A happy ending to what seemed like eternity.

[Natano]

There are 2 types of people. Those that would rather know, and those that would rather hope. I was in the latter group like a saint for a long time. I hoped my Bosch tankless GWH-635-esn tankless would deliver me from evil and provide the delightful clean wholesome experience i was sold on. For 8 years i did what i could, including but not limited to, increase the gas pipe size, decrease the gas pipe run, shorten the exhaust duct, preheat the tap water coming in, spend months talking to tech support. My customer number is 42628. Why would i remember that number? Well after a while i decided to write it down so i could get to the head of the que. Then i used the hell out of it. Bosch tech support is busy. 8 years, i treaded up and down the floors from the master bedroom to the basement. Up and down, up and down. Reset, reset, power down, power up, cross the cold wet fingers for good luck in hopes that i wouldn't have to towel off and try it again in the morning, even tho i really needed to shower. The navy shower does work tho. Just a dash of water, suds off, rinse. Explain the whole thing about shrinkage again, and get under the covers quick to stop the shivering. Yes my fellow conscientious people, that was my Bosch experience. But then one day i decided, like a boat owner who'd grown disinterested in the sea, to abandoned ship and let it go. That being the idea of a tankless water heater. Then i went on craigslist.com under appliances, and found a portal to normalcy. It's been 3 weeks! I haven't had a single problem. I turn on the shower, it gets hot, and voila, i take a shower. It's amazing what a difference there is with a Rennai on my wall where the Bosch used to be. It really is.

[master plumber mark]

I read your story and you are not alone when it comes to
how bad the Bosch tankless heaters are......

so.. you are saying that you got a Ranni tankless water
heater off of craigs list??? Is it a used unit?? or new in the box??...

just wondering

[Dana]

Does it really matter if it's new, so long as it actually WORKS!?!!

I've yet to meet or read of anybody who couldn't stand their Rinnai (or Takagi, or Noritz). Complaints about Bosch and Navien reliablity & functional issues come & go, but I've known satisfied users of both. I've never seen a GWH-635-ESN though.

Most Bosch units I've monkeyed had minimum modulated fire too high to be practical at low flow or higher incoming water temp, and at 35KBTU/hr minimum input the GWH-635 is no exception. That makes for unreliable temp control and flame-out issues at low water flow, and sometimes unreliable ignition. Seriously- 35KBTU/hr is literally enough burner to heat my house, and that's the MINIMUM fire. Half-that (or lower) for min-fire just plain works better. The Japanese water heaters all run well under 20KBTU/hr-in at min-fire, most are under 15K, and all have sub-1gpm flow rates for ignition, even lower flow rates for sustained flame & temperature regulation. Bosch units seem designed for moderate shower flow rates using water drawn from Alpine glaciers. If they fix the min-fire & min-flow issues it would probably eliminate most of the misery.

[Natano]

Your right, it doesn't matter at all if it actually works. The Rinnai eliminated a whole house full of misery. I tried to sell my Botch on CraigsList for 100 bucks and no one would buy it so i took it out to my favorite shooting spot on the way to the metal scrap yard, filled it full of lead and got $35 for it since it was now "mixed copper". Can't believe i didn't think of that before. I'm pretty forgetful tho but at least i have a conscience. Of course, if the guy at the scrap yard knew that the thing was riddled with lead he might not agree. But when is the last time you've had a conversation with one of those guys? After dealing with tweakers all day, they can get pretty grumpy

Does it really matter if it's new, so long as it actually WORKS!?!!

I've yet to meet or read of anybody who couldn't stand their Rinnai (or Takagi, or Noritz). Complaints about Bosch and Navien reliablity & functional issues come & go, but I've known satisfied users of both. I've never seen a GWH-635-ESN though.

Most Bosch units I've monkeyed had minimum modulated fire too high to be practical at low flow or higher incoming water temp, and at 35KBTU/hr minimum input the GWH-635 is no exception. That makes for unreliable temp control and flame-out issues at low water flow, and sometimes unreliable ignition. Seriously- 35KBTU/hr is literally enough burner to heat my house, and that's the MINIMUM fire. Half-that (or lower) for min-fire just plain works better. The Japanese water heaters all run well under 20KBTU/hr-in at min-fire, most are under 15K, and all have sub-1gpm flow rates for ignition, even lower flow rates for sustained flame & temperature regulation. Bosch units seem designed for moderate shower flow rates using water drawn from Alpine glaciers. If they fix the min-fire & min-flow issues it would probably eliminate most of the misery.

[saphman]

I have a good friend who has an outdoor Rinnai unit installed 3 years ago with not a single problem. I just installed one of the Paloma condensing gas heaters in my home that is also fantastic. So far not a single problem...Flawless actually. I do know several others who had big headaches with the Bosch units though. FWIW, I wouldn't buy Navien either.

[master plumber mark]

Your right, it doesn't matter at all if it actually works. The Rinnai eliminated a whole house full of misery. I tried to sell my Botch on CraigsList for 100 bucks and no one would buy it so i took it out to my favorite shooting spot on the way to the metal scrap yard, filled it full of lead and got $35 for it since it was now "mixed copper". Can't believe i didn't think of that before. I'm pretty forgetful tho but at least i have a conscience. Of course, if the guy at the scrap yard knew that the thing was riddled with lead he might not agree. But when is the last time you've had a conversation with one of those guys? After dealing with tweakers all day, they can get pretty grumpy

you should have taken some before and after shots of
your Bosch tankless heater that you filled full of lead..

.I would have loved to put the
riddled up tankless heater on my web site for everyone to see......

sometimes pumping something full of lead that has given you
nothing but greif .........feels real good.....

[Surfing Plumber]

Bosch is known to be crappy. they are such giant company that are just not a specialist in tankless....

If you want Tankless, go with Noritz, they are the most durable and reliable brand out on the market

[Natano]

Yes, i bought one off of craigslist 3 weeks ago. I installed it in the same place and haven't touched it since. Now my house doesn't fart, i don't have to reset it multiple times per day and, like my other appliances, i doesn't cross my mind while meditating, which the botch, whoops - Bosch, forced me into.

I read your story and you are not alone when it comes to
how bad the Bosch tankless heaters are......

so.. you are saying that you got a Ranni tankless water
heater off of craigs list??? Is it a used unit?? or new in the box??...

just wondering

[Natano]

yes, i bought a used Rennai. Haven't touched it since i installed it. Hotter water, no interruptions.