View Full Version : Tankless H20 Heater Newbie Seeking Advice
HannahJay1
03-11-2011, 02:31 PM
I've done a bit of shopping around and stumbled upon this tankless water heater (http://www.**************.com/18kW-Tankless-Water-Heater-p/tankless%20water%20heater%2018kw.htm), that is in the price range we're looking to spend. Can anyone tell me what features I should be looking for, what's a good price range, and if this one cuts the mustard? TIA!
70amp, 18kw Whole Entire House Unit + 3-4 Bathrooms!
cacher_chick
03-11-2011, 02:40 PM
There are very few advantages to owning a tankless water heater.
Depending on what your home's current electrical service is, it might need to be upgraded also.
Depending on your water chemistry, there may be even more reasons a tankless is a bad idea.
Your question may be answered better if we understood why you think you want a tankless heater, and why you would choose electric over other types.
jadnashua
03-11-2011, 04:36 PM
As they go, that's a fairly small unit. Depending on how cold your incoming water is and how hot you want the outlet, you may only get a couple of gallons per minute. 18Kw is equivilent to about a WH with 75K BTU (allowing for some inefficies and as much as 150K for a really inefficient one). But, a tank would give you much higher volume until it ran out.
You'd be able to run a single low-flow shower with that in January in Rockford if you throttled it back to under 2gpm. You might run the "full" 2.5 gpm with it in Cairo even in January, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
It would only be good for "... 3-4 Bathrooms... " in warm-water south Florida or San Diego, and only if X-1 of those "bathrooms" were half-baths (no shower, no tub, except for the main bath.)