A Sea Of Red

When I put my $300 LP gas water heater in 15 years ago while building my house, I never thought replacing it someday would be a nightmare. Before it rusted out and spewed water all over my basement, it was a direct vent model. Well aparently they no longer make those. You can get them special order for around $1k and a week or so plus install. They have been replaced with what they call power vent. Those run about $800 and after install would have been $1200 and left a mess on the outside of my bricks where the current one vents. I could have gone to an electric one for about $600 total including install, but I'm so used to the gas I didn't want to and it would have been more expensive to run.

So, I'm biting the bullet and going tankless gas. It will cost between $1500 and $1600 installed, But. . . I will get a $450 tax credit. The cost to run it will also be much less expensive.

Anyone else have one? What do you think of it?

I previously had one. If I were building new, it would be my first choice. I think you made a good choice.

I've never had one, but always envied everyone else who does.

tax credits...

Nearly bit the bullet on one a couple of years ago but went old school instead. Next time around I will definitely take the tankless route.

very good choice. It pays for itself

All of our water heaters here in Korea are like that. They save space and work great. Nice choice.

Let me know how you like it. I may upgrade to one myself. I've already got gas heat.

When my parents remodeled the house (Im home in Portsmouth for the holidays), they decided to go with a tankless water heater (Rinnai I think) and its wonderful.

Well I like it alot so far. You get good hot water and it keeps on coming. I like that it does not run unless we are using it. My wife doesn't like it as much as I do because it takes even longer to get hot water in the kitchen. Also, if you are taking a shower and then cut off the water to soap up, when you cut it back on you get hot water for about 10 sec followed by a ten second pocket of cool water followed by hot again. It's not a big deal to me, but it is to her.

Speaking of it being slow to heat up in the kitchen sink, I've heard that the tankless are not good if you're planning on running hot water from multiple outlets simultaneously. True?

It's fine for that. We got a unit rated at 9.8 gpm. it handles 2 showers or a shower and dishwasher at the same time fine.