thoughts on tankless water heater

[lil_acorn]

It may be time to replace our water heater. Does anyone have the tankless type and can give a review?

[pastrygirl]

We actually just replaced our tankless with a tank. Our furnace needed big repairs after 13-14 years (normal lifespan is 14-15 years), and my husband decided to go with a tank for hot water. We had two big reasons. First, our boiler would fire all the time and it was very loud. He was hoping that with the tank, we wouldn't hear it so often because it wouldn't need to fire so much. Second, no two people could use hot/warm water at the same time anywhere in the house. It was such a PITA when we had guests; we all had to coordinate our showers, doing dishes, etc. You couldn't even wash your hands with warm water in one bathroom while someone else was in the shower in another bathroom. Their shower would turn ice cold.

So far, with the tank, our boiler does not fire very often and I don't hear it when it does. As for the multiple people using water, it's quite a bit better but not great. I can use warm/hot water in the kitchen while my son is showering, and he notices the water get slightly cooler but still usable (though he does complain). We haven't tried showers at the same time yet, but I think it will work well enough to not have to coordinate anymore.

[lil_acorn]

Yes, that is what I've been concerned about - being able to get enough hot water in multiple faucets at the same time. I was wondering if the technology had improved.

But yikes my boiler is going on year 23. I'm starting to get some quotes on it to replace.

[BunnyBee]

We have a tankless now. We replaced it this summer. We would run out of hot water after two people showered, and we have four kids. The tankless has been great. I'm not sure if anyone has showered at the same time, but I have been doing dishes at the same time. We have 4 bathrooms, and I've never noticed any problems. Our plumbers and general contractor have the same tankless in their homes.

No boiler here though! Gas forced air type heat in a mild climate.

[Kindra178]

We have a boiler heated tankless hot water system. Endless hot water. When it runs out of hot water (my fault, refilling my bath too frequently), it just takes a few minutes for the water to reheat. We have had one expensive repair in the six years we have had it. That's the only negative - parts are expensive!

[daisysmom]

We had a Rinai (sp?) tankless in our old house that we put in 7 or so years ago (after our old water heater burst-- that wasn't a fun experience). We loved the Rinai - no problems with it at all. I know that we had multiple showers, showers+dishwashers going many times. We loved it.

When we moved, we had to replace 1 of 2 tanks pretty early on in our new house and we opted for the cheaper to stick with the tanks instead of switch the whole system to tankless. But if cost weren't prohibitive, I woudl not hesitate to do tankless.

[HannaAddict]

Had great luck with tankless and never heard of it not working with two people showering. We have three kids and have two showers and a tub going at the same time every time and everyone has hot water. Not loud either. About four years old. Our vacation house has tankless too, about ten years old, and works great and a houseful of people can all showier at the same time. Wouldn't go back to tank. They are significantly more expensive though than a tank. At least the type we have

[Momit]

We had a Rinnai and loved it. Tried to put one in another house and the main gas line (coming in from the street) was not large enough to support it. I would get one again in a second.

[Tanya]

We have one. We bought our house a couple years ago and the water heater that came with the house was not vented properly. It would have cost $2k to have it fixed, so we just took it out and put a tankless in instead. I love it! We've had multiple showers, the dishwasher and the washer running at the same time and never run out of hot water (not true with the tank one we had at the previous house and we even had a 50 gallon there). Of course, our water pressure is lower with that much stuff running, but we do not run out of hot water.
The only drawback is we have to wait a few minutes to get hot water. So, when I'm cooking in the kitchen, I do not have hot water to wash my hands unless I think ahead to turn on the hot water and let it heat up. Once it's hot, it's good though. It's just not instant.

[oneplustwo]

We actually just replaced our tankless with a tank. Our furnace needed big repairs after 13-14 years (normal lifespan is 14-15 years), and my husband decided to go with a tank for hot water. We had two big reasons. First, our boiler would fire all the time and it was very loud. He was hoping that with the tank, we wouldn't hear it so often because it wouldn't need to fire so much. Second, no two people could use hot/warm water at the same time anywhere in the house. It was such a PITA when we had guests; we all had to coordinate our showers, doing dishes, etc. You couldn't even wash your hands with warm water in one bathroom while someone else was in the shower in another bathroom. Their shower would turn ice cold.

So far, with the tank, our boiler does not fire very often and I don't hear it when it does. As for the multiple people using water, it's quite a bit better but not great. I can use warm/hot water in the kitchen while my son is showering, and he notices the water get slightly cooler but still usable (though he does complain). We haven't tried showers at the same time yet, but I think it will work well enough to not have to coordinate anymore.

I wonder if this is a regional thing. When we bought our house 14 years ago, the boiler/tankless water heater were two years old and both were considered excellent brands and models. We've never been able to have two people shower or use hot water at the same time in any shape or form in the house. It's been maddening. And just like PastryGirl, our boiler fires up all the time and is so incredibly loud. Our boiler has been dying a slow death for months now and is about to be replaced with a new boiler and an enormous tank. There was no question for DH and me that we'd go with a tank this time. i envy those of you with tankless that don't have any issues!