Anyone tried a 'tankless' water heater?

[Tangle]

Just wondering what you thought of them. Seems like a better way to heat water than the conventional tank type.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[thepittman]

They work well but some of the systems are noisy.

[deadeye72]

I know a few people that have them and they love them. They never run out of hot water, and it uses less energy.

They work well but some of the systems are noisy.

The ones I know have theirs mounted outside.

[Cupcake]

Some types do not have a variable burner, which means i's either on or off. At low flow rates the water can get VERY hot, then the unit shuts off on over-temperature. The water then gets cold for a moment until the unit cycles back on. Only at real low flow rates, but enough to be a nuisance to a friend of mine I installed one for.

[SIXTO]

I'm intrigued by them, but havent tried one yet. I might go that route when I build my cabin.

[Gunnutty]

The propane and natural gas work better then the electric tankless. We have installed several and have had no complaints. They are very effecient. If you have water with a high lime content you will have to run a cleaning solution thru them once a year or so.

[bzdog]

Interesting thread on the topic over a CPF (you have to read a bit before it really gets into the tankless talk).

-john

[P7fanatic]

They're great! If I ever build (or my next house), I will be installing one in it.
Used them for over 10 years when I was in Spain and Sicily.
In Europe they run off of propane. Supposedly you can run them off of natural gas here also. Never heard of an electric one. Seems that would defeat the purpose and not be as efficient.
It's like a radiator in which the water runs through the radiator pipes when the hot tap is turned on. Normally they are mounted outside of the main house. One of mine was mounted in the laundry room. They have a 'pilot light flame' and good ones have a temperature regulator. Having one with a good temp regulator is very important in my opinion. Actually, it's not exactly a 'temp regulator' but it regulates the furnace flame intensity that the radiator pipes are running through.
A lot of people leave the pilot on so that whenever they turn the hot tap on there is unlimited hot water. That is, as long as there is fuel available. If this is the case, there must be a small 'vent' in the wall so that if the pilot goes out, gas will not accumilate (it is deadly). Some people, like my mother-n-law, only light the pilot light 'flame' when they want to use hot water in order to conserve fuel.

[edr9x23super]

I know i am getting one when we move into our new house on May 31st......

I will remember to post a "range test report" for everyone and let you all know what brand we chose, installation costs, etc.

Until then,

[JonInNY]

Funny this should come up... I have a service tech coming tomorrow to possibly replace my old heater with a new tankless one. Everything I've read sounds greatl, and these posts helped as well. Thanks!

[cagueits]

I have an electric one, try to get the one with a higher flow rate or you'll have the hot then cold water sympton mentioned above. I rather have the gas one, but it is not an option where I am renting right now.

[Colin]

I had one, you need to have good water pressure to get the most out of them.

[mousehunter]

The CPF thread was interesting, I wonder if it was dated at all - it is not as if this is very new tech, so I doubt much as changed. I was thinking about these the other day - was thinking about using one for an RV remodel.

I can not say that the CP thread was positive. I expect that the RV will be garage kept some of the time, but forgot about the gas issues involved with that. On the other hand, needing a 200 amp service for my garage just too funny. I guess an externally mounted gas unit might work - if the RV had an external hot water connection (it's a remodel, so anything is possible I guess).

[AZ Husker]

I've got a propane model in my mountain cabin. Works great and is much more efficient, especially for occasional or weekend use. Plus, no worry about freezing.

[Cupcake]

I've got a propane model in my mountain cabin. Works great and is much more efficient, especially for occasional or weekend use. Plus, no worry about freezing.

Please elaborate? If they don't come on except with flow, freezing should be a greater worry then with a regular tank-type, I think.