Has anyone installed a tankless system?
I'm considering replacing my doddering water heater and servicable but slow Laars mini-therm 2 with a tankless system. Is this a wise thing to do? I could reallly really use the space but don't want to cripple the radiant heating. Thanks in advance for any info!
Kaaren
We had a Takagi tankless system installed and are very happy with it. Low maintenance, works well, quiet, saves a lot of space, and reduces our gas bill. There are many tankless systems out there. Check them out for their efficiency ratings, purchase and installation costs. Good luck.
We had a tankless water heater installed earlier this year (not sure which brand). It's great! Gas bills are decidedly lower and always plenty of hot water, even if we're bathing, doing laundry and washing dishes at the same time!
Marianne
Hi Kaaren,
The tankless systems are a bit more energy efficient, Howver bear in mind that there are required clearances from combustable materials; There is certaily less space used, but you can't pack a bunch of stuff around it. Also, if the electricy goes out, you will not have hot water, as the on demand system has an electric igniter. The obvious upside is that you never run out of hot water, and you can run a shower and washing machine at the same time (feel free and call the plumber who did the work on your house when we remodeled 2 years ago. Take Care.
It sounds like you are considering replacing both your water heater AND radiant boiler with a single tankless system. This is not the usual tankless system since the boiler recirculates. I thought this seemed a little complicated until I took a good look at a new installation on Bunker Hill in your neighborhood late last year. This heat-exchanger was installed with a new Unico System along with a foam roof. (that's why I was there) It's quite compact and the owner is very happy with it. Advertisers on this site that sell Unico can tell you about it.
There is a boiler on the market that is made for both space heating and tankless domestic water. It's called a BAXI Luna. It mounts on the wall and does a great job with the radiant, but it's only rated for about 3.3 gallons per minute for hot water production. Barely enough to take a shower and fills a tub very slow. Your best option is probly to keep the systems separate. There are wall mount boilers out there like the munchkin 80,000btu that save space. I dont think that one of those wall mount tankless water heaters should be used for radiant heat. They aren't designed to replace a boiler so it would void the warranty.
Just my .02
Tom
