Posted: 11/25/2007 1:19:35 PM EDT
| My water heater died. I want to go tankless. Anyone here own one? Suggestions? Who installs them in Cobb Co.? |
| Licensed plumber here. They work great in certain situations, but they are no where as good as a regular water heater. Be careful when you get a plumber to install one, they can get pricey and you really have to know what your doing to install it properly. A gas one works better. Electric tankless is slow on heating. |
| Not saying I am an expert but I have installed over 50 of them and I have went back nd taken half of them back. Main reason is that they really increase your gas bill or electirc bill. They work good but be prepared for other cost when installing them. Gas line installation and construction on the waal where you put it (wall hangers and braces inside the wall). If you decide to go with one go with a company that can prove they have installed them before. |
| Alright.. I can probably answer ALL of your tankless questions. I just built an addition on to my house and in the process I installed a tankless hot water heater (the Rinnai Continuum unit). I can take a shower and run the washer at the same time, or you can have 3 showers running continuously. Best advice is to mount it as close to an outside wall as possible because the vent pipe for it is what is so expensive. There is a digital thermostat that comes on the unit... you basically set the temp you want the water to come out, and you are done. (You will prob never change it from 120 degrees) My gas bill was cut into less than a third. Over the summer when that is the only gas appliance I am using, my gas bill is like $25 ($10-15 of that being AGL "maintenance" charges). My house was built in the 50s and I have a 1" gas line.. it supplies that unit just fine. If you need any other info, I can prob help you out. I know a plumber that installs these units as well. |
| GTWolfman, I've got a couple of questions for you. I need a new water heater because mine isn't heating that well anymore. I called a local plumber to see how much it would be for the unit and installation. He said $2700. I looked at the Home Depot and Lowes websites. They list the units for about $1000. Lowes doesn't have anyone that installs. Home Depot has Delta Mechanical do installations for them. I called Home Depot and they had someone from Delta Mechanical call me back. I asked if they could come out to look over where the installation would be and provide me an estimate for the tankless unit plus installation. The chick just says $2600. She said they don't need to come out and look. What I'm trying to figure out is how in the world could installation be $1600? I looked at an installation diagram and it doesn't look too difficult. Is there some sort of majic that needs to be performed by the installer. Or, are these people just throwing out a ripoff figure because there are so many overpaying suckers around here? I'd really like one, but I'm not about to get taken advantage of. |
I know part of the expense is you will need a plumber and an electrician. I examined the install of 3 tankless units on my Mother's new house and it didn't look that difficult, but looks can be very deceiving. If you think you can do, then you should. The $1600.00 labor you save can buy a lot of ammo. TD |
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I'm using a 15-yr-old, 40 gal. gas water heater that I bought from Lowe's for around $100. I installed it myself. I've also done all the wiring in my house, including the breaker box. I'm sure I could install a tankless water heater. $1600 is outrageous! Kind of like paying $400-$500 for a brake job! |
| I've done all the electrical in my basement and can do plumbing too. None of it is really that difficult, it just takes me longer than someone who does it for a living. I'd just really like to know where $1600 for installation comes from. How many days does it take a professional to install one of these? |
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I think the added expense comes in needing a plumber who is also able to do wiring and gas work. Once you couple it with a $300 tax credit and a $400 rebate it works out quite well. They are working right now. I'll let you know how it turns out. ETA: if a tankless is not installed by a certified installer it voids the factory 15 year warranty. This according to the manual. |
Hooey! Glock will repair or replace that tankless water heater, forever, free, whether you're the first or fiftieth owner! 
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Two Rinnais in use and I love them. A house full of kids and ever running laundry sucked my two 75 gal heaters in no time. Major cost is the running of the gas lines. An outside wall close to your gas main makes all the $$$ in the world. Otherwise, it really can blow past $1500 an install 
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