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Elect. water heater ?
Radar
Member Posts: 2,308 ✭✭✭
Anybody have a elect. water heater ? Do you like it ? does it recover as fast as a propane one ? Im thinking that if i use elect.i can do away with the chimney pipe vent.If i had elect. i would only need propane for furnace but i wonder which is best water heater ?
Comments
It's dirt cheap right now, and that won't be changing substantially for the next 10 years.
Electricity will always go up every 2-3 years, unless the Power Providing Utility is municipally owned; then it goes up every year.
Unless you're miles into the Sticks, you should be close to a natural gas line. Tank gas is pricey because they have to deliver, and that involves a lot of Fed paperwork, which gets more expensive all the time.
Be sure to look at the Energy sticker & compare yearly estimated costs for whichever one you want versus a gas one.
A recirculating system could help heat your house, too.
Jon
We gas piped in as a utility...
She did also have 2 small renai tankless hot water heaters installed as well...
There are 3 full bathrooms and she had underfloor radiant heating retrofitted throughout the house...
She moved the old washer and dryer and refrigerator to the garage / outbuilding so the washer and sink there need hot water and there is a section of wood look tile flooring that has the radiant heating system...
She had her backyard birdbath - fountain upgraded to recieve hot water so it would be unfrozen and Operable throughout the winter (so it gets hot water and has heating elements)
I like - prefer the traditional but vastly improved gas powered tank hot water heaters...
But these little auxiliary tankless electric units seem to have a good reputation and warranty and have been problem free so far.
I think they are a viable and reliable option for many applications and are cost effective.
Feel free to tell me I am wrong or point out some flaws in my thinking - I am not an expert and always appreciate the chance to learn more.
Mike
The pipe is only about 3 feet long, goes up from the tank, takes a 90, and runs right through the wall. It is a double wall pipe, the exhaust goes out on the outside and the fresh air comes in on the inside.
Great water heater fast refill.
My REC(for those metrodude(ish)folks, that's the Rural Electric provider) GAVE me an electric water heater(actually two since they've replaced the original once) to replace a propane unit close to 30 years back.
The electric is both more expensive to operate and slower to recover but neither of those offset the questionable NEED for another hole in my house for the vent, the additional possibility of a gas leak, or what I consider to be a slightly more dangerous appliance.
FWIW My older Brother ran a gas WH in his utility room for nearly 30 years W/O a vent and had zero problems. There was a heavily sooted circle on the ceiling tiles but no scorching. No carbon monoxide issues either but I wouldn't recommend this practice.
Go propane is you do not have natural gas (I have free gas in my home) you can get a vent-less that is very efficient, does not require a chimney and will save you a ton of money.
Mine uses exterior air for combustion and sits in my gun room and is considered explosion proof.
We have electric water heater :
No problems to speak of ....
and : we have a 'timer' istalled in line : saves BIG TIME on bills ::
and : At least you DIDNT call it a "hot water heater" !!!
Thanks !!!
I Grew Old Too Fast (And Smart Too damn Slow !!!) !!!
If I had to replace my large twin NG units, I would consider a tankless system sized for the same capacity but still gas fired. Only time I like electric is camping and I have a dual option water heater. Gas for dry camping, electric for when we have hookups.
This^. Spent a smidge more on a tankless. Keep with the gas. Then when the teenager has spent his 15min in the shower, turn off the gas. game over.
One of the 1st things Makaila upgrade or replaced at her cabin on Marthas Vineyard (inherited from her south African boar aunt) was to have the electric traditional large tank water heater swapped out for a renai tankless electric model...
There were some rebates and incentives from the municipality (the government) and from the utility provider...
That and a bank of roof mounted solar panels ended up being quite a bargain and are both supposed to greatly reduce monthly utility bills...
While they have been problem free they have only been in use for approximately 3 years - so long term reliability has yet to be personalized tested by us...
The cabin is only 620 square feet and has only one bathroom (one shower)
There is a new small dishwasher and a new stackable small washer dryer set that use hot water...
But the unit is actually oversized - over capacity for the building and it's infrastructure.
The old hot water heater was in a closet or bump out on the outside of the house itself - accessed from outside - something I was not super happy about considering the winter climate...
I bow to the experts - just wanted to add my 2 cents worth
Mike
quote:Originally posted by CaptFun
If I had to replace my large twin NG units, I would consider a tankless system sized for the same capacity but still gas fired. Only time I like electric is camping and I have a dual option water heater. Gas for dry camping, electric for when we have hookups.
This^. Spent a smidge more on a tankless. Keep with the gas. Then when the teenager has spent his 15min in the shower, turn off the gas. game over.
Yep, I have done that. You have a boy. Girls fill a tub and don't get in until they have it full and hot....
Youngest one graduates in 4 weeks!!!! Will still live at home most of this year. We will see what happens after that....
We have nice, clean well water, tastes great to drink. We have a whole house water filter.
But, somehow that Renai kept getting clogged, some kind of fine sediment was getting past the filter. We had the propane company out 2 times in 3 weeks to unclog the tankless Renai.
I told them, "Enough is enough."
They removed the Renai and put in a regular direct vent 50 gallon heater and we have had no problems since.
I got a Renai tankless heater several years ago. I am on a well.
We have nice, clean well water, tastes great to drink. We have a whole house water filter.
But, somehow that Renai kept getting clogged, some kind of fine sediment was getting past the filter. We had the propane company out 2 times in 3 weeks to unclog the tankless Renai.
I told them, "Enough is enough."
They removed the Renai and put in a regular direct vent 50 gallon heater and we have had no problems since.
Is your filter before or after the heater. I usually only see the filter on the cold side.
We are on municipal water in both the house and the cabin...
Makaila is a germ freak and likes to have clean clear odor free water...
She had filters installed so that all the water coming into the house gets filtered and a number of the appliances have their own filters as well...
Had not considered well water application concerns.
Mike
Some folks don't seem to understand that natural gas lines don't feed rural areas.
They don't, better have them come disconnect mine and have a propane tank put in.
I lived in MO back in the 1970s and I can tell you back then there were few places more rural than where I live and my house had natural gas when I bought it 20 years ago.
There's not a natural gas line (outside of the city limits) within 40-50 miles of where I sit.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-GeoSpring-50-Gallon-10-Year-Limited-Regular-Electric-Water-Heater-Hybrid-Heat-Pump-Technology/50335967
I bet you are not too far out in the country.
I have been on propane for the past 32 years, in two different states. It isn't bad, not too big of a hassle to have them come refill the tank and it isn't too expensive.
Great for hot water and also for the cook stove. Also have 2 nice propane heaters in the house.
Very unusual to have natural gas out in the country.
I bet you are not too far out in the country.
Well its 40 miles to the closest city that is in a different county. I live 8 miles from town that is the county seat, it has a population of +/- 200.
The school has three buses that transport all students from k-12 in one run. Average class is twenty kids.
There are no expressway, railroad tracks, three color traffic lights, fast food joints or chain stores in the county.
So I guess your right I don't live to far out in the country.[;)]
quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
Some folks don't seem to understand that natural gas lines don't feed rural areas.
They don't, better have them come disconnect mine and have a propane tank put in.
I lived in MO back in the 1970s and I can tell you back then there were few places more rural than where I live and my house had natural gas when I bought it 20 years ago.
I believe you would be the exception to the rule. The entire LP industry exists because of limited NG infrastructure to rural areas. Well that and Coleman stoves,Bernzomatic torches, and the grills on the deck.[:)]