Water Heater Suggestions
 

Good morning everyone,

I recently had a well dug at my property and the pressure tank is inside my house in a closet.

I use the property mainly in the spring-summer-Fall but will occasionally visit in the winter.

I would like some recommendations/advice on electric water heaters. I had originally planned on saving space and putting a tankless electric heater in the closet but I am afraid it won't get the water hot enough and provide solid pressure.

So do I put one tankless in the closet and then another at point of use? (I only have 2 sinks a shower and a washing machine). Do I put in a slender traditional heater and still hook up point of use heaters? I;m not sure if i can fit a traditional 60 gallon electric heater in that closet but if I can just go with that?

For your info I had lake water with a 30 gallon heater in the crawl space- with the amount of guests I have that was not nearly enough.

Thanks everyone!

A tankless on demand hot water heater will have no problem heating your water up. We have one in our island camp and use it all the time at ice out when the water inflow is 34 degrees with no heating issues whatsoever. I would go tankless for sure!

Dan

Thanks Dan.

What type of heater do you have? Is it electric?

Very happy with the on demand gas water heater I had in mass for the past three years. No hesitation going that way again. Keep in mind service is required every couple of years


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Any issue with draining the demand water heaters for the winter ?

Simple as all heck!

Mine is propane and is made by "State Heater"...

Dan

I have had a tankless for about 5 years and love it. I have heard I'm supposed to flush it or something but I keep forgetting to look into it and so far have done nothing. Still seems to be working ok tho.

Everybody is using propane? No problem keeping up with the cold?

I have had mine for 11 years now and have never done a thing to it except drain it in the fall and clean the little screen filter on the intake water connection. No issues as of yet!

Dan

We have tankless in Mass, and it delivers plenty of hot water a long distance from the system. Plus, of course, it's much more efficient with lower operating costs. We love it, and would not go back

I assume that "keeping up" means the ability of the propane tank to deliver propane to the heater at a rate that matches firing demand. Liquid propane in the tank must vaporize at a certain rate, and that requires absorption of heat of vaporization from the air around the tank. For propane, this is 184 BTU/lb at its normal boiling point (-44 F), but less at higher temperatures. The tank size may be selected to provide the required heat absorption rate at some design minimum air temperature. The propane inside boils at some lower temperature, at a pressure sufficient to move the propane across the valve and through piping to the burner. The difference between air temperature and boiling propane temperature, along with the surface area of the tank, leads to a certain vaporization rate that is possible. As air temperature drops, the propane boiling temperature and thus pressure inside the tank must also drop. At some point, tank pressure is insufficient to deliver gas at the required rate, and firing rate must decrease.

A propane company usually uses a chart showing tank minimum size vs firing demand. Here is one: https://www.tarantin.com/blog/propan...ne-tank-sizing

Lots of questions, electric has a slow recovery. Also you need to make sure your service to the house is big enough to run the heater. You compensate for the slow recovery by using a bigger tank and heating the water hotter putting it through a mixing valve to make the temp safe to use. You need to figure out how much water you need and how much you want to pay to get it. Propane sounds like a good option, but will cost more to install, especially if you need to install tanks and run lines.

If you want to do it cheap, electric is probably the best option, just hope your electric service is large enough.

I looked at tankless electric but they don’t work well in northern climates because of incoming water temps. Went with a 40 gal electric shorty. I have hot water 15 min from turning it on (I sit it off when not at the camp) and have plenty of hot water for 5 people.


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When we built our house our plumber suggested two 65 gallon tanks set up so that when there are not a lot of visitors we just have tank 1 on and tank 2 just holds water at room temp. Turn on one switch and both tanks are on with 130 gallons of hot water. Works great

If ye olde vintage power board doesn't have enough juice to power up a hot water tank, one remedy is replacing the electric kitchen stove with a propane stove, and use that 220v-30a from the old stove for the electric hot water.

Barron's Major Brands in Belmont is the place to go, and it helps to get a better deal by showing Barron's a price quote from Lowe's or Home Depot.

Go with an exterior mounted propane fired on demand and have it plumbed so you can disconnect it and remove it off the wall for the winter. Otherwise just go with an electric tank and fit it where ever there is space.

Electric on-demands are crap, and there are enough reports about the longevity/reliability of gas-fired on-demands that would make me think twice about them.

We've got a 30 gallon electric in our new trailer. With it set to 130, we can do dishes and three showers for my wife and kids (I shower at the bath house because I prefer open-air).

When we get to camp, we switch it on. Water's ready in 15 or so minutes (it's already warmer than incoming water). It's super easy to empty, super easy to install/replace, and, looking at the overall lifespan costs, not much different in overall cost.

Good luck!

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Hawley
 

Need to consider the cost of service and longevity of the unit. Water conditions may be an issue as well. Need to check the ph of the water.

Everyone has their stories and opinions.

Me, my next water heater will be a 20 gallon or 30 gallon regular ordinary tank electric water heater. So easy to replace when needed. And simple.

I do have a tankless on demand water heater now. But when time comes to get fixed - real hard to find someone to fix it. And the cost. All of those electronic circuit boards and wires. Good luck.

Those that have the electronic propane tankless water heaters love them. So God Bless them.

I've had a couple of tankless heaters and really liked how efficiently they worked, but both were very sensitive to silt in the water and required periodic flushing of the control valves. My favorite heater overall so far is the Rheem Marathon series. Not sure if you can fit one but if you can they are very light to transport and install and have a lifetime warranty on the tank. Basically the tank and liner are made of the same indestructible tupperware plastic as kayaks and then foam is injected between the two "hulls".