Multi-unit tankless water heaters.

[John Ross]

I have a old 220 volt hot water tank that's installed in a closed utility room in the back of my house. The home is in South Florida and it has a water softener.
I would like to replace it with a electric tankless 240 volt unit. I do have natural gas available and also some neighbors have propane units. I understand electric units do not require as much maintenance as the gas units?


Also, because of the size of the house I'm going to need two or three 110 volt under the counter tankless water heaters for the kitchen and bathroom.


I'd like to know as a professional plumber your opinion what is the most reliable electric tankless water heater for Both Situations?


Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Jeff H Young]

do you have a big enough electric panel? I know hot water isnt as important in south florida as other places but when you lose power how big is the generator? or is hot water the least of your worries ? AC is the main thing I guess of cource with a tankless gas heater you still need a little juice to operate standard gas heater no problem no power needed at all . Id also consider energy costs No idea FPL vs whoeve3r the gas comes from.
I install 20 regular gas water heaters to one electric here single family homes are almost all gas condos which i never work in vary . So I cant realy provide other opinion

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

To achieve satisfactory performance from an electric tankless unit requires a large capacity electrical supply,

Rheem's largest electric tankless unit is the RTEX-36. That model is equipped with 36,000 watt (=150 amps @ 240 volts) heaters. That model is rated to achieve a 62F temperature rise (ex: 60F > 122F) while flowing at 4.0 GPM.

 

[Jeff H Young]

150 amps plus 3 unercounter heaters i guess 15 amp circuits so thats 200 amps And Im no electrition but youll need one Im wondering if youll need to upgrade the main panel I know there is a calculation the total breakers adds up to a percentage over the main breaker size but just something to think about it would definately involve an electrition if it was my job

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

"Electric tankless" gives me the Heebie Jeebies... I serviced one in a house that had a separate strike to the house to accommodate it.. and it couldn't fill a soaking tub with hot water. Not even worth thinking about IMO.

 

[Fitter30]

Still need to run vinegar to clean any mineral deposits at least once a year or more if the water is hard.

 

[Bannerman]

I don't follow why you think an electric tankless will require less maintenance than a gas fired tankless. As a gas unit will require air for combustion, I guess periodically cleaning the air filter might be considered an additional maintenance task, even as that procedure is minor.

One of the best tools to reduce maintenance for both a gas or electric tankless, will be to remove/reduce water hardness by using a water softener.