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Outdoor Tankless

Which Is A Good Tankless Water Heater

I get this question asked quiet often and decided to do a write up about it.

The one thing that a storage tank or better traditional water heater has going for it is "SIMPLICITY". It is fairly simple, a tank and a burner with a pilot light that burns all the time. And then the burner comes on frequently to heat the water as it loses its heat through various means. The point here implied is that there is not much that can go wrong with it, of course until it starts leaking. It usually doesn't stop working suddenly; it will give some warning by leaking or by the water not being so hot anymore.

Well, things are not so simple with tankless water heaters. They are a very sophisticated appliance, having at least one microprocessor and many sensors and valves that control the water temperature, the burners and many other things. They also monitor the heating process for high efficiency, water pressure and more.

So what makes a GOOD tankless Water Heater is not by how many microprocessors it has or how many additional things can do besides heating the water. It is its RELIABILITY, period.

This reminds me of many of the new cars, particularly some German brands. They are packed with electronics, can park themselves, can massage your back, can give you individual temperature settings for all occupants, as if everyone is in his or her private enclosed surrounding.  I hear heated steering wheels are the latest. Now if you check the RELIABILITY of these cars you'll find them to be terrible. They simply have problems going from point A to point B.  This becomes very quickly annoying when the onboard computer has diagnosed mistakenly that there is something wrong with the car and puts it in "CRAWL MODE" not going faster than 25mph and advising you with a pleasant voice, usually a female soft spoken one that you should now visit your nearest "Authorized ……. Dealer", most likely for a "software upgrade" (bug fixes). Never mind that you paid top dollars for that car.

Well, I wanted to get the point across that the most expensive tankless is not always the best one if it cannot reliably do its job, namely heat the water.

Over the years we have come across many different brands and models of tankless water heaters and have seen sometimes customer's frustration when that tankless water heater suddenly stops working and it did that when they were under the shower. As they are computer controlled like many other things in our life today they need to be chosen, installed and serviced by professionals who do that for a living.

This definitely is not a product you want to purchase at your local hardware store and have it installed by local handyman or your everyday plumber.

Companies like http://www.Justtankless.com are fully specialized in tankless water heaters and know all the brands inside out. Some brands are good for one application, i,e, indoor installation, others are better for outdoor. There are also differences between condensing and noncondensing heaters and finally since we service all the different brands we know their reliability and ease of service.

A trained professional can devise the best solution that encompasses what type, what brand, what size, what location, what gas supply, what type of venting and where it is needed for a tankless water heater to function RELIABLY and efficiently.  A tankless water heater can suddenly shut down maybe because its exhaust temperature has risen too high or its gas supply volume or pressure has dropped or many other reasons that are mostly failure of correct and proper installation.

So the BEST tankless water heater depends on the size and its installation location, brand, service, etc.

In summary we like the Takagi for small applications http://www.justtankless.com/takagi.htm for the larger applications we like the http://www.justtankless.com/quietside.htm. All our tankless water heaters come with Clear Installation Manuals so that your local plumber is able to install them correctly.

A company like http://www.justtankless.com that specializes in tankless water heaters will not sell a brand that has technical problems because the customer's troubles mean many unnecessary service calls, unhappy customers and financial burden on the company. A customer usually doesn't call the manufacture's toll free number that most likely connects to a very far place in a different country; they call the company that installed the tankless unit as they tend to be local. So it is important to purchase also a tankless water heater from the same company that installs them too, this way the customer avoids the problem that the installer points the finger to the place or company the unit was purchased from.

 

About the Author

Al Sagafi has extensive engineering and field experience in energy conservation and renewable energy production. He is actively involved at http://www.JustTankless.com and http://www.allied-solar.com. He holds California State General Building and Electrical Contractor licenses.

 

Will this tankless water heater supply my whole home?

So, I've decided to buy a tankless water heater from http://www.eztankless.com . I only have one shower and was wondering if there Model EZ 101 is enough to do my whole home.

Also, should I buy an indoor model or an outdoor model? Which would be easier to install?

This model provides 1.6 GPM at a 77 degree rise. If your incoming water temperature is about 50F, you're leaving water temperature will be about 127F (if you flow 1.6 GPM). Your shower probably flows a bit more water than 1.6 GPM unless you have a low-flow shower head. With this in mind, you will probably use about 2-2.5 GPM in your shower which means you will get a leaving water temperature well below 127F (my guess would be about 100F or so).

Will it do your whole house? It will probably do ok if you use hot water one fixture at a time. No using the dishwasher while showering! No sink usage while showering either! Think about getting the next unit size up. Also remember the further from the faucet you install the unit, the longer the "hot water lag" and the more heated water you leave in the pipe (heated water left in the pipe is money thrown away).

If you live in an area subject to freezing I would recommend an indoor unit. If you live in Puerto Rico or the Florida Keys, go for an exterior unit (no flue to worry about).

Your unit will probably require a 3/4" gas pipe so be prepared to get a plumber involved to make sure your pipes are sized correctly and your meter is big enough.

The exhaust flue pipe kit will probably not work for most situations since they include only the minimums. If you need more flue accessories they will have to be by the same manufacturer (this might be a got-ya point in the selling).

Also make sure you get a direct vent model so you won't have to worry about combustion air.

Hope this helps ya, if not check my sources below.

Installing an Outdoor Tankless Water Heater