i'm often amazed at the collective fund of knowledge available to us here....no matter what the question, SOMEONE will have an answer....so i thought, since we're a bit unsure of this, that i'd see who knows anything on this topic:

is anyone familiar with tankless hot water heaters?....we have to do something (our last month's oil bill was $400) to reduce our costs, and the stuff i've read makes me think this might be a good idea, but i don't know anyone who has actaul experience with this type of appliance.

so....anyone??

thx!

I've seen them used /installed on "this old house" the pbs show.

But not personal knowledge of them.
Did you google /search for prices and comparisons of brands/efficiency
that kind of stuff.

Is your water heated by the oil heater/furnace??
most are gas or electric usually.

is everything insulated - pipes tank etc.

on most electric water tanks is is recommended to drain the sediment out of the bottom of the tank every so often you will see if it is nasty or not.

thx jo......i rarely watch tv, so i haven't seen 'this old house'....the fact that they use them there is very encouraging since i know from friends who do watch it, that the stuff on that show tends to be pretty high quality.

we have what's called a summer/winter hookup, which means that our hot water, as well as our heat, is oil-fired.....it's nice that we always have plenty of hot water, but the fuel bills r killing us....i had considered a regular electric hot water heater (gas isn't possible for us) but my hubby thinks the plumbing involved would be a nightmare.....i'm not sure how seriously to take this tho, since this is the same person who insisted that oil heat/hot water was the cheapest and most efficient (yes dear it was in your parent's house but that was 1969!)....it has taken me months of talking to people about their utility bills to convince him that we could cut costs, but i haven't been avle to find anyone with first-hand knowledge of the tankless system.

i have done some online searching, and think that a tankless water heater would save us a bundle, even allowing for installation and purchase costs, but hubby is very cautious about the whole idea....guess i have to get him to watch 'this old house'.

thx!

they also have point of use instant water heaters too -
just some sites about those-
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/hotwat...l#hotdispenser
http://www.hotwaterheater.com/
http://www.gotankless.com/

I asked a gentleman I know from the north eastern (brrr freezing) part of my state and here is his reply


"I have had the tankless water heater since 1983. I would have nothing else but. Big time money saver.

Lots of little things to say about them that you need to know. Softer water is a must for them to last up to 10 years. They cost more to begin with but the pay back is quick.

I see that they have doubled in price but are still well worth it. For instance, the one I bought 6 years ago cost $600 shipped. They are now $1,200.

Home Depot and others are now carrying the product."

This guy is a retired school teacher (math). He seems to know what he's talking about.

Good luck
Hugs and Prayers

They are a bit expensive, and it will take some reworking to install it. But the expense will more than be covered in a short time from the savings. My inlaws put one in their cabin, and cant really tell any different. The water is cold for just a few seconds, then nice hot water, and it never runs out like the water heater tanks do.

For a more cheaper route you could just replace the old gas one with an electric water heater, but you will need to run electric to it, and would still need to insulate. Insulation would be the cheapest route to go, and yes make sure you drain the tank at least once of twice a year.

Good luck Deb!

wow....thx joan, allen, jo!....see, i knew that i'd get answers here!....i sometimes think that, as a group, we know EVERYTHING!

My dad installs them and also does furnace work too.. what kind of questions do you have?? I live with my parents and i will ask him and let you know!!
~~~ Angel

....if u can find an answer to this.....what i want to know and can't seem to find out online is if it's possible to use a small to medium sized tnakless water heater to heat the water going into our system so that the oil furnace will only be heating the water an additional 20? 30? degrees.

i don't really want to have a whole house tankless system, separate from the existing system, because it would require more new pipes and plumbing than i can afford, so i guess what i'm really looking for is a way to pre-warm the water before it goes into the furnace system (the water coming into the house right now is incredibly cold - almost icy, so it takes one heck of a lot of oil to warm it to - for instance -shower temp).....the tankless seemed like a good idea, but i'm open to suggestion!

i would love to hear your dad's take on this, since my hubby keeps telling me i'm dreaming, but i just know there HAS to be a better way to do this!

thx so very much!

liz

Hi Coach,
I asked my husband on this one.

You don't want to mix the two.

Expensive to buy cheap to run. They use these alot in Europe. Hugs, Roz

If I was you I would check with a Builing Inspector in your area.