LESLIE: Murray in Illinois is on the line and he needs some advice on buying a new water heater. What can we help you with?
MURRAY: Well, my issue is I have a house full of females and myself and we are having an issue with keeping up with hot water.
LESLIE: OK.
MURRAY: I presently have a 40-gallon, natural-gas water heater and I was wondering if I could get you guys’ opinion. The bathroom they shower in is upstairs and we also have a washing machine up there.
And I was wondering what you guys thought of the instantaneous water heaters. I’ve seen some small ones that it said would put out 3.3 gallons per minute and I had no idea what an actual shower takes. And I just wondered what you guys thought about that supplement, maybe, to the hot-water heater.
TOM: OK. So, first of all, we are fans of tankless water-heating technology. And so, we do believe that if your water heater was failing, then that would be an appropriate thing to replace it with.
In your case, you’re talking about supplementing, which is a bit different because you really have to have your water-heating needs zoned into two separate loops if you want to supplement. Because then you have half on the tank water heater and half on the tankless.
The issue of your water heater being located a distance from the plumbing fixtures that you want to use most frequently is not going to be solved, regardless of what kind of water heater you have, because the water still has to travel the same distance. But if you’re concerned about running out of hot water, that’s not going to happen with a tankless; it just won’t. And you choose a tankless water heater based on how many bathrooms you have in your house and there’ll be plenty of hot water to keep everybody in those bathrooms showered for as long as they want to stay in there.
MURRAY: So you’re saying just – it’s best just to replace the natural-gas one I have and get a whole-house tankless?
TOM: Yeah, exactly. How old is that one you have now?
MURRAY: It’s probably, I’m guessing, five or six years, maybe.
TOM: Yeah. So it’s still pretty new. I mean they usually last about 10. So you’ve got a decision to make, you know? If you’re running out of hot water, then maybe it’s worth doing.
MURRAY: OK. I appreciate your help very much. Thank you.
I have a similar question as Murray. First my entire, 1250 sq ft, house is ALL electric. I live in CT and the water comes from a well. My current water heater, about 5yrs old, is in a cold unfinished basement next to the indoor water pump (just a foot petal in the well) and a water tank. The water goes to a Washer, next to it, then upstairs opposite direction about 20 ft away to a Kitchen sink and Dishwasher. From there it travels, still in opposite direction, to the only bathroom. (House set up like this: Basement, first two dashes are the water heater, washer ( _______ __ — — ——-.) Upstairs, kitchen sink, dishwasher, shower, sink & toilet. NO other running water in the house.
Since the water heater will last longer (Hopefully) can I (professional not me) add a tankless water heater to my shower. It would not need to be a whole house one. Is it possible, how can it be done and will one even work since I am on a well? I’m tired of wasting so much water waiting for it to come from the water heater and the heater must have to run constantly to warm up the well water. If this is possible to do could you recommend a tankless brand to fit my needs. Thanks so much for your time!
Deb, there’s anoth option here called a hot water recirculator. It works on a timer and essentially circulates hot water through the plumbing so that it is “always” hot when yu need it. See the Watts Hot Water Recirculator on Amazon for more.
They work great. I have 2,one for each end of the house. Nearly instant hot water.