Water heater

Gonna be adding on to home and redoing the mechanical systems, looking at going to tankless water, currently running a 40 gallon electric. I’m rural so im planning on going either lp gas 40 gallon or so water heater or tankless, looking for input. Thanks

I have a tankless water heater. We have five people in our family. We never run out of hot water when we shower. The down fall I see with them it does take a little bit to get hot water to faucets. However it’s not that big of a deal. It is nice it hangs on the wall and takes up minimal space.
Make sure u gas pipe it with 3/4 it takes a good size line to run them things.
Not sure where u live but let me know if you need hvac done
Thanks Matt.

Got a tankless in my house. That took care of the rotten egg smell we had with a tank style water heater but did come with different issues. Yes we get unlimited hot water but not sure if that is all that its cracked up to be. My teenage kids take shower like its a challenge to beat the water heater. They typically give up in the 45 minute to hour range. Being on a well with fluctuating water pressure the tankless has a hard time adjusting to the different pressures. This results in changing water temps. On the bad days this will range from scalding hot to straight cold water. My next well pump will be variable speed to help address this issue. Endless hot water does not mean instant hot water. Time how long it takes to get hot water to any place in your home and double or triple that time for a tankless water heater. My main floor bath is right above the tankless heater and even there it runs 45 seconds to a minute to get hot water. Make sure you have the best water treatment for your well water. Even with that plan to descale the tankless every three to 5 years or so. Lastly there will be repairs on the tankless. Its to complex of an appliance not to have them. Finding someone that knows how to work on them and not just throw parts at it might be a challenge. Getting parts may be a very good challenge to.

My tankless so far keeps plugging along. Knowing the issues with it I wont sell any on well systems without updated water treatment and addressing the water pressure issues. Have quoted as high as 8 grand for one. Thats a lot of tank style water heaters.

With a tank style water heater the rotten eggs smell on rural systems can be challenging. Can try changing out the anode rod or just cutting it off all together. You will void the warranty cutting off the anode rod but dont think I would be that worried about that. Well water seems to coat the inside of the tanks pretty good and can make those tanks last longer. A good water treatment system can help with the rotten egg smell to.

Gregory,
As Mike mentions, rural water tends to be high in solids or minerals. These clog a tankless pretty quick. Pre-treatment would be a key to avoiding a lot of headaches.

Mike had a great response. Another thing to consider is some units are close to 200,000 BTU, many times the existing gas main, even on a 2 lb. system needs to be increased in size.

Since you have an electric wh now you’ll have to think about where the outlet for the flue gasses will go. Typically these heaters use stainless steel or pvc. The stainless vent kits are speedy. Pvc venting is much more cost effective. Make sure you know what venting is required for your heater before you buy the unit and bring it home. Don’t plan on saving any money with the tankless heater. Maintenance costs will offset any savings. They do take up much less space and endless hot water is nice of you have kids.

I have a Rinnai at my cabin. ITs a direct vent propane unit. MY only complaint is the time it takes to get hot water otherwise we have never been disappointed with it or run it out of hot water. We have septic system and we emphasis taking short showers or they are paying pumping bills. LOL

Mwal

Thanks for the input, i personally think its hard to beat a good tanked lp water. space isnt a issue, i have heard the issue of running more water to get hot water, Thanks

I used to have a 80 gal. tank heater for my 3000 sq. ft. home with 2.5 baths. We installed a Rinnai tankless 7 years ago and would never go back to a tank. Sure it takes a bit to get hot water but the savings has more than paid for itself. Zero maintenance issues so far and I couldn’t be happier with it. Go tankless and save yourself bucks, space and no more replacing elements.

Hard to shy away from Mike W’s advice since he’s a plumber.
I have a power vent 40 gallon tank heater and love it. Hot water recovers fast. We can shower 2 at a time for a total of 6 showers without running out of hot water.
I have heard from a couple other HVAC and plumbers that they don’t recommend on demand water systems in MN unless you have a tank to warm the water to room temperature first. This improves the units efficiency.

so im leaning towards a tanked power vented water heater,seems that they just work.

i should add im on a well and rural. expensive electricity also. thanks for the input!

I’m a service plumber in S.WI and have worked on all kinds of water heaters. People who have tankless heaters are gonna tell you how much they like them, until they start having issues with them. Servicing them can be a real pain, parts aren’t as readily available and are much more expensive. I know I will never put one in my house.

Thank you for input, my mother in laws tankless electro boiler shorted out this summer, tripped the breaker so I did what instinct tells you do and reset it, boy was that scary, only 10 years old.

Can’t go wrong with a powervent.

Since you are adding on to your home, have you considered in floor heat with a condensing boiler? The boiler can serve dual purposes. Heat water for your floor loops and heating hot water with a hot exchanger tank. I did that when I had my current home built.

Your family will love the warm floors. -34 degrees outside and my floors are warm to walk on in your stocking feet. I have a 40 gal heat exchanger tank that effectively has a 120,000 btu heater element. Two shower going and Mom washing clothes and running the dishwasher and the hot water keeps coming. Pretty close to a tankless.

The condensing boiler sips gas, 95% efficient. I heat a 1900 sqft house and 26′ x 24′ attached garage with one condensing boiler and a 26′ x 32′ shop with another for about $240 a month of natural gas.

I did install in floor heat, and we are debating on hooking it up right away. Trying to keep cost under control while also not trying to cut corners, we figured we can always upgrade some mechanicals down the road. Thanks for your first hand input!

Seems that they the warrantys figured out in there favor..