Replies

1. 
   JRC | Jul 20, 1999 03:53am | #1

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   It depends on what fuel you're comfortable with.
   Gas is cheap, but it has dangerous failure modes: carbon monoxide in the house and explosions from leaks and ignition failure.

   Oil doesn't have the explosive failure mode of gas, but it does make a toxic mess if any leaks. AFAIK oil WHs are basically the same as oil furnaces - they need a blower to get the air turbulence high enough to get clean combustion.

   Electricity is probably the most expensive, but once it's installed (properly), IMO it's the safest, and the only maintenance is replacing the odd dead element.

   Unless you have natural gas available, I would forget about tankless heaters. The energy required to adequately heat moving water is enormous. A 25 kW heater would not be out of line here. By comparison, the average 40 imp gal heater runs 3 kW elements, and at most one is on at any given time.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 20, 1999 11:42am | #2

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   Get a gas heater with sufficient capacity for your needs. Inexpensive, 1/3 the operating cost of electric and plenty safe. Carbon monoxide detectors are of course a good precaution.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 1999 04:13am | #4

   *There's already a discussion on this topic a little further down in this forum. See heading:Tankless hot water heaters

3. 
   nigel_martin | Jul 21, 1999 04:13am | #3

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   We are due to replace our old water heater and i am looking for the best way to go. Has anyone made use of the whole house instant (tankless) heaters? What is the performance like? Ever run out of hot water? Any failers? We have five people in the house and normal use is showers in the morning, washing up at night, plus the normal stuff. I want the most hot water for the running costs. i know fuel is going to increase!