Tankless water heater - help select one

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ebaskin

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Can anyone help select a tankless water heater. Ours will no longer keep the pilot light on. for 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath 2 story house, what is the right size/type? what would you recommend? what other info do i need to provide/consider to make the right choice? Thank you for your help.
 

Redwood

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You presently have a tankless that has a pilot that won't stay lit?

I would have a service tech troubleshoot the unit!
 

ebaskin

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the unit is 18 yo. we had someone come out last Sept, he said need parts but no one has them any more, but he would look. Now is January, he is still looking and not returning our calls. This is the same guy who serviced this unit several times over the years. This time the pilot will not stay on, period. we tried to find someone else to take a look, some did not come out even though it was scheduled, some did come out, looked, charged and could not fix it, did not know this type of unit, etc. The unit, i believe is too small for us anyway, so i figure we need a new one. meanwhile, we have no hot water. My guess if we buy a new unit, there will be more takers to install it, more money in that.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Miracles happen every day

I am surprised that you got 18 years out of one

where do you live anyway???


If you actually got 18 years out of one ,,

just be happy and cough up the money for another one...


The best is probably the Takagi....

The Rheem is a good one to.....


Perhaps you ought to just call that fellow back and
ask him what he would install a new one for........

if he has been serviceing this unit for that long,
he probably knows that it cant be fixed anymore.....

it sounds like he is trying to tell you something.

in a polite , .......diplomatic way.......about your 18 year old tankless unit.

and you are refuseing to listen......


you might want to keep freinds with him if you
get another tankless, becasue someday it might need service too.....


my guess it will cost you about 1800-2500 for a takagi installed


or get a normal tank type 50 gallon for about 700 installed
 

ebaskin

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I am in NJ. we talked to the guy about a new one and he actually said that this one is probably good for another couple of years. i actually asked him if we should get another one, he said not really needed now. I did listen to him, but am looking for a new unit anyway. My DH was actually able to fix the pilot today, so we now have hot water and it is not a mad rush to get a new one. we are going to get it anyway. Can you make a suggestion as to specific model/size/maker etc. how much would the installation on a unit usually run? we are replacing an existing unit, so gas lines are already there, duct is there too, but i think that will need to be redone for the new unit. what should i look for? any help is appreciated. thank you
 

Master Plumber Mark

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spare no expence here......

I have a customer I sold a 50 gal power vent today
for 1350.00.....installed... brad white....


what sold him was the fact that another plumber
came in at 2000 for the same thing.....

what really convinced him to stay away from
the tanklss was this other guy wanted 4500 for a Nortiz installed.......




out of curousity......what are you going to have
to pay for that new tankless anyway???



spare no expence here cause...
its a tankless..and its gonna save big bucks..... right???..........
 
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Master Plumber Mark

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Still no price cost..........

I am nottrying to be an annoying pest here
or a critic either, and please dont
take it that way......

I am just wondering what kind of

$$ figures you are looking at from plumbers in

your area for your next tankless unit????

what range are you getting for one installed

$2500 to 4500?

inquireing minds want to know



on another subject...

Putting one up in your attic in NJ is probably
a very bad idea unless it is a heated attic....



another option

Have you considered putting an ELECTRIC water heater
into your crawl space up on blocks.....

like a 36 inch tall x 24inch wide Brad White Low boy 50 gal electric???

all you would have to do is run a 220 line....

total cost will probably be around $900 or less for everything??
 
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JK60

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Expensive!!!

My neighbor just had a Takagi installed as a replacement to a 50 gallon State water heater that started leaking. I don't have any details as to the Takagi model number, or what exactly had to be done for this installation, but the cost was about $5,000.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Call the crime lab....

5,000 dollars to replace a 50 gallon state heater
with a tankless........???


Somebody got taken for a ride..
they will never get a pay back on it .
at least in our lifetime anyway....


800 for a normal 50 installed x 6 heaters == $4800..

do they honestly think that the tankless will actually save them
that much money before it breaks down???.




I suppose that is not a bad price considering the
value of the US dollar....
 
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Cass

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I will bet if you get a 50 gallon gas tank type heater and feed it with your tank less you will have the additional heat from the tank heater and it will never end because of the small heating curve the tank will have due to the incoming preheated water.

You can set the water temp on the tank higher so it will be hotter and it will serve your needs for 2 fixtures running at the same time.

this way you wont need to change the vent or gas piping on the tankless, all you would need is a new vent for the tank and hot water to the fixtures would be just as fast.
 

JK60

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master plumber mark -
Somebody got taken for a ride..
they will never get a pay back on it .
at least in our lifetime anyway....

Those were pretty much my exact words to the neighbor, but...
 
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