Tankless water heaters: opinions on brands?

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e9999

e9999

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well, as described elsewhere, I lost my water heater and I'm very keen on exploring the possibility of getting a tankless one.

Any thoughts on what brands are good to get?

Rheem seems ubiquitous but it's under the infamous GE umbrella, I'm told, not that I know what that means in this case.

Takagi I don't know anything about.

Bosch is probably OK and have the nifty hydroturbine, but I don't need that, I have power right there.

I am now looking at Naviens thanks to a post by some knowledgeable pipe whiz in the other thread. Intrigued as this may perhaps solve the daunting issue of replacing the flue.

Right now my flue is -I think- 3" single wall (is it really, that's odd, I better check more carefully) galvanized pipe, going through garage ceiling, attic space and roof. I'm not looking forward to changing that.

Thoughts?
 
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Japanese manufacturers. They've been using tankless in Japan for a long time.

A option you may want to consider is installing the heater outside and eliminate the need for a flue. In the California environment, this shouldn't be a problem. I'm in Seattle and was planning on an outside installations.

Check Takagi, Noritz and Rinnai.
 
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I'm buying a new house with two large Rinnai units (both located on outside walls). They are touted as being the thing. It will be summer before we move in so I can't be of much help as far as actual experience goes.
 
my parents have been running a takagi for a decade. works very well. gotta make sure you dont exceed the flow rate when you're taking a shower....gets cold fast ;) you have to get used to the fact that if the water gets cold, u gotta turn down the cold, not try to up the hot.
 
post up in the lowcountry club section...I think one of the guys is a dealer.
 
consumer reports just did a test on the takagi and a bosch i believe. they concentrated on the whole house systems. The takagi rated the highest. They sell alot of Rinnai producst around here. I heard they are so so. I am building a house right now and my contractor does not like tankless systems so we went with reg water heater. If you plan on being in your home for the next 10-15 years then it is cost effective. if you are not, the monthly savings are not worth the initial investment. just my 2 cents.
 
lenross1 said:
consumer reports just did a test on the takagi and a bosch i believe. they concentrated on the whole house systems. The takagi rated the highest. They sell alot of Rinnai producst around here. I heard they are so so. I am building a house right now and my contractor does not like tankless systems so we went with reg water heater. If you plan on being in your home for the next 10-15 years then it is cost effective. if you are not, the monthly savings are not worth the initial investment. just my 2 cents.
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My friend, a master licensed plumber, said it would take a tankless heater with BTU equivalent of 139K BTU to match the performance of a 40K BTU natural gas heater. It would cost 3-5K to do it right. You'd need to increase the size of the gas pipe or increase pressure and install a manifold to feed the tankless heater.

Not worth it to me. I can buy a bunch of $400 tank heaters before I even come close to recouping my cost of a properly sized tankless water heater.

Even with the tax credit, not worth it to me.
 
I have the Noritz. Love it. 180k btu input/148k output. I have a family of 6 and can do a load of dishes , laundry, and run 2 showers no problem.

Only problem is the young boys ages 10 and 8 have to be reminded with a knock,- "times up, stop hollywoodn."
 
Also look at the Bradford White GX-2-25S6BN or the 55 gallon version if necessary - read the specs - they are pretty impressive and I think the 25gal version achieves much of the benefit of a tankless without a delay

 
I put a Noritz in about 5 years ago. It's a 190,000 Btu unit that works very well. We had to increase our gas line size due to increased demand, and had to be a bit creative with the 4" stainless steel vent pipe routing. The main reason we went tankless was to gain space for a kitchen pantry, but I also really like the idea of not running out of hot water.

Works great and I would definitely go tankless again.
 
Anybody done the electric tankless heaters? I do not have gas so I have to go electric. Anyone?
 
I've put a few electric point of use tankless. The last one made 2.5 gal of 110 degree water and pulled 26 amps on 110 (I didn't know they make 30 amp 110 breakers).

They tend to pull high amps for low water use like 36 kw for 3 gal per min of 85 degree rise water( thats taking 50 degree well water and raising it 85 degrees to 135) which works out to 156 amps at 230 volts.
 
when all was said and done, I gave up on the tankless gas heater. Just too much trouble with the flue and even the gas input line.
I really tried to make it happen but it just didn't do it for me. Even with the big rebates.
Got an inexpensive tank heater. Sometimes simpler is better.
 
rinnia all the way or the gsw version of it the everhot. 180,000 btu's at 7.5 gals per min. based on incoming water temp of ..... i forget right now , approx 80 % eff

brand new in the box from the local supplier here i paid 1,100 bucks . venting is expensive though.

and down south where you guys are you can buy an enclosure and mount it outside your house. up here in the great white north the freezing pipes becomes a problem,

the rinnia has some really nice features / options you can run a loop for in floor heating , baseboards, throw an air handler on it,

me likey.

NAVIEN . second choice.... i like that you can vent it with cpvc. that gives you a few more options for location and stuff.

and the venting is cheap
 
Problem with tankless is that you have to run them at 100% to get the advertised efficiency. I don't know where you're at but if live in a cold climate and install your WH in your conditioned space the passive heat loss contributes to heating your house, making it much more efficient.

I've built houses with both Rinnais and Tokagis, clients seemed happy with both's performance but have had non-warranty issue with Tokagi after frozen pipes.
 
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