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So after 5 years (maybe less) our water heater is starting to go. I don;t really want to spend $800 on a new one every 5 years so I'm thinking about a tankless one. Does anyone know how mucg they cost & if they're worth it? We have hard water (which probably doesn't extend the life of a water heater) so I'm scared that might also wreck a tankless one??? :shrug:
Are you sure your warranty is up? It's usually for 6, 9, 12 years...
Sorry, I don't know anything about tankless ones - but before you replace, make sure there isn't something minor wrong with the one you have. We're lucky, because my husband is handy, and can figure out which little part needs replacing when ours has been slack in heating...
See that's what we thought, it had a 5 year warranty but everyone's telling me they don't give warranties on them because they're only made to last 5-7 years now adays
Depends upon the water heater, I suppose, and where it's purchased. I got those numbers from the Home Depot site.
Gosh, I wish I could send you my husband, but MJ is so very far away..... and it's snowing!
Know anybody handy at all?
We have a Rennai(sp?). Not sure if I like it or not. The hot water will start cold( of course)then go hot, then go cold, then hot. PIA Takes quite awhile for hot water in kitchen which is farthest from hot water heater. Talked to someone with same brand and they have the same problems. Very easy to clean, if hard water is a problem or get water softner. Our unit is over five years old. Newer ones probably address the problem of off and on hot water. I would get another.
We have a Rennai(sp?). Not sure if I like it or not. The hot water will start cold( of course)then go hot, then go cold, then hot. PIA Takes quite awhile for hot water in kitchen which is farthest from hot water heater. Talked to someone with same brand and they have the same problems. Very easy to clean, if hard water is a problem or get water softner. Our unit is over five years old. Newer ones probably address the problem of off and on hot water. I would get another. My advice is do alot of research.
You should consider a water softener if you can afford it because I suspect hard water is probably what did your current hot water heater in so quickly. Before we switched over to municipal water, we were using well water and it killed the hot water tanks and other appliances pretty quickly. Man...on well water we went through SO many coffee makers. LOL. It also corroded the plumbing as well as the surfaces of all of our sinks, tubs, toilets etc.
As for the in-line heaters, my complaint about them is what other posters have already suggested: the hot-cold, hot-cold of the supply. But I suspect they are more economical than the standard big tanks because you're only ever heating what you need.
Bad news- we did have a 5 years warranty but that was just on parts & was up on Jan 24 :rolleyes:
Good news- I know a plumber & can get him to fix parts for cheap
Great news- the tank itself has a 8 year warranty so I'm just gonna let the rust eat it away cuz I'm sure it will in the next 3 years :top: plus I hear if the pipes gets rusted (which I think is the problem) that can speed up the process
We were having problems with our water heater after six years. It would shut itself off every couple of days and would have to be manually restarted. We had a professional come and fix it... which only lasted a couple of weeks. Finally my husband looked up the problem online, found a youtube video on how to fix our exact problem and Voila! Now it's working like new!
Bradford White is highly regarded....don't think that you buy one direct (ie. need to buy from a plumber). Rheem would be next.....skip GE (rebadged Rheem).
Dave
We have a tankless water heater --Paloma. We have had 4 or 5 years. No complaints for me! We never run out of hot water...it does take a few seconds to warm up but mine never goes cold again. All in it was $2500 I think??? We had to get a gas line to it and it has to be done by a gas fitter and we had to get hydro etc to the area.
Just an FYI since you said that you're going to carry on with the one you have, if you go to a gas tankless one you have to make sure your gas meter can handle it. I was speaking with the Carrier guy and he said they need to have at least a 400,000 btu gas meter especially if you have a gas cooker and or a fireplace, gas dryer etc.
If you are prepared what to expect and are ok with then tankless hotwater heaters are a pretty good option. When I bought this house the previous hot water tank was blown out in the bottom, and replaced it with a whole house electric model. It ran me about $300, it was ok, it took some effort to modify the pressure, so that it worked better. After 3 years it conked out. It was not a well known phenomenon to run a filter inline in front plus plumb it for regular system flushes. I cant complain too much I saved tones off my gas bills, and it didnt make a big mark on the electric bill. I have since opted to go for true point of use. This uses less electricity and the water gets hotter and get there faster. But it means installing a few units. However, the brand I have are also intigratable with solar hot water heaters which I intend on eventually installing. If the water is hot enough, the unit won't even turn on and will use next to no electricity ever.