I am thinking of replacing my gas 78 gal hot water heater with a tankless heater.
What is a recommended brand? Is one better than another once you have sized what you need.
Where is an "inexpensive" place to purchase it, and would I need two professionals to install it..gas man and plumber?

Thanks

And, did it forget anything????

Settle down now, before you run out and buy anything you need to become an informed consumer. Tankless may or may not be the thing for you. Also, the cheapest may disappoint you. Here's a few links from our sponsors website for you to read and when your done if you haven't answered your own questions at least you will be on to what you need to know to determine if tankless is for you.

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Here's a link for the Tankless 101 page: [www.plbg.com]

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Also, I highly suggest you check out thess pages:

[www.waterheaterrescue.com]

[www.waterheaterrescue.com]

They will help inform you and you'll be glad you checked them out.

You don't buy a tankless because it's cheap. You buy it because you want endless hot water. They are usually at least double the price of tank heaters.

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"You can't get there from here"
Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe

or you dont want to worry about the tank leaking

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

judicious application of money indeed, expensive but neat, you need to compare the oputput of your "old" 78 gallon one with the specs for any tankless to make sure you`ll have enough capacity, you may even find you need two side by side if the house is big

Don't forget about the tax credit in the US on qualifying models of tankless. The $300 credit (dollar for dollar money back when you claim your taxes) can really offset the cost if you go tankless and it is certainly something to factor in when choosing a model. The credit is good until Dec 2007. For more info visit: [www.energystar.gov]

I had a Rinnai installed. I also looked at Takagi and Noritz. FYI, Rinnai does not have to be installed by a "Rinnai qualified installer" to protect your warranty as they would like you to believe. I found this out from their corporate office but it was not easy information to come by. You can verify this by calling their corporate number. I had mine installed by a plumber.

maybe not but i havent found a supply house that will sell one to a person that isnt qualified to install it

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Several more things to factor in...we regained valuable square footage in our home when we got rid of our 40 gallon indoor tank heater and installed our outdoor model tankless heater. By installing an outdoor model with built-in venting we saved considerably on the venting costs which can really add to the overall installation price. Just be sure if you go with an outdoor model that it will work okay with winter temperatures in your area. I am in California so outdoor temp was not a big factor for us.

I found a supplier on the Internet. I looked locally first as I do like to support my local businesses and I will when cost is not a significant difference but in this case it was. I purchased my tankless in New York and had it shipped to California. The tankless including shipping, an accessory isolation valve kit and taxes cost me less than it would have been to buy it locally WITHOUT the accessory kit and taxes.



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I can not make the numbers work for residential applications.
The return on investment is usually over 20 years!
A stretch and that's if you never have to service it.

MMA

but very few like to factor in the safety of no pilot and no need to worry about the tank leaking while on vacation

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

The return on investment is not usually worth it for residential applications unless it is new construction. However, that may not be the only factor for some. In our area, the price of a tankless heater minus the tax rebate is not too far over the price of a high-end tank with installation.

In my case, our 40 gallon tank heater was under home warranty so when it needed replacement I opted to take a payout from the warranty company instead of letting them replace it. This payout, in combination with the tax credit I will recieve when I file, brought the price of a tankless into reach for us.

We did, however, locate the outdoor tankless on the wall just outside of our former tank location, thereby allowing us to have minimal gas line changes and no extra venting costs. We also kept our 3/4" gas line, which just meets the minimum requirement for our tank output but it works for us fine so far. Keep in mind that we are a family of four and generally do not shower simultaneously and I also generally do not run the dishwasher and washing machine simultaneously either, as were our usual habits before the tankless installation.

We were able to turn the recovered indoor square footage into a small powder room. We even used the former tank venting that goes through our roof to hook up the powder room exhaust fan. We have added to the value of our house by adding a powder room so in our case it was well worth it to make the switch.