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We’re renovating our 50 year old home, adding 2 more bathrooms. Our builder told us we’ll need to replace our hot water heater with a larger one (or do 2 smaller ones). Would people recommend using the tankless kind? What would we be getting into? Which brands are good?
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Aqua Star seems to be the one for most. It is gas or propane heated. I have heard some issues with water that has high mineral content. The cost about $600 for a house size one.
*Karen, I don't have one but there have been several discussions lately about these kinds of water heaters. I suggest you do a search on this entire site to pull them up.
*I love the concept but plumbers around here won't install them because of high mineral content in the water. It causes buildup on the coils which detract from the efficiency and flow, resulting in complaints and callbacks
*Karin, Like Don has stated, this has been covered in Breaktime before. Run a search of the archives. Also you can check out these sites for information.www.realgoods.comwww.controlledenergy.comwww.buildinggreen.com/products/heaters.htmlAs far as scale and other corrosive build-up in the coils; I think many plumbers use that as an excuse for not understanding the use of on-demand heaters. If high mineral content is present, it will affect any water heater, not only the heating unit, but also the tank. Since the water is flowing as it is heating there will be less development than that in a stationary heating tank. Also if the mineral content is that troublesome, a water softener or other means of reducing the mineral content would almost be a requirement as scale and deposits will form on plumbing fixtures as well.At least with the Aquastar models, the heating coils are removable and theoretically can be cleaned or at least replaced with a minimum of hassel. Not knowing your plumbing layout and plumbing use, I would be unable to offer any suggestions. I use an Aquastar 125NG in my home and have been very satisfied with it. In my other postings I have offered more details on it's setup and use. But for my money, it is the best on the market. hope this is helpfulwalk gooddavid
*I gotta vote for tankless for convenience, money-savings, and general principles. :) However, the sanest way to do it, if you live in a place with hard water, like most of the country, is to install a whole-house water filter that filters minerals. Your kids will drink more water, you won't shower in poisonous chlorine gas, and your brand-new tankless hot water heater will last for its whole life-span. Also, it's not terribly expensive, especially when compared with the cost of bottled water.
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We're renovating our 50 year old home, adding 2 more bathrooms. Our builder told us we'll need to replace our hot water heater with a larger one (or do 2 smaller ones). Would people recommend using the tankless kind? What would we be getting into? Which brands are good?