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Borrego
Member
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# Posted: 20 Feb 2012 09:33pm
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Well it's about time to get a water heater and after assuming I would go tankless, I'm just wondering..... here's my situation:
In the desert, so temperatures never go below freezing. We go out almost every weekend. It would supply 2 showers (1 indoor, 1 outdoor) a bath sink and a kitchen sink. So not too big a load.
Should I maybe reconsider a tanked heater? Water storage in the desert is always a plus!
Also brands? Rinnai or similar is gonna be way too expensive..... I have an Ecotemp for my current outdoor shower and it's been ok, but has started getting flaky after a couple of years. Anything in the middle, like $300 - $400?
any thoughts appreciated!
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2012 06:21pm
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If you use propane you can buy a 6 gal. RV tank heater for less than your $300-$400. They are very well insulated and retain heat for hours. We are in the northeast mountains and I find that I can heat ambient temp water to the "low" setting on the heater, shut it off and have enough hot water for 2 showers + washing dishes w/o relighting the heater.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2012 08:05pm
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We use an RV water heater. 6 gallon with pilot light. When we arrive at the cabin we light the pilot and turn it to "burn". After the water is heated to the low thermostat setting we switch the control back to "pilot only". With our frugal water use the pilot light is able to keep the water at a very usable temperature. In fact some days the water gets too hot for use without dilution with cold water. We've used the heater in the RV this way for years. The heater is also surrounded with an extra 3 to 4 inches of rigid foam insulation on top, bottom, sides and back end. That helps a lot too.
Some of the reasons I went with the RV heater may not be applicable to other users.
Some tankless heaters are difficult to drain thoroughly. We needed to be sure the heater could be drained to prevent freeze damage.
Many of the cheaper tankless heaters do not have sufficient heating capacity to heat our cold water to hot enough to shower with at the flow rate needed. That's with a reduced flow shower head too. The incoming water could be as cold as 40 .
Some tankless heaters void their warranty when used with hard water, unless the water system has a softener in use. We have hard water and it's getting harder over the past dozen+ years.
Some propane and nat gas tankless heaters have an electric heating element to prevent freezing when used in winter. That's for outside mounted types.
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Borrego
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2012 09:21pm
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Thanks for the replies, I'll check out RV heaters. I would like a heater though, that I don't have to mess with. Just turn it on and leave it on and have hot water when i turn on the tap. Just like at home....
there's gotta be something between a Rinnai and an Ecotemp.
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JoshG
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2012 09:23pm
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Borrego,
I am looking at the ecotemp tankless myself. What downfalls are you running into?
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Bzzzzzt
Member
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2012 01:21pm
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I just got a free 5 gallon 120V 1500W electric water heater from work today. It was something that was removed from service because the space requirements changed. I'm thinking I can find a good place for it at the cabin when I get my water catchment system installed.
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wakeslayer
Member
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2012 06:21pm
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Check out a Takagi TK-Jr. Have had one for 5 years. Love it. No issues, just hot water. I blow it out when I leave, and have never had a freeze issue. I think they run $600-700.
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