]

I have Rinnai tankless in about the hardest water in the country, with no softener, and mine is 6 years old now.

Mine is a tankless natural gas model works fine.

I flush it twice a year with white vinegar only and a submersible pump.

We live in a builder grade house, they put one in every new house.

 

[walterjay]

They can be a bit of a challenge if parts are needed.

 

[snarl]

We have a Navien condensing.

https://www.navieninc.com

 

[Donald]

Heat pump hot water heater.

 

[KrisZ]

I would think twice about it. Depending on your needs and water temperature coming out of the well, these heaters can require a lot of BTUs.
The one I had in California was a 200,000 BTU unit. Of course being in CA it didn’t need to use all of the 200k BTUs that often, but for you it may be way different and being on LPG, the costs may be a lot higher than you’re anticipating.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I would think twice about it. Depending on your needs and water temperature coming out of the well, these heaters can require a lot of BTUs.
The one I had in California was a 200,000 BTU unit. Of course being in CA it didn’t need to use all of the 200k BTUs that often, but for you it may be way different and being on LPG, the costs may be a lot higher than you’re anticipating.

That is an interesting point. I just measured the temperature with a thermal imager after running the water for 2 minutes an the temp is 47*. I presume that's pretty cold for well water. I'll have to do more research but I am fine getting the most powerful Rinnai which is the RXP199in at 11.1 GPM. I figure the high flow rate would be able to heat the water sufficiently.

https://www.rinnai.us/residential/product-detail/rxp199in

 

[oil pan 4]

My suggestion is don't get one.
What's wrong with arsenic in well water? You get used to it after about 6 months.

 

[Owen Lucas]

My suggestion is don't get one.
What's wrong with arsenic in well water? You get used to it after about 6 months.

"Arsenic is an established cause of bladder cancer, largely based on observations from earlier studies in highly exposed populations," said Debra Silverman, Sc.D., chief of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, NCI, and senior author on the study. "However, emerging evidence suggests that low to moderate levels of exposure may also increase risk."

https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/bladder-cancer-risk-arsenic-private-wells

 

[dubber09]

When we moved into our brand new townhouse in late 2015 it had Navien installed running on natural gas. I clean air and water filters annually but there is almost nothing to clean, never flushed it while I could. We have very good water thou, low minerals, pH is about 7-7.4 if iirc (but I gave up running fish tanks for a while now and don't test water anymore).

 

[oil pan 4]

"Arsenic is an established cause of bladder cancer, largely based on observations from earlier studies in highly exposed populations," said Debra Silverman, Sc.D., chief of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, NCI, and senior author on the study. "However, emerging evidence suggests that low to moderate levels of exposure may also increase risk."

https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/bladder-cancer-risk-arsenic-private-wells

Yeah I'm probably not going to live long enough to have to worry about that.
There's at least some inconsistency in that map. How is Nevada red and Utah fine?
Then high plains NM is red and panhandle Texas is fine when I know they share the same aquifer.
Also new Mexico looks like it's Congressional districts which is really weird.
Almost looks like different labs with varying testing methods or completely different levels of technology was used.

 

[Chevyc10]

I have Navien condensing heaters. They have saved me lot of LP and money over tank type. Vent with PVC, which is much cheaper than vent pipe.