On Demand Heater vs Water Tank

[Pat32rf]

I used to service electric water heaters. Would never recommend a demand heater that was electric powered. Even a lot of gas powered units wind up with a storage tank sooner or later. There are certain laws of physics that you just cannot bend very far....

[outback]

I put in an electric unit after doing a major renovation. I absolutely loved it, the wife on the other hand not so much. Reason being is we are on a well and the unit needed .8 gallons per minute to keep the heat elements on. When the pressure dropped (usually when the misses was in the shower) the water would get ice cold. Then when the pressure built up again the water would come back quite hot. This was my only complaint for it's use over a year. She made it clear we would reinstall an electric tank. If we had municipal water the tankless would be hooked up for sure. It was a Home Depot unit and we had it prolly 15-16yrs ago.

outback

[oldbuck]

Gas ones better than electric for sure but there are variables. How much demand are you going to put on this heater, the temperature of your water going in etc.. A storage tank is sometimes a necessity with well water as it is can be so cold that it needs to be brought to room temp. before going in to heater.

[Fisherman]

If I'm not mistaken, on demand units don't like hard water, the local guy highly recommended putting in a water softener.

[35wailin]

I had to replace my entire basement last spring, from the footings up. I replaced my gas rental tank with a gas on-demand system. Cost me $2800 installed plus GST. I have four teenage daughters, 12-19. Never run out of water. The heat exchanger has a 12year warranty and I calculated that if I only get a little over 6 years before a major repair, I have covered what I would have paid for the rental on the tank, and I could simply replace it at that point and break even.

[buckchaser]

I have a propane on demand water heater. It came with the house I purchased four years ago. It has functioned well overall.

We installed a water softener to ensure the hard water we have is treated properly. The local technician said this should dramatically extend the life of our unit.

[johnjyb]

At $35 per month, it only takes 2 years to pay off the price of a 50 gallon gas fired hot water heater, depending on if you already have an available flue to tie into, or doing a direct vent installation for a bit more, but all options beat the price of a rental in the long run.
A HWH should easily last 8-10 years so that averages less them $100 a year to own, even if you pay for a licenced plumber/gasfitter to do the install. A far cry from the $400 a year to rent from your utilities, although that does give you the peace of mind that any problem will be fixed ASAP at no extra cost to you.
John

[patvetzal]

I have had a couple of times when I wanted to get out of a rental and been told that the contract was good until the tank died. In one case it took two years before they quit invoicing us, even though their installation had been condemned after a fire ....
I currently have one tank being heated by our geothermal system. The tank is on a time clock so it will only turn on during cheap (?) hydro hours.
My Tennant has his tank heated by the outdoor wood furnace. Hydro has been switched off since Christmas.Never run out of hot...
Those insulation kits DO make a big difference on heat loss and can cut energy use by 50%,