Tankless stuff again

12 years ago

Hi.

I am entertaining the idea of a supplemental water heater.

A few details in my situation that I've not read about here.
I live alone.

I have 32 solar panels and a solar water system, both of which work well.

I earn $2000 a year as a licensed solar power plant in Maryland, so the less electricity I use, the more I earn.

The distance from current solar and back-up high efficiency water heater to my shower is about 60', with pipes running thru crawl space.

I take about 10 minute showers.

My only energy source is electric and I am NOT going to introduce another means or bill to support a water heater.

I use cold water for everything but showering.

It takes a good 10 - 15 minutes to flush the cold water out of the pipes for a hot shower in the winter. Summer, not so long.

I've thought about an insta hot type thing under the bathroom counter, but wondered if the electric were still so inefficient that the on demand thing would surge and draw a huge amount of power. Similar to a self-cleaning oven?

My plumber also suggested a small, marine type water heater.

Would the constant heating of a marine tank draw too much power?

My water is hot, no doubt about it. It just takes too long to get to the shower and I hate wasting that much water!

Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks!

Comments (7)

David
12 years ago
How about a small water heater tank near your shower?
Or a small heater for the shower?

Homes in Singapore typically have one or the other.
http://www.sgappliances.com/shower-heater

Something more suitable for USA
http://tankless-water-heaters.ecrater.com/p/1450643/marey-aquamatic-2-electric-shower-tankless
lindamarie
12 years ago
Are you married? LOL
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gophermound
12 years ago
This may be too late, but here goes. I bought a tankless electric water heater. It lasted 3 months! It is a Titan and the reason I bought it was because of the claim it could be used with hard water. After it took a dump I researched a little more. If you run one, you better get a water softner. If not and you have semi or hard water, it will dump. So now I'm out hundreds of dollars and have a nice little metal box just sitting around.

Good luck,
Jeff
Alliegator
11 years ago
The cheapest solution would be to run the water while you're waiting for it to heat up, into a container of some sort, and use it other places. :)
CEFreeman
Original Author
11 years ago
All silliness aside about running my water into some container, which would take 15-20 minutes worth of water (can you say pool filler truck? I've decided and done ...

A circulating pump.
It's been installed and I'm waiting to use it.
Here's the hard part: My Multi-Purpose Fred installed my cabinets, but forgot to cut out the outlet. [LOL!]

So when he comes this week, we'll cut that out and Voila! I have so many ups and downs it's insane, but this is a tiny setback. I look forward to not having to waste 15 minutes' worth of water every time I shower.

Oh - Jeff, I'm on well and septic. I definitely have a water softener! Just gotta remember to pick up that darned salt....
Annie Deighnaugh
11 years ago
I was going to suggest the electric tankless...they are not as efficient as the gas fired but that would be a solution.

We solved the issue by installing 2 tankless hot water heaters. Our home is fundamentallly a ranch with a finished basement. The master is on one side and the laundry, guest bath, PR, and kitchen are on the other. So now I have a dedicated hot water heater just for my master....no more screaming because DH started the washer while I was taking a shower!
countryboymo
11 years ago
I am not on the tankless bandwagon for gas or electric but I do know that many people price them to run everything so someone can use each bath and shower while doing a load of whites in the washer and a load of dishes in the dishwasher which is crazy.
I know of a couple people who sized the unit for one bath and one appliance like a washer be really happy. One person hops out of the shower and the other hops in the other one and there is still no recovery time of a tanked unit.
The marathon water heater from Rheem/Ruud is my winning pick because the tank has a LIFETIME warranty because it is plastic and the insulation is blown in and the stats and elements are easy to service if needed. They are expensive but at least it will not rust out and need to be drug back up the stairs in 10 years. Some utilities offer discounts and rebates on them also to offset the cost.

Here is a link that might be useful: marathon water heaters