justinae
New Member
I'm relatively new to this forum and brand new to home ownership. Our new house does not have a water heater. It does have gas already. I installed a used electric 50 gallon tank for temp purposes and weighing the options of tank vs. tankless.
I've read a lot about the debate on this forum (very helpful!) so don't want to beat that old drum, but I do have a question that doesn't seem to have been asked. I'm thinking that I could buy an indoor unit and build an external bumpout enclosure, with insulation, access door, siding, etc and have a very very short venting out the bumpout roof. My thought is that I could save costs by buying the less expensive non condensing, and save on venting material as well since I'll need stainless steel. Alternatively I could spring for the condensing unit and then just vent right out the sidewall of the bumpout with PVC.
If that doesn't make sense, what about building some sort of enclosure to protect an outdoor unit from theft/tampering? Perhaps a front door on a bumpout with a cutout for the venting?
I'm still on the fence with tank vs. tankless. I'd prefer to move away from electric and since I would have to run gas from the meter to a tanked gas heater anyway, why not just do the tankless. I'm a licensed contractor so I feel confident about my capacity to do an install, even though I'm not a plumber, and my plumber will consult and do a final QC for a fee.
Very appreciative of any advice/insights.
Justin
I've read a lot about the debate on this forum (very helpful!) so don't want to beat that old drum, but I do have a question that doesn't seem to have been asked. I'm thinking that I could buy an indoor unit and build an external bumpout enclosure, with insulation, access door, siding, etc and have a very very short venting out the bumpout roof. My thought is that I could save costs by buying the less expensive non condensing, and save on venting material as well since I'll need stainless steel. Alternatively I could spring for the condensing unit and then just vent right out the sidewall of the bumpout with PVC.
If that doesn't make sense, what about building some sort of enclosure to protect an outdoor unit from theft/tampering? Perhaps a front door on a bumpout with a cutout for the venting?
I'm still on the fence with tank vs. tankless. I'd prefer to move away from electric and since I would have to run gas from the meter to a tanked gas heater anyway, why not just do the tankless. I'm a licensed contractor so I feel confident about my capacity to do an install, even though I'm not a plumber, and my plumber will consult and do a final QC for a fee.
Very appreciative of any advice/insights.
Justin