Tankless Water heater

So I figure since many people are on this board- I'd ask this question.  Do you have a tankless?  Do you like it?  Is there a problem getting hot water to where it needs to be?

It would of course- been better if I'd been able to ask this question BEFORE we changed out our tank.  But we had no choice.  Saturday it started leaking, and by yesterday it was a small flood in the garage (which I have opened to try to dry out the rest of the water).  The plumber came on Tuesday night, and we really had no time to make an informed decision.  Dh wanted to do tankless, I'm over having to change the tank (the one we just put in is tank #3, and we've been here 20ish years) and it said in the literature that tankless lasts longer.  And saves money.  So we decided to give it a try (3700! later!)

It heats the house nicely (we have a hot water system).  And there was hot water to wash dishes with.  Showers were another story.  Have no idea how dh's was.  The 16 year old gets up at 6:30 (I think she's got a headcold to so she's kind of a grump).  I'm downstairs getting coffee and I hear this scream.  "MOM THE WATER IS FREEZING".  I went in and checked, I guess by then it had ciculated to the upstairs b/c I thought it was ok.  She finished and said it was ok, but the water went back and forth. 

I have the heat down during the day when nobody's home.  I went to the gym- put stuff out in the driveway (so the garage can dry)  Didn't turn up the heat.  The water never got warm.    Once I turned up the heat (after I'd dried off and was quite cold) the water upstairs did get hot.  We can't change it.  It's in, the new lines are in etc.  It would be a royal pain to switch back. Not to mention dh took out a 401k loan (i know, but we're still fairly young and he's not leaving his job any time soon) so we're stuck with it. 

And then there's the issue of "her majesty HollyHeart".  That's where her box is.  She first freaked out b/c there was water all over the floor (I felt pity and moved the litter box inside).  Now she doesn't want to go in the garage b/c "the big thing that made noise is gone- there's a small thing that makes a different noise and I'm scared". 

Cheryl

The only thing I know about them is that I asked a friend who's a plumber, and he said they're great in warmer areas, but around here the ground water is too cold so he doesn't recommend them in this area.

I'm sorry you are having issues with it. . Maybe something needs tone tweaked? We have a conventional water heater in this house, but had a tankless in the last house and had no issues.

Yes there is a problem.  We're only getting hot water when the heat's on.  Finally figured it out yesterday when the heat was off- dd was trying to wash dishes and there was nothing but cold water coming out. When we turned the heat up- we got hot water.  Turned it down- no hot water.   Made sure dh saw it so he didn't think I was imagining it.

The guy that installed the system was really nice.  Dh emailed him last night- he responded back right away.  He'll be here in a half-hour to fix it- and it's a really easy fix   And he's fixing it himself.  I'm impressed with this guy.  Considering we didn't do a whole lot of research in this area and we kind of took the first person who could take care of the problem. If the problem's solved- I think I'll put a nice email up on his website

Still don't know what to do about the darn cat.  She won't use her box in the garage.  Trying it tonight is going to be a moot point- dd had a birthday last week and I could have up to 15 teenage girls downstairs tonight.   There is NO WAY that cat's going to set foot (or paw) down there with that many people

Cheryl

Oh god, 15 teenage girls in the house would be enough to scare the bravest creature! :lol3:

I don't have personal experience with a tankless, but our friend has one and loves it. He said it made a big difference in the monthly bill, and as a family of five they don't have any issues. Plus we're in a cold area here.
I hope the guy can fix it up alright!

I already went shopping for food and such (she's doing pizza, junk food and ice cream sundaes) with dd and a friend.  Good gracious it was worse than taking a toddler to Walmart   I just walked away when they stopped and started making goo-goo faces for the One Direction cards

It's her 16th.  At first she wanted one of those big blowouts that some of her friends have had.  Rent a hall, get a DJ etc.  No.  Not with the money we've had to shell out for various music events, the new hot water heater.  And we don't want to forget that I've got another one in college that we're trying to help. 

15 kids and pizza is a far cheaper option.  Dh and I will just hole up in our room tonight and let the kids have the downstairs.  There's 2 TV's, a Wii, 2 DVD players etc. 

Took the guy 20 minutes to fix it.  And beyond having a little air in the pipes- it's working fine now. We have hot water and heat.  And at the same time  I'll give it 24 hours, then I'll go post a positive review on his website. 

Cheryl

15 teenagers?  God bless you!! 

Our house came with a regular water heater.  I've been curious about the tankless.  I hate running out!  It's less of a problem here than in our old place.  But we dont have teens yet.  Mom used to say that when I was a teen and she or my step-dad would hear me get in the shower they'd be like "Quick!  She's in the shower!  Get in!" because I'd use it all.  hehe

It's more like 16 girls. 

Then they asked 3 boys to come over.  Yay.  Guess where dh and I got to spend 2 hours.  Downstairs in the middle of it all.  Yay.  They caused more drama than the girls did.  We had to talk to one about "inappropriate acts of PDA" that would get them sent home.  I guess it was getting on the girls nerves (something about one of them flirting while "seeing" someone) so dd asked if they could leave at 9.  I was fine with it.

Some of them are staying the night.  I think 10 or so.  As long as dd is able to do her shift tomorrow night for the fundraiser for HER orchestra trip in May- then I'm ok with it.

Dd likes long showers.  I can tell I'm going to have to put a timer in the bathroom so that she's not in there forever.  And oh man- you don't want to know what the water bill was over Christmas break when I had dd, her sister AND my mom here........

Cheryl