New hot water heater options, Tankless vs Tank... Electric vs Propane.

[buckeyefarmer]

I had one and it failed after 13 months in use. Then I discovered that the 10 year warranty was only a 1 year warranty in Canada. After some research I found there is a class action lawsuit because something like 90% of them fail due to a design flaw...the guts of these é„*merican Made units are made in China and GE used sub par materials resulting in a failure in the evap coils. The repair costs were the same price as a new water heater. So heres a big FU to GE I will never buy a GE product again.

Fortunately our local utility offered a retrofit rebate on new HPWH and I replaced the GE with an AO Smith model which has operated trouble free for 2 years now. Knock on wood.

FYI the HPWH cut my water heating costs by almost 50%.

My GE HPWH also failed right after warranty, but they fixed it on warranty anyways. Lasted couple yrs than failed again. I run it on electric now.

 

[duffer]

I've had both tankless and tank. If you can afford the initial cost, GAS Tankless is the only way to go IMO. I've had 3 Rinnai tankless heaters over the last few houses. Love 'em. You NEVER run out of hot water. Wife has a large tub (50-60 gal). No tank heater will handle that much hot water at once. And forget about warming it up on occassion due to recovery times.
Tankless doesn't have that problem. Size it right, and you can run 2-3 showers and and the washer all at once, if needed. (I won't go near an elec tankless heater for lots of reasons)

I've bought all of mine thru plumber suppliers on ebay. Comes with factory warranty and is $300-400+ less than buying it from a local plumber or wholesale warehouse. I just hire a plumber to install it for me for an hourly, or fixed rate.

 

[Oldpath05]

Contains adult language

Want to buy a Tankless Water Heater? - YouTube

More like PG, theres a lot worst language at a shipyard, but the video was kinda funny but is it true or true-ish? One thing is true and that running out of water deal, what the heck are we taking 15 showers at once or what and who needs a hour shower in hot water, that sounds like jacuzzi bathing to me. Mine is on a 4 hour timer in the evening, so I take a shower at night.

This ONE water filter maintenance thing on the Rheem already bothers me and I haven't even bought it yet and it's on a monthly schedule, good grief dont they know I already have enough shif to do.

 

[sodamo]

Have to wonder. How nasty a water source necessitates cleaning your water filter every month? Overkill? Way to void warranty as most wouldn’t do it?

 

[ultrarunner]

I only have tankless at the cabin and it is OK for the very occasional use it gets.

Friends put in tankless and had to take them out... California water rationing and the only way to get the kids out of the shower is when the hot water runs out... you see the problem.

Some of the tank water heaters I installed in the 1980's are still in service... amazing just how long a $88 Home Bas 30 gallon water heater can lase.

All of my installs are on pans piped to daylight or in areas where water will cause no damage...

I like the simplicity of a tank heater but they are no longer that simple and cost about $400 for a 40 gallon here. Read that to be Low Nox

 

[mikester]

I have been running a Geospring for the past 2 years with no issues but will be closely monitoring it now that I now there are potential problems ahead.
Needless to say, it has been less costly to operate than our old propane fired tankless and far more convenient than our wood boiler DHW loop with no need to run the boiler in the warm months.

Keep an eye out for error codes occasionally popping up. If I remember correctly you will start getting an intermittent "FC" error code which is used for indicating that the evaporator coil is frozen. It also indicates a sealed system refrigerant leak.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Keep an eye out for error codes occasionally popping up. If I remember correctly you will start getting an intermittent "FC" error code which is used for indicating that the evaporator coil is frozen. It also indicates a sealed system refrigerant leak.

So far the only code was for a fault with the anode which required a software fix which GE provided when I called their help line.
I neglected to mention in my first post that Efficiency Vermont, a state run organization , offered a 50% rebate on these units.
This brought the cost down to the price of a conventional tank WH.

 

[finn1]

I have two of the Geospring heat pumps in two different houses. They are later model units, which were redesigned. Ge is no longer in the water heater business. In fact the divested of many non core businesses to stem the financial bleeding from their collapse in the last couple of years.

Mine have been in service for a couple of years, with no issues. Our power company has a rebate incentive that reduced the cost to $50 for the first one, and zero for the second one. I don’t know if the program is still in effect.

The biggest operational savings may be that we no longer have to run a dehumidifier in the basement.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

 

[MechE1]

I installed a Bosch tankless in 2008. The biggest one they sell for residential, don't recall the model. 199k BTU. Still going strong. Only issue I've had is blower motor bearing went out. Rigged with a nylon bushing, ordered and replaced the blower motor and fan housing. Solved. Coming up on 11 years. We have rusty well water. I double filter. Sediment and carbon. Water softener. Better than any municipal water I've ever used. Hoping for another 11 years. ...and yes....constant use. Showers. 90 gallon tub. OCD wife that cleans like crazy. It's super sweet to never run out of hot water. It's not for everyone, but it works for us. Upfront cost was hard to swallow with the venting required. I'm sure it's gotten close to paying for it's self if not already.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I have two of the Geospring heat pumps in two different houses. They are later model units, which were redesigned. Ge is no longer in the water heater business. In fact the divested of many non core businesses to stem the financial bleeding from their collapse in the last couple of years.

Mine have been in service for a couple of years, with no issues. Our power company has a rebate incentive that reduced the cost to $50 for the first one, and zero for the second one. I don’t know if the program is still in effect.

The biggest operational savings may be that we no longer have to run a dehumidifier in the basement.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

They still sell under the GE label, but are owned by Haier. The new geosprings don't look anything like my old one. I might "spring" for a new one, lol.