Hello all,
Brand new member here although I have been lurking on the sidelines for a few weeks - trying to educate myself about tankless technology and the options available. Reading this forum has been most informative and it certainly appears that there are two distinct camps on this technology.
I have been intrigued by tankless in the past but have always written it off as a solution for my house b/c it hasn't been compatible with a recirc system - up until now? If I read correctly, it sounds like some of the new Navien tanks may be compatible with a recirc system. If this is the case, then my interest is piqued.
Here is my situation: Big (4000 square ft) old (100+ years) drafty, wood house on Vancouver Island BC. We currently have a gas fired, direct vent 50 gal HW tank which is roughly 12 years old and probably nearing the end of its life cycle. We are pretty water conscious so it has always met our HW needs and we almost never run out of HW. I am looking to replace it with something more efficient (I am amazed at the amount of wasted heat that comes out the exterior vent!). Looks like a tankless setup would cost about the same as a new gas direct vent setup (status quo for us) so that is a non-issue. We also have a huge gas line coming into the house so I don't think that is an issue either. Similarly, we are blessed with very soft water here on Van Isle so the scaling issue would also be minimal. As you can see, lots of the typical tankless dealbreakers don't apply in my situation. Except for the recirc thing - up until now?
I installed a recirc system when doing some bathroom renovations on the 2nd floor of our house a couple of years ago and it has worked like a charm. Because it is a big house with long runs, there was an amazing amount of water wasted every morning before the first shower got hot (pre-recrc pump). Now, with the pump, I have it on a timer which only runs it for 1 hr in the morning and 2 hours in the evening which is the only time HW is needed up there. Instant HW when needed with no wasted water - awesome! Now the question is : ' can I maintain that setup (and it's advantages) with a tankless HWH?'
Furthermore, correct me if I am wrong, but that would also solve the minimum flow issue with the high efficiency clothes and dish washers (both of which we have).
I would love to get some feedback from you plumbing gurus out there on this topic. Thanks in advance....
KidCanada
Brand new member here although I have been lurking on the sidelines for a few weeks - trying to educate myself about tankless technology and the options available. Reading this forum has been most informative and it certainly appears that there are two distinct camps on this technology.
I have been intrigued by tankless in the past but have always written it off as a solution for my house b/c it hasn't been compatible with a recirc system - up until now? If I read correctly, it sounds like some of the new Navien tanks may be compatible with a recirc system. If this is the case, then my interest is piqued.
Here is my situation: Big (4000 square ft) old (100+ years) drafty, wood house on Vancouver Island BC. We currently have a gas fired, direct vent 50 gal HW tank which is roughly 12 years old and probably nearing the end of its life cycle. We are pretty water conscious so it has always met our HW needs and we almost never run out of HW. I am looking to replace it with something more efficient (I am amazed at the amount of wasted heat that comes out the exterior vent!). Looks like a tankless setup would cost about the same as a new gas direct vent setup (status quo for us) so that is a non-issue. We also have a huge gas line coming into the house so I don't think that is an issue either. Similarly, we are blessed with very soft water here on Van Isle so the scaling issue would also be minimal. As you can see, lots of the typical tankless dealbreakers don't apply in my situation. Except for the recirc thing - up until now?
I installed a recirc system when doing some bathroom renovations on the 2nd floor of our house a couple of years ago and it has worked like a charm. Because it is a big house with long runs, there was an amazing amount of water wasted every morning before the first shower got hot (pre-recrc pump). Now, with the pump, I have it on a timer which only runs it for 1 hr in the morning and 2 hours in the evening which is the only time HW is needed up there. Instant HW when needed with no wasted water - awesome! Now the question is : ' can I maintain that setup (and it's advantages) with a tankless HWH?'
Furthermore, correct me if I am wrong, but that would also solve the minimum flow issue with the high efficiency clothes and dish washers (both of which we have).
I would love to get some feedback from you plumbing gurus out there on this topic. Thanks in advance....
KidCanada