Time for a new hot water heater. Elec vs NG?

Tbone289

bobman1235 wrote: »

I didn't disregard it, I acknowledged it outright. I love how people can't read.

I can read just fine--you are the one that appears to be struggling. I haven't seen anyone here argue against the monthly bill for a tankless system being lower than that for a tank system. So, what is your point about what people aren't "believing"?

I think if you read back through the posts, you'll find that those who are speaking out against the tankless sytems are questioning the economy (cost, initial and monthly) of the tankless system, not the efficiency. When you consider all the costs, tankless systems are not always more economical.

heiney9

bobman1235 wrote: »

Hot water and books don't mix :biggrin:

But hot water and super hot librarian types that read books mix very well! :biggrin:

H9

Jstas

mantis wrote: »

You save money using Tankless as it only runs when you need hot water. If you go away on Vacation for 2 weeks , your Hot water tank still keep X amount of water hot.

You know, even with a gas water heater, you can turn it off if you're going to be away for an extended time. Well, maybe you don't know otherwise you wouldn't have tried to make that silly argument.




Noah, I had an electric water heater in my apartment. It sucked. It was, by far, the biggest power consumer in the entire apartment. It was only 30 gallons too and with just two people, it regularly ran cold. Recovery was an hour and a half when municipal water runs warmer in the summer and just over 2 hours in the middle of winter when municipal water seems to be a couple degrees above freezing. The water heater alone averaged $54 of my monthly electric bill and as much as $70 all to itself. That was about 40% of my electric bill which was, on average $160 and as much as $290 in the extreme weather months. The other big hog was the electric clothes dryer which would be another $30 a month all by itself. The electric stove, heaters and A/C systems didn't help any either.

The gas bill at my house which has a 50 gallon water heater cost about $22 a month to run that. I know that because for a couple months when I was renovating and not living there, the only gas appliance that was even hooked up was the water heater and I used that regularly for cleaning tools and such. Even now, with 2 people in the house and a gas stove, my gas bill is usually around $65 a month. So I'm heating twice as much water for about the same price. Oh and recovery, a half hour in the summer months and maybe 45 minutes tops in the winter months.

Gas water heater dude, don't bother with electric unless you don't have the option like others who have posted said.

thsmith

Gas hwh

vlam

I personally would stick with gas if it's set up that way already.

The price of gas water heater is not that much more unless you go with those newer one with the blower. My experience with them is that they are expensive and don't last.

As for tankless vs tank. It make sense for some but not all.

While you are at this plumbing project, I highly suggest to look into getting a whole house water filter if you don't have one already. It's a $100 while you are working on the plumbing anyway.

madmax

Gas for sure, the electric is much more expensive to run.

tonyb

heiney9 wrote: »

But hot water and super hot librarian types that read books mix very well! :biggrin:

H9

Now if you could make a hot water heater to look like a hot librarian, that would be the ticket.

pdxfj

Gas.. Only way to go.

I installed a 40gal Bradford White water heater about a year ago. 50k burner and I can't run the thing out of hot water. Great recovery rate on it. Only runs for a few minutes after a shower.

nguyendot

If you use hot water more than once a day, a tankless will not save you money.
Tankless gas use both gas and electricity btw. It's controlled by electricity.

Good reading here:
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/tankless.html

gdb

Ever seen an oil fired water heater? Quickest recovery of all tank types but very expensive.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/products/product_images/OF32Ex.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/products/oil_water_heaters.html&usg=__1OAxtWVEit-3MBG1vYWuovYBsr8=&h=307&w=134&sz=10&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&tbnid=rorXl5TE7OIAOM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=51&ei=3spnTubLLsPLgQfc9JG3DA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doil%2Bfired%2Bwater%2Bheater%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1

nadams

gdb wrote: »

Ever seen an oil fired water heater? Quickest recovery of all tank types but very expensive.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/products/product_images/OF32Ex.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/products/oil_water_heaters.html&usg=__1OAxtWVEit-3MBG1vYWuovYBsr8=&h=307&w=134&sz=10&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&tbnid=rorXl5TE7OIAOM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=51&ei=3spnTubLLsPLgQfc9JG3DA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doil%2Bfired%2Bwater%2Bheater%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1

Our old house was heated by oil-fired hot water baseboard. It had a 2nd loop for domestic hot water. Worked well, but was expensive, and I have no desire for an oil tank in my basement

gdb

nadams wrote: »

Our old house was heated by oil-fired hot water baseboard. It had a 2nd loop for domestic hot water. Worked well, but was expensive, and I have no desire for an oil tank in my basement

I have one for my furnace and really wish I didn't! I'd "kill" for NG service!

ROHfan

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384265/Long-Island-gas-explosion-Man-SURVIVES-home-lifted-foundations.html

As a past volunteer firefighter on Long Island I've seen it first hand on several occasions. You couldn't get me to switch to NG.

Demiurge

Not exactly a regular occurrence...

Kind of like saying you're not going to drive anymore because sometimes people get into bad accidents.

Tbone289

nguyendot wrote: »

If you use hot water more than once a day, a tankless will not save you money.
Tankless gas use both gas and electricity btw. It's controlled by electricity.

Good reading here:
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/tankless.html

That's a good article, but it's a shame they don't address electric tankless. OK, well, there's one short statement about them. Most of the negatives in that article don't apply at all to electric tankless.

steveinaz

I need to re-think my approach after reading that article.

amulford

That article is misleading too. What they don't tell you is the efficiency comparisons. A tanked system is inherently less efficient by design, where a tankless you can get upwards of 95%+. The exhaust pipes will be PVC.

Everything needs maintenance. They aren't all that much more complicated than a tank system. They have an additional flow switch in the mix.

There isn't any sediment issue with them, either, because there isn't any place for it to settle.

Don't believe that BS about having to upsize your gas line. That jerkoff is ripping you. The feed for a 160,000 BTU unit will be 1/2". You might need to adjust your regulator. The effin **** for the burner is probably only 1/8" if that...

I installed a oil fired tankless unit once. We saw a 60% drop in energy usage for hot water over what we used for before. The savings for gas will be similar. I won't EVER install a tank system in my place again...