Propane Hot Water Tank heater or Tankless? Help me decide.

[wrangler6831]

Tankless water heaters aren't set it and for get it. They require a fair amount of maintenance . I don't care how much you filter your water, When water is heated all the minerals will separate out of the water and end up stopping up the water passages in the water coil ..If you perform the required maintenance you should be ok. Other than maintenance, there are a fair amount of electronics. When these parts fail it's expensive to repair. Tank type water heaters are more forgiving when it comes to maintenance .. They can be said to set them and forget them, & they have less parts to fail.... As a contractor, I can purchase and install any water heater I want... For me it's the tried and true tank type water heater NG, Propane or electric. Their pretty much maintenance free and if a part fails it won't wont cost you an arm and a leg...

I'm not sure what experience you have but I have done ZERO upkeep on either of mine in the ten years I have had them. This includes about 8 years on well water (no filter or conditioner) and the last two years on city.

P.S.
After searching youtube I did find a video showing to flush with vinager once a year, but I'm about ten years behind and they still work like new.

 

[grsthegreat]

well for whats it worth, here are my inputs on it.

when i replaced my electric water heater about 5 years ago, i was thinking of gas fired whole house systems also. mind you this is 5 years ago, maybe the systems have improved.

Tankless systems require a separate elect (or gas) water heater in order to use a recirs system that allows for instant hot water anywheres in the house.

My well water was too cold according to 2 different contractors that came to give bid...they both wanted to install 2 units.

I have a friend that has a very expensive tankless unit, and hes had to replace the board on it 2 times in a few years (luckily it was under warranty for part... not labor -- that warranty is now over completely)


this scarred me off, but noticing that on alot of jobs plumbers were installing twin 95% efficient gas water heaters i picked the installer (not the bosses) brains and did the following - as the INSTALLER and repair tech suggested.

1. Install two (2) 40 gal 95% efficient direct vent water heaters plumbed in series

2. Go ahead and use the circ pump

3. Use the 2nd tank as a reserve tank by setting the gas temp sensor lower than main tank

4. Make sure backflow device is used for circulation system....and pressure tank to absorb water hammer

5. the benefit of this system, is that if one tank failed, you can isolate it from the loop and still have hot water while repairs are made.

6. the 2nd tank is really only a reserve storage tank and the circ system maintains all temps. NO fluctuations or cold blasts from system



5 years later.....very happy. I HAVE NEVER run out of hot water and i have a 4,000 SF home. Overall system was 1/2 the cost of quality tankless bids. I did have one Rheem control unit (vapor sensor) fail and shut off main water heater. I noticed cooler water than should be, and went to investigate. the flash codes in the main water heater signified failure. I called Rheem and they mailed me new part. I simply bumped up the 2nd water heater tamp and was back to hot water till the parts came.

 

[MotorSeven]

Grs, I am confused. How can well water be too cold? Constant underground temp is relatively equal below 20' ranging between 50 & 60 degrees with most being closer to 60. Is your well water colder than 50?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump

 

[grsthegreat]

Grs, I am confused. How can well water be too cold? Constant underground temp is relatively equal below 20' ranging between 50 & 60 degrees with most being closer to 60. Is your well water colder than 50?

Geothermal heat pump - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.. well ours is a community well system with storage tanks. all i know is they checked the temps in they were in the 50F range. at that time (not sure if its the same now) the units wouldnt raise the temps up enough. Both people stated id need 2 units.

And back then the costs were VERY high for each unit. I ended up having my entire water system re-piped to include a recirc system, had a room built to house 2 water heaters and a new heat pump furnace, had gas run and exhaust run for less than 1/2 the cost of the tankless units.
i have no idea if the newer units can raise the water temps up higher.

I do know ive wired 2 houses in the past year for electric whole house systems..and they both required three runs of 40 amps circuits to operate. The lights in the houses actually dimmed while running hot water. And these were 400 amp systems. You couldnt pay me enough to put one of those in my house

 

[kenmac]

I'm not sure what experience you have but I have done ZERO upkeep on either of mine in the ten years I have had them. This includes about 8 years on well water (no filter or conditioner) and the last two years on city.

P.S.
After searching youtube I did find a video showing to flush with vinager once a year, but I'm about ten years behind and they still work like new.

consider yourself lucky my friend. I have service agreements to service & flush . Even then, some water coils still stop up. Here, We have a lot of lime in the water

 

[grsthegreat]

consider yourself lucky my friend. I have service agreements to service & flush . Even then, some water coils still stop up. Here, We have a lot of lime in the water

i agree. ive had to replace MANY MANY electric elements in water heaters ove the years. and in EVERY case the bottom of the tanks were loaded with sediments.

Personally on my system, i hook a hose up and use the water to clean my air conditioning electronic filter grates when necessary. this helps clean the grates and flushes the water heater at same time.

 

[MotorSeven]

Grs, you are right about the electrical requirements of elec units. I bought one and took it back because my duplex line is 330' long. Mine is Propane and does not use much gas at all.

 

[aczlan]

Grs, you are right about the electrical requirements of elec units. I bought one and took it back because my duplex line is 330' long. Mine is Propane and does not use much gas at all.

Our place came with a on demand electric one... Dual 60 amp 220v breakers and all. It broke and hasnt been fixed. Currently using the indirect one running off of the oil boiler and I am thinking of adding propane next year to get a propane stove and a propane hot water heater (which will still be in series with the indirect one).

Aaron Z

 

[Loadstar]

Have you thought about saving a lot of money by giving the electric a good service and simply adding a small propane water heater to current system? just leave it off until it's required and take camp showers.


Here are a few other points
-I was all about tankless until I worked around them more. They are (depending on brand) extremely stout machines. I have seen a few hanging on the side of rooftop units heating buildings. Yes they have a couple boards (computers) but so does just about everything else. They work exceptionally well in commercial applications. As for residential it is hard to beat the old simple tank. You blow it down once a year if you are good. Most are abused for ten trouble free years until sediment wins. What many do not understand with Tankless is that maintenance is required. It is not necessarily to avoid equipment failure. It is also to maintain efficiency. It is not a daunting task to circulate vinegar through them once a year.

 

[CurlyDave]

IMHO, the cheapskate way forward for the OP's question is to replace the anode, which will be about $40 if you get the "smelly water" kind (they work for me) , and less if you just have a regular one. About 5 years down the road, change it again.

It is a very good bet that this simple maintenance will keep your present tank alive for the next 10 years. I kept a 50 gallon tank going for ~25 years by changing anodes every 5 years. Then the house burned down, so there is no telling how long it might have lasted.