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I like the idea of installing an instant hot water heater like the Aquastar but I wanted to get a little expert advise first. My main reason for wanting one is to save space. We are modern people living in an antique house and there’s just not room for us and a bulky hot water heater too. (No spare closets or basement either.) Unlimited hot water is a big plus too. I have seen gas heaters that can be installed outside, but thats still my plan B. Does anyone have any advise or experience with this type of heater?
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You see these things everywhere out side of North America: Britain, France, the Islands, the Far East. They work.
*Stop the presses!!!!! There is an ELECTRIC on demand type water heater. made by some outfit in TX. I am putting one in my house - new construction. Advantages: no fires; clean; no exhaust stack; should last forever, made from polymers; heats water in 4 stages, each thermostatically controlled. Disadvantages: takes 4 (Count 'em - 4) 30 amp 220 Volt breakers in service panel. Can be done w/ 2 breakers if you can put in heavier wire. Kinda tough to do on a remodel sometimes. Takes a 15 inch square footprint on a wall, sticks out about 8 inches. Find out about it at web site http://www.seisco.com. They have an 800 number that is in their website. They are in Houston, TX. If you can't find the 800 number, try 281-876-3322. They will send you brochures and the name of a distributor in your neck of the woods.Cheers!!Don Reinhard
*Forgot: If you live in an area w/o natural gas, and you use Propane, my data tells me that an instant heater a-la-Europe will put you in the poor house; then electric is the only way to go. The electric is projected (According to SEISCO propaganda) to save about $80 per year in hot water costs. I have a daughter who lives in Bahstin, MA, and she goes batty w/ the cost of running a gas fired HWH in a cold, unheated basement. This seems like it might be a good thing.Don Reinhard
*You better check the supply capacity of the on-demand heater compared to the volume you need. Continuous HW is one thing -- but the GPM at the water temp you need may not be available from the water heater. Usually they are used on a room by room basis.
*Don't forget to add the cost of venting the heater if you choose combustion fuel.
*I,ve never seen one of the whole house units in operation. My experience with the smaller point of use electric units is that they have a fairly high element failure rate, particularly if you have hard water. You might want to search Conumer Report to see if they have ever rated them.
*Try the local SEISCO rep in Dallas at (888)296-9293. His name is Jim Phillips.
*I have a friend whose mother has a whole house electric on-demand heater. Several weeks ago we were discussing hot water, when I told him of finding the SEISCO product. He told me at that time about his mother's. She has had it for over ten yrs and loves it. He does all her home maintenance and swears by this unit. (It's not a SEISCO.) Also said she cannot run this thing cold, no matter what she does - realize a 70 yr old has no teenagers. They have well water, here in GA, and it eats copper pipes for mid day snacks. My local SEISCO rep swears that We will run out of money paying for electricity before running out of hot water. As a side bar - when asked why he had never told me about his mom's heater he responded (of course) "Well, you never asked me!"
*Thanks for the info Don. I'm here in GA too, and I have also heard that about in ground copper pipes. Area plumbers say it's the Stone Mtn. granite that causes the pipes to corrode. We are on city water but I think the guts of the products I'm looking at are copper. Do you think our hard city water will corrode the HWH? I'm also concerned that our electric service box can't handle the load for an electric HWH. We're on propane now, but will switch to NG in 2001 to save $$, I hope.
*HB: We live in western Dawson Cty. Get our water from 350 ft down. Very heavily sulfurated. would eat a copper pipe like a soft croissant. Where are you in Etlanner area? Doesn't really matter, all our ground water is pretty much the same for acid content. We have done the economics on LPG vs NG vs electric. LPG would put us in poor house. If you want to talk to the SEISCO rep for this area, he's someplace near Covington/Conyers, and knows all about the electric installation business. His name is someplace in the pile of trash I call a desk top. I'll find it before Monday - I have to, I've got to order the heater, and I'll forward it to you. If you are going to do extensive electrical rehab, you can probably do it. Like I said, it takes a lot of electricity, and older service panels usually don't have room for the 220 breakers, and you cannot string the heavy wires needed. You also need the heavier service to your house. 200 Amp, I think. Again, if you are going to upgrade a house, that will probably be an item that will be upgraded, too.Don Reinhard
*Don....In my area the price of electric is twice the price of propane and three times the price of oil or natural gas for heating water.near the stream of propane,aj
*Mr. A. JackWhat's your take on the efficiency of LPG vs. NG vs. Electric?near the cold stream I call a showerHB
*HB...The cost of a unit of heat is all I care about...not efficiency...near the stream,aj
*There have been several threads in the past on Breaktime about various types of "instant" hot water heaters. One issue was the volume of flow required to trigger the unit - a trickle of water through a tankless unit may not cause it turn on to heat the water. Probably not a major problem.A couple of links to manufacturers and retailer's info on point-of-use and tankless water heaters:http://www.globaltownewarehouse.com/HomeProducts/technical/http://www.plumbingsupply.com/aquastar.htmlhttp://www.controlledenergy.com/
*At the Remodelers Show, saw the Rinnai heater which runs by gas. Several impressive features: 6.3 gpm flow rate, a model that can be mounted outside the house (and includes antifreeze protection). The external feature is interesting to me because it frees up a closet space.
*BB,I had an Aqua star put in my house 2 years ago. And to put it simply - I'm happier than a pig in mud!My primary reason also was space saving. For that reason alone it was well worth it. But the unlimited hot water supply was an unexpected benefit. There's been times that I've had to drag the German She pard into the shower with me to get him cleaned up and 45 minutes later there's been no change in temperature. It's not cheap by any means. Those ads they run in this magazine as well as others obviously cost a bundle. But in order to save 20% or so, call the company and get the complete ordering information and then go to Home Depot's Special Order desk. Without the info, they won't know what you're talking about.It cost me just about as much to have it installed. In my case, I had the plumber position the unit precisely on the inside of the garage wall between where two wall cabinets were to be hung. It took him 9 hours to bring the water lines to the right spot and then put the gas line right between the two (it was a remodel). But I went overboard on making sure the appliance looked good in the location (I've got a completely finished garage - knockdown texture along with oak trim & cabinets).Despite my overpaying for the application, I've found the gas saving alone are considerable. But the look! Everyone that sees the installation loves it. I'll never go back to a tank model again.
*And people thought i went overboard carpeting the driveway...
*Should I take the rusted boat motor out of the living room then?...I even mounted it on teak...My first scuba discovery...and it had to come home....Way too near the stream....ajCarpet...I like the carpet...& Pete...I like the unit on display...all the copper polished...very nice...are ya...polishing it tonight....?
*AJ, isn't this forum a little public to be asking Pete if he's polishing his unit?
*i If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.I guess I did....or maybe it's you...and your leanings to think such!?the stream runs a course for each of us...and all of us...aj
*Hey, I never said my mind doesn't wander to the gutter. Sometimes it even stays for an extended vacation there.
*I really appreciate your humor, guys. After all, I firmly believe if you can't take a joke, don't be one. I just should be happy none of you caught on to the dog in the shower!But serially, the hot water heater is neat. If any of you are ever out here on the shaky side, e-mail me and I'll be happy to have you help me polish it!Or if you really want to get down to business, I've got a fairly nice collection of single malt Scotch's that I'm looking to have someone help me taste test.Keep up the one liners - Letterman's getting old.Pete.
*You were talking about a dog? I thought you wrote "German She pard"--figured you had a Significant Other of Teutonic origin...
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I like the idea of installing an instant hot water heater like the Aquastar but I wanted to get a little expert advise first. My main reason for wanting one is to save space. We are modern people living in an antique house and there's just not room for us and a bulky hot water heater too. (No spare closets or basement either.) Unlimited hot water is a big plus too. I have seen gas heaters that can be installed outside, but thats still my plan B. Does anyone have any advise or experience with this type of heater?