Tankless Hot Water Issues
I have a tankless hot water heater. My best guess is that it is about 15 or 16 years old. it is a natural gas unit with a pilot light.
About 7 days ago, my family and I had enough CO exposure to have headaches, dizziness, and bit of nausea. We called the gas company, the traced the problem to the hot water heater and it was turned off. We ventilated and everyone is fine.
Yesterday, a plumber who is authorized to service out hot water heater came by. He restarted the unit (although he had trouble starting the pilot light); but could not find anything wrong. He guessed that the recent snow had blocked the exhaust which caused the CO issue. After he left, there was a slight gassy odor in the basement the rest of the day. We ventilated some more and by the time we went to bed, the basement was clear. This morning we noticed a much stronger gassy smell and immediately turned off the hot water heater. After a couple hour of ventilating, the basement was clear.
We carefully restarted the hot water heater again. I read the instructions and learned that the plumber did not restart the pilot light correctly (hence, the problem starting it?). I restarted it easily. Turned on a nearby hot water. No gassy smell. So far, nothing else today. We’ve had showers and a load in the dishwasher.
Yesterday’s plumber gave me a quote of about $3,000 to $3,500 to install a new tankless hot water system. I’m getting another quote tomorrow for another tankless system.
So now, what should we do? $3,500 seems expensive to replace a system that appears to be working OK.
Thanks, GassedinSeattle
Replies
I'm diagonaly opposite, in Atlanta, so don't have a feel for costs in your area. Maybe as an interim safety idea, get some of those plug-in CO detector/alarms at Wal-Mart and scatter them about.
How unusual is snow around the vent? Could you for sure prevent that from happening again? The penalty's pretty steep . . .
The coupla' newer ones I've dealt with have a pretty sensitive "draft back-pressure sensor" that will shut down with a chimney obstruction.
BTU-wise, it takes a lot for a whole-house water heater (people here will tease you about "why do you need to heat hot water", but I digress); sometimes more than a furnace - so yes, they can be pricey.
Not sure what 15-17 years on one of those units is - could be well into its retirement years.
A real plumber will wander along shortly, and give real advice.
Forrest - not a plumber
I got a combo CO/Combustible gas meter this afternoon. While I was installing it, I was thinking if I was concerned enough to buy the new meter, I should get a new hot water heater. So far, everything is OK. But we are checking things frequently. it only snows like this one every 10 years or so here; we just got lucky this time.The conventional wisdom is that the first generation tankless hot water heater should last about 20. So, 15 or 16 years would be a bit early, but not unreasonably so.
Did it occur to you guys to get a CO detector???
yes, we did have one. We now have a new one, with a combustible gas meter.
Why didn't the old one go off?
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
if you have to replace i can whole heartedly reccomend the takagi units. my yoga studio has them installed in the showers, and there is always plenty of hot water, even with 6 people showering at a time.
I believe there is a Federal rebate if a tankless is installed AFTER Jan. 1st.... Anything that heats water and has a tank won't qualify...
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits
I've been concerned about hearing that there is a yearly maintenance procedure/checkup on the tankless water heaters, is that true?
Bill
Yes, there is a federal rebate. Fortunately, the new heater can't be installed until next week, so we'll qualify.The technicians that I've seen lately didn't mention a yearly service; but both mentioned there is a valve that has to be "rebuilt" every few years. Which doesn't make any sense to me. So, i'm not getting a Bosch.
I am amazed that anyone would spend $3000 for a tankless water heater when a high performance storage power vented water heater can be installed for about $1200. I know, I know...the tankless are more efficient but the total annual cost savings computed by the Department of Energy is less than 75 Therms per year or about $10 per month. I do not see how spending the extra $1800 to save $10/month makes any sense! In addition, the tankless water heaters waste water over storage water heaters.
I don't understand the logic!
Bill
Like lots of things, there is no logic to it, or very little. The tankless only makes sense if you either have a "oddball" usage pattern or have no space for a tank. In most cases the savings are zilch.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
That is a lot of money for a water heater which is not necessarily any more efficient than other options.
Tankless heaters, or demand heaters, make the most sense when used like they do in Europe - as low-output point-of-use heaters.
What kind of heat do you have? If a boiler, I'd suggest looking into an indirect tank. This eliminates the need for an additional fuel burner and keeps the boiler running in the summer (for hot water) when it would otherwise collect dust, leading to maintenance calls. And it will likely cost less.
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