# Need help deciding tankless or tank water heater



## paulm (Nov 6, 2012)

I&#8217;m a newbie here and I&#8217;m thinking of getting a tankless water heater, what should I look for and what should I look out for?


----------



## Wuzzat? (Nov 6, 2012)

If it's electric you'll probably need an upgrade of your present electrical supply.


----------



## paulm (Nov 6, 2012)

My old tank is gas but I'm open. Which do you think would be better?


----------



## nealtw (Nov 6, 2012)

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-tankless-water-heater-176538


----------



## Wuzzat? (Nov 6, 2012)

The standby heat for an elec. tank heater at 15 cents/kwh may cost you $65/year.  I assume 50w for 8700 hours.

How much you pay for NG, per CCF?
I pay $1.60 per CCF = $1.60 per therm and so my standby for NG would be $23/year.
A therm = 100,000 BTU = 29.3 kwh.

Here's some prices -
http://www.nextag.com/heater-tankless-gas/products-html
http://www.nextag.com/heater-tankless-electric/compare-html

Figure on 100 gals per person per day and a bathtub may fill at 6 GPM.


----------



## paulm (Nov 6, 2012)

Thanks wazzat & nealtw!

When I lived in Indonesia for a year there was one in the house where I stayed. That was 20 years ago and I didn't pay much attention to what it was but I remember it well. I never ran out of hot water. Ran out of water once in a while when they didn't fill the water tank though. It never failed but was kind of ugly inside the western style bathroom.

I've talked to a couple plumbers and they aren't very pro-tankless. Have either of you used one? I'd sure like to hear some firsthand experiences. 

Thanks guys!

Paul


----------



## nealtw (Nov 6, 2012)

I havn't seen enough of them to have a good opinion.


----------

