on demand hot water tank

[Tibo]

I have and old hot water tank that needs replacing. I`m getting alot of info on tankless. 94% efficant. the sellsman say that I can replace the boiler and the hat water tank and save 25% of gas consumption the boiler is working OK but the hot water tank needs replacing for sure.

should i buy the tankless or rent? 6000$ - 750$ from Gov. Grant
will it be in my best intrest to do the whole thing (10,000$) - 1200 from Gov, Grant

 

[invst4profit]

Who pays for utilities? You or the tenants.
Obviously standard hot water tanks are far less expensive to replace but one should also look into the cost of replacement parts for on demand systems.
I believe a defective controller unit may cost $300 or more to replace in a on demand system.
Personally I prefer to keep things simple and generally stay with conventional technology unless there is a very short pay back period (less than 2 years).

 

[JimWhitelaw]

We looked into this a few months back. For a situtation where tenants pay their own utilities, there`s no way the tankless system is cost effective. The traditional system works fine, it`s known technology and the lifespan is generally predictable.

 

[housingrental]

Repair man I use says : Don`t use tankless - they break down often - are costly to repair - don`t use tankless

 

[Mike Milovick]

Work the pay back. Sometimes energy efficiency works in the way of landlord.

I replaced two old, circa late 80`s fridges with 2009 technology. Pay back was two years on electricity savings.

I can`t see on demand hot water tank as having anywhere near this type of pay back.

QUOTE (Tibo @ Jun 23 2009, 10:43 PM) I have and old hot water tank that needs replacing. I`m getting alot of info on tankless. 94% efficant. the sellsman say that I can replace the boiler and the hat water tank and save 25% of gas consumption the boiler is working OK but the hot water tank needs replacing for sure.

should i buy the tankless or rent? 6000$ - 750$ from Gov. Grant
will it be in my best intrest to do the whole thing (10,000$) - 1200 from Gov, Grant

 

[MonteDobson]

We have a tankless water heater in our personal residence and we love it. It definitely saves energy, space and you NEVER run out of hot water. The only downfall we have noticed so far is that it takes a bit longer for the hot water to reach the tap. Overall we are happy with tankless, but I have not used in a rental home yet. Likely an economical tank water heater is the way to go for rentals?

 

[REINteam]

This one has been talked about a number of times on here...just search "tankless" and keep the quotes in.



Here is a good link: http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/General_Discussion/61-10038-Hot_water_heaters.html





If you choose to go with tankless I've spoken with a number of professionals who say only use Rinnai. IMO tanked is the way to go in a rental unit: lower cost, less parts to break down, cheaper install, etc. I'll be sticking with tanked in my units - love the idea of tankless just not for my rentals at this time.





Regards,



Ray Reuter

Real Estate Investment Network