Tankless water heaters?

We've had 2 of them. The first one - a bosch aquastar 125b was not big enough for our family (5 person household). Yes, we had unlimited hot water, but if anyone TOUCHED another hot water tap while someone was in the shower, you knew it! (brrrrrrrrr!) That one we had for 6 years - we learned to work around that minor inconvenience - until the water valve corroded & it was cheaper to replace the whole unit with the $300. tax credit - it basically paid for the upgrade. We went with another Aquastar - this one is at least twice the size and have had no problems with it keeping up on the hot water at multiple taps at the same time - be SURE you check into that before deciding on a model for your house (bigger IS better!) That being said, yes they are more $$ than a tank model to purchase, so take that into consideration when calculating how much you save in gas. Secondly, we didn't notice a dramatic reduction in our gas bill since switching to tankless, BUT the fact that you never run out of hot water kind of makes up for it. Also - my husband said they may not run 24/7 to keep a tank of hot water hot, but when they DO run, they use more gas at that time to heat up the water at that particular moment so it probably works out to where you are saving some money or it's about even all things considered. We installed ours ourselves - hub's a contractor and has worked with copper piping, etc. before so it was easy for him. I guess it depends on your skill level & comfort level working with gas and water pipes. Hope that helps!

I don't have one. But I have researched.

Positives: Immediate hot water. Do not need to waste water. Does not heat all the time, like a tank water heater. Last longer (20 years vs 6 to 10 years for a traditional model).

Negative: cost much more at initial purchase. Usually requires a professional to install.

The less you use your hot water the more benefit you will see from a tankless.

I keep hearing that Rinnai is the best tankless on the market:

http://www.foreverhotwater.com/

When I lived in Europe in the 70s... that is what everyone had. I loved it. I never ran out of hot water, it saved space and worked great! I know nothing about installation, but we'll be having one installed in the next year or so, now that they are available here...

Back then, we noticed a significant difference in the electrical bill to power it when compared to the full tank units used in a house we rented. I read the post above, and I've never seen or used a gas unit, only electric.

One of the biggest problems with tankless water heaters is locating the unit too far from the fixtures. This results in long wait times for hot water. With its small size, there are many options for locating the tankless water heater, and outdoor installations are popular in warmer climates. The best place may not be where the old water heater was located. - See more at: http://www.miconstruguia.com/en/how-to-install-a-t...

We used them at a Fly-in lodge I worked at - and they worked great (on LP of course).

They do save on energy usage as you are only heating what water you consume (except the pipe run).

They cost about twice as much as a tank unit, and of course require new piping from an existing tank unit.

** I opted to stick to tank unit for emergency potable water supply since I live in an earthquake-prone zone ( Alaska).

people here in st louis seem to like them. they get discussed on the rehabbersclub yahoo group now and then, and i haven't seen anythng really negative. those who have them almost unanimously recommend them. that won't do you much good, tho, if you're in a warmer climate than st louis. the rehabbersclub listserv focuses on rehabbing in st louis, but anyone can join as long as you keep to technical questions. some of the members are snobby about the list being st louis only, but what they don't know won't hurt them. the amount of knowledge available there is phenomenal. groups.yahoo.com/group/rehabbersclub

Friend has one, bills went down but... he said installation was kinda pricey... I will shoot him a copy of this question and send ya the answer to your email but... hes outa town som it might be a few daze and such.

I don't have one but I have heard it makes your bill go up. I will be intersted to see what answers you get.

edit: it looks like I may have heard wrong about the bill going up. I may have to check into them. Good question ((( Zilla)))

It cost more to install it. But we are happy with it and our bill did not go up.

Just pray to Jesus and get all the free hot water you need.