Any one have one in their house?

 

they are called instant water heaters. Personally I don't have one, but have been in homes that have them. They are very effective, and will save you money in the long run. Instead of the hot water having to travel through 200-300 feet of pipe, it flows 3-5 feet. This enables it to get hot water to the faucet with little to no "lag"....lol Im sure a port and polish of the pipes will help the warmup process. HAHA

 

it's like living close to the datacenter

 

I am paranoid of using them. I don't wanna get zapped!

 

that would mean I am 24/7 in a DC.

 

I think you aren't talking about an instant-hot on the kitchen sink.

The tankless water heater replaces the standard conventional water heater and takes up a very small spot. They do not heat and store hot water, but instead instantly heat it when you turn on the hot water anywhere in the house. The water still has to pass through the pipes to get to the faucet =).

I considered getting one when my water heater failed, but it was going to cost a few hundred more, not including the labor to modify the plumbing.

 

We have them in my house, and they work great - although it takes a while for the water to heat up - but when it does it stays.

 

i think i have use it when i was in HK for vacation at my uncle place. what you do need to know about it?

 

Can you give me the make and model of the one in your house.

What is a while to heat up?

What kind of water heater did you have before, electric or gas?

and does this use more energy?

do you have issues when there are more than device running , eg shower and dish washer?

 

well lately my hot water doesn't last very long. after a 10-15 minute shower it starts being luke warm. This wasn't the case before. And it's not the cold weather, been going on for about 2-3 months.

so now I think it's time to possible replace or get it fixed. that is why I started doing research and ran across this. things that I want to know would be:

does it work, how well, etc - functionality stuff.
installation in an old house, my house was built in the '50s.
usage cost, the few that I have read about require 220/50A.

 

If I were you, I'd try a couple things first.

Try upping the t-stat on the heater just a bit, and you might try draining the contents of the heater one day (there's a hose hookup on it). They tend to get rust and sediment in them and this should help.

As far as the tankless ones go, I saw a gas Bosch unit at Home Depot a year+ ago, but I'm not sure if they stock them anymore. If you are going to have a plumber do it, there are a few things that have changed as far as permit requirements in the Bay Area.

If it's in the garage, it needs to be elevated, be properly strapped for earthquakes, and have the overflow exit the building (not just to garage floor anymore). If it's inside the building (not garage) you'll need an overflow pan. If you are having a plumber do it, it's going to cost you over a grand now including permit fees.

I'm not sure if you need to worry about the permit with the tankless unit, as most of the codes deal with safety issues of the tank.

 

I've up'd the temp about a month ago, it helped for a couple of weeks. I am going to do it again. My current heater is up to code.

 

Tankless water heaters save you in energy cost over several years, but the initial cost of the heater is much higher than a conventional heater. We spec Takagi tankless water heaters for small commercial projects at my work.

 

http://www.gotankless.com/video/waterheater.ram

pimp

 

i know exactly what it is....they can be used per location. Meaning you can use one for each hot water faucet in a house. Doesnt make sense to use an instant hot water heater, then pass the hot water through all the pipe now does it. Think about it...there are usually 4-5 faucets in a house maximum. Why run all the piping in a house like mine with 2 faucets that use hot water. That doesnt make sense. Install one for each location, and have hot water instantly without piping it in.