Berkeley Parents Network: Water Heaters

Berkeley Parents Network

Water Heaters

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Water Heaters

On-demand or tankless water heater
Efficient water heater for small house
see also: Plumber Reviews

On-demand or tankless water heater

Feb 2007

Does anyone have information on tankless water heaters. I need a new water heater and was thinking of getting one. I know they are more expensive than regular water heaters to purchase and install, but I understand my heating bills will be less. If you have one, do you think they are better? Diane

We have a tankless water heater. I don't know how much it cost as the house was already equipped with it when we moved in. However, I can speak to the pros/cons of having one. Overall, we're pretty happy with it. Never having to worry about running out of hot water, easy temperature adjustment so in the summer time when its hot out, you can turn the heater down so the water is only mildly warm. We only had one issue once where the unit malfunctioned and once we called the manufacturer to figure out why, we were able to fix the problem ourselves. The only real downside is when the power goes off (which happens kinda frequently when there are bad storms) you have no hot water AT ALL. Literally as soon as the power goes off the water turns ice cold. At least with a hot water tank you have some water already heated so you have a reserve. If you don't experience alot of power outages, then the heater is probably the way to go. If you do, then you might want to think twice. Lisa W

I had a Takagi tankless water heater installed as part of a remodel three year ago and have been very happy with it. It provides endless hot water even if you have shower, dishwasher, and washing machine going at once--or back-to-back showers or baths for everyone. The only drawbacks are that it takes a while to get hot water in the sink furthest from the heater (though it did when I had a tank as well), and it's a bit noisy when it's running. I had the tank installed outside so I don't hear it much but I notice it when I'm outside. Also if the electricity goes out it doesn't ignite even though it heats with gas. It's way less expensive for the gas and you know you're not heating water when you're not around. Happy with my Heater

When our water heater went out last fall, we also wanted to get a tankless heater. But after several days with no hot water, here is what we discovered: tankless is generally preferable for new construction where you can control the configuration, but almost nobody puts them in existing construction because of the expense of the venting. The heater itself is not that expensive - obviously more than a normal one, but would pay for itself in energy savings in about 5 years. The problem is that tankless heaters produce NOx emmissions, so you have to get special, very expensive (cat 1?) venting installed, and the vent outlet cannot be within 4 feet of a door or window, or under a deck. Give those constraints, we would have had to vent through the roof. That would have cost an extra $1000, on top of the cost of the heater, because our heater is all the way down in the basement. With that cost, the heater would have paid for itself over about 10 years if you calculate without interest. Since 10 years was the total life of the heater, it wasn't worth it. went standard

The tankless waterheater industry will certainly tell you the bills will be less and theoretically it makes sense that they would be (the water is only being heated as it is demanded instead of it being continually heated on reserve). However, we went tankless for our 3 unit building (Takagi T-M1) about 5 months ago and I can't say that our energy bills have declined very much. I think this is in part because there tends to be a surge of cold, followed by warm water than 15 - 20 second later a slug of cold water passes through the pipes. Thus, we (and our tenants) tend to let the shower run 30 - 60 seconds seconds before getting in which uses electricity AND more water than we'd otherwise use.

That being said, the space savings is huge, and with the $300 tax CREDIT available on many of the smaller single-family residence units, going tankless really isn't that expensive. From my research Takagi is the best and most reliable. Also, be sure to have a professional plumber install your unit or the warranty will be void. Chad

When we remodeled our kitchen we replaced our conventional WH with a tankless. It handles kitchen sink, dishwasher, washing machine and one bathroom (used regularly by one person.) It is a Rinnai Continuum. (We have a separate WH for our main bathroom, but I plan to replace it with a tankless one of these days). Mostly I have been really pleased by it. We've never run out of hot water and the extra space made available when we got rid of the old water heater was delightful. Should have done it years ago.

The downside: our model, and most likely all the others, doesn't allow you to run a small stream of hot water. If you turn hot water to a trickle it comes out cold, so water conservation is difficult when handwashing dishes. Also, make sure you get the proper thermostat for your application. We accidentally picked up the ''bathroom'' rated thermostat, which maxes out at 120 degrees. Fine for most uses, but I would prefer the option to raise it to 140 occasionally, which, I think, is the max for the ''kitchen'' rated thermostat.

And another caveat: for whatever reason, it seems to take a little longer for the hot water to reach the faucet, so we positioned it just several feet from the kitchen sink (the water we use most regularly). Lisa

May 2006

I've looked at the reviews in the archives for tankless hot water heaters and most are negative. I'm looking for positive reviews, from people happy with their heaters. And if so, what is your secret, since most people seem to be unhappy with these things (one person mentioned adding a recirculator, is this the key to hot water heater happiness?). I had hoped getting one would be my salvation, and my key to an endless shower, but I'm a bit deterred by the negative comments about how long it takes for the water to get hot and the logistics when turning the water off or down and then back on. Thanks. Amy

In response to the person looking for good feedback on a tankless water heater, we totally love ours. Sure you need to wait a little for the hot water to arrive, as some people complain. But, it's hardly a big deal (yes, it's a waste of water, but you save a huge amount of energy, which is immediately noticable on your first pg and e bill). It costs a bundle (we used albert nahman for installation due to good reviews, though high price), but pays for itself in around 7 years. Totally recommend it, not only because it's a better environmental choice, but also because we can actually take a bath without running out of hot water. Jamie

we love our rinnai. i don't find that hot water takes longer to arrive at a faucet. sometimes the hot water doesn't want to come (the heater not switching on after turning water on and off) and i just turn the faucet to cold, and then slowly move it to hot. the last time this happened was weeks, if not months, ago. we also love that there is an internal temperature control - so when my daughter is in the bath i turn it down and there is zero risk of hot water burn. its also fun to have hot water available outside the house for her little pool, we just hook up the hose. we have no issue running the washing machine, dishwasher, shower and kitchen sink at the same time.

i think our contractor used lundt merrimore as the plumber. i asked for the biggest bad-ass model available. as a water heater - it is slightly more expensive. BUT - all the new plumbing to the outside, and then fixing up where the old tank was, cost some big cash dollar bills. Julia

we are happy tankless water heater users. We have a tk2 and switched in January from a tank. We saw a 2% reduction in gas use despite high furnace usage in winter months. This past month we had a 50% drop in gas usage w/ very little furnace usage from the same month in previous year. You do wait a bit for hot water. However, we had that problem from pipes being distant from water heater before, so it's not that different. We have made some changes in our 'style' of usage. We heat hubby's shaving water in a mug in the micro wave to get a hot dip after cold rinsing the razor, so as not to constantly retrigger the heater after turning it off. And we might tend to leave the h20 running in the kitchen sink or fill a dish tub w/ hot h20 to avoid the same problem when scrubbing pots, depending on the size of the job. OUr h20 usage has not increased notably. It's great to fill a bath, and to be able to add piping hot water in several seconds over the course of a long soak. We can ! run an appliance and still have hot enough water at the sink or shower. happy and tankless

When we built our new home last year we put in two tankless hot water heaters. Our home is two story and the heaters are in the attic space. One heater services the kitchen (sink and dishwasher), the master bath (two sinks, two shower heads) and the clothes washer. The other heater services the 1/2 bath on the first floor and two other bathrooms (both w/ one sink and one shower). We have never had any problems with the amount of hot water needed and we've had lots of "water events" happening at one time. As for the time it takes, heck I've lived in homes w/ the regular hot water heater in the garage where it takes five minutes to get hot water to the master bath on the other side of the house, so waiting just a min or two is no big thing. The only room where it matters is the 1/2 bath on the first floor. Since one really just washes hands in there, the minute feels very long. We probably should have put a small flash heater right in that room.

We LOVE our tankless heaters - everyone can take long showers and there's always plenty of hot water to go around. Feel free to email me if you'd like to know specifically what kind we have and how big they are. I don't remember, but my husband knows all that stuff. Robin

May 2005

About 2 years ago, we had a tankless hot water heater installed (an apparently fancy, Takagi TK2), and I'm fairly disappointed--wondering if my expectations were too high.

It takes 30+ seconds to get hot water in our kitchen and 60+ seconds to get it to the bathroom sink, ~6 and 20 feet from the heater respectively. Also, if I've got hot water running in the kitchen and I reduce the flow but don't change the temperature, the water goes cold and I have to crank the flow back up and wait again to get the not water back. Needless to say, we're wasting lots of water waiting for it to turn hot.

I had our plumber come back to ask if this was normal, and he advised that we had sort of large pipes (which they had installed 3 years prior) so it would take a while for the hot water to flow (of course we weren't advised of this when they sold us the expensive hot water heater) but didn't have a good explanation for the other stuff, and proposed a $500+ tiny water tank to keep some hot water on reserve--seems to defeat the purpose. I can't believe that this is how the product was supposed to work.

Does anyone out there have this same hot water heater and experience or (please!) does this some malfunction/ adjustment problem? It infuriates me every time I turn the water on. feeling wasteful and shnookered

We also have a Takagi TK2 tankless water heater and experience each and every symptom you describe. And my husband is a plumber and wanted this system and installed it himself and told me that is just the way it is going to be. For us, we moved the water heater farther away from the old one so that we could install it on the outside of our home, so this seemed to explain the delay in receiving hot water. I mainly have a problem in my kitchen and not so much our bathroom. But I do not like that when I wash dishes I have to keep the flow of water higher just to keep hot water going. His solution is also the same, a small water heater under the sink to start the supply of hot water while you wait for the tankless to kick in. though it still seems worth it in the end. you are not alone

We have a TK2 also, installed with our existing old pipes, and it takes about 5 seconds for us to get hot water in the bathroom that is about 6'away, and about 30 seconds to get it to the kitchen, which is about 15 feet away. I also agree that the kitchen thing is a drag - when you wash dishes by hand, it's hard to get the water to: A) hit a medium hot stage and stay there, and B) not go cold again between rinses [because you don't want to keep the hot water running...].

I think I could resolve 'A' if I install a kitchen faucet with seperate hot and cold controls, like in the bathroom, where I have no problems with it, instead of the one single handle kitchen type we use now. Jean

My husband and I recently purchased a tankless water heater as well. We also have the problem you mention with long wait times for hot water. Our problem is sporadic, though, with wait times up to 10 minutes in the bathroom sink! It's totally unacceptable and does defeat the purpose of purchasing a tankless solution.

I'm sorry that I don't have any advice to offer, only empathy! I'm going to contact a plumber, though to look into our situation and will report anything I find out. I do suspect that it's a problem with our pipes, though, as we also have a flow issue and old pipes. Good luck! Mary

We also have a Takagi and have the same problem with slow warm-up. It's typical of tankless heaters. I know of two ways to solve the problem: 1. you can buy a booster mini heater that fits under your sink ... they are relatively inexpensive, and though I had information about where to buy them a while back I've since misplaced it. 2. You can take the low-flow filter off the faucet and let the water run more freely. This doesn't save water, but it does speed up the process of getting warm water to you. When I'm in the bathroom I just turn on the bath and it's warm in a few seconds; with the sink and its filter it takes about two minutes. Jodi

I had some problems with my Takagi T-K2 also, but mostly because my pipes were too small, and you say that you were told that yours are too large! I do not believe that there is such a things as pipes that are too large for this heater- the installation manual gives instructions for up to at least 1 1/2", and I really doubt if yours are bigger than that.

I spoke with the tech department at Takagi (the main number is in your manual and they have a local branch in Fremont), and verified that my 1/2" pipes were too small. This was causing pressure loss, and temperature flucuations.

I had a problem that sounds like yours with the disappearing hot water, and that turned out to be because the switches on the inside of the unit were not set properly- there are different settings for indoor and outdoor installations, and for different basic temperature settings. All of that is in the manual also.

I also had to wait for what seemed like a long time the hot water also, which drove me crazy. I started keeping a pitcher by the sink so that I could save the water for other purposes rather than wasting it.

I used a basic plumber for the installation of mine, and he was way over his head when it came to problemsolving. I figured most of this out myself by talking with Takagi. If I were to do it again, I would have it installed by someone trained by Takagi.

You can have a tech person from the Fremont branch come out and do a conultation, probably a good idea! Cecelia

We installed a Noritz brand tankless recently and had the same issue as a previous poster - the need to run the water a while b/f it got hot. We then had a recirculator installed and this solved the problem. We live in a large ranch style house, and at any of the faucets, we now get hot water in under 3 seconds. We have the recirculator on a timer so that it does not run when we don't need it. By the way, our gas usage is about 1/2 of what it had been! Cathy

With respect to the posts regarding a delay in receiving hot water at your faucet or shower, I believe this is inherent in all on-demand waterheaters. For one, on-demand water heaters require a minimum demand flowrate before they turn on and begin to heat the water passing thru the unit. In general, the minimum flowrate is about 0.75 gpm. With household faucets having about 1.5 gpm max (at about 50psi water pressure), a slightly open faucet may not demand enough hot water to start the system, especially if the faucet is not set to full hot. Also, the cold water in the line must be cleared first before the heated water can reach the faucet. Unlike a regular waterheater which fills the line with heated water at all times, the on-demand only generates hot water in the line when turned on. When sufficient demand is not present to turn the unit on, cold water will be passed thru the system. Okii (Sept 2005)

The problems these ladies describe is typical of tankless water heaters, both the on-demand units these ladies have and same for the tankless units in a furnace. Even though they are rated for 6 gal/min, we don't know at what temperature the water will be delivered and how long is the recovery time. The problems with on-demand units are the main reason people still use a tank water heater. If you run water slower, the problem may be less. This is because it takes time for the heating medium to transfer the heat to the passing water. The speed of the passing water affects the amount of heat the water can pick up. Also, the fire may have been extinguished due to water being hot enough at the moment and would have to start up and start heating again. Another solution (admittedly expensive) is to install an on-demand unit at each point of use. Berge (Feb 2007)

March 2005

I've scanned the various comments on tankless water heaters and I'd like to know if anyone has more to add. I'm considering a tankless whole house unit for a 3.5 bathroom home with 3 adults and two kids (one a teenager). I've looked at the various units available and it seems like either a Takagi TK-2 or TM-1, or a Noritz N-084M, is appropriate for the size of house and potential peak demand (maybe). All require a 3/4'' gas connection (my current water heater only requires a 1/2 inch connection) that will need to be installed. Has anyone had experience with these units (positive or negative). In real world conditions, have they provided sufficient hot water for two or three simultaneous showers? Any drawbacks to these units besides the upfront costs (maintenance?)? I believe that all require AC to run, so I guess during power outages you have no hot water, right? Thanks okii

Just to let you know (Okii and anyone else who might be interested) I have a new Takagi K-2 tankless hot water heater that my plumber mistakenly recommended for installation on a 1/2" water line, and as Okii points out, it needs a 3/4" line.

Takagi's are top of the line, and generally last about 30 years, as opposed to 10-15 years for a regular water heater. It is out of the box and was installed for 2 weeks, so I can't return it, and I need to sell it and recoup my money. I will sell it at a good discount off list price.

I have checked with Takagi, and there is no risk to the unit that it was installed (for 2 weeks) on the wrong size line. The problem is only that it didn't function consistently on 1/2".

I have the outside vent cap and remote control panel to go with it, and possibly some of the plumbing and gas fittings that I won't be needing. Sadly, I've had to go back to a plain old-fashion water heater.

Please contact me if you are interested. Cecelia

Jan 2005

I'm interested in advice on replacing a traditional water heater with an on-demand heater. Can it be done without remodelling? Are there plumbers/other tradespeople who specialize in this? My house is a one-story craftsman's cottage house with one bathroom. carol

We checked this out. We didn't speak to a specialist, but all the companies we spoke to (big plumbing companies in Berkeley and water heater-only places) seemed knowledgable.

The bottom line is that they are much more expensive than standard water heaters and are popular in Europe only because European houses don't have space for standard water heaters. A large-enough regular modern water heater is supposed to be able to supply all your hot water needs.

Regarding remodeling: I was told that on-demand water heaters require copper plumbing and the gas exhaust flue has to be large enough to handle the BPU's of the water heater. But different companies said different things. Best wishes for getting the true and complete story! I recommend that you find a place that has a lot of experience installing them, which it sounds like you are trying to do anyway. Sorry I can't give you a recommendation. Francesca

We replaced our traditional water heater with an on-demand heater about six months ago. It was done without remodeling q we got an exterior model (Rinnai) and had it placed on the back of our house. Itms pretty small, isnmt eye-grabbing. We hired Nahman Plumbing. They were great. Wemd use them again. Tell them Shirley sent you! Shirley

RE:on demand water heaters My husband recently installed a Takagi TK2 on demand water heater and we love it. Never run out of hot water, lower gas bill, and more space in our downstairs basement room because we installed ours outside. He is a plumber so when our water heater needed to be replace that was all he wanted to replace it with, nothing else. It is more expensive than your traditional water heater but well worth the investment into your home. You can call Mr. Rooter plumbing and ask to talk with Spencer Ferguson if you would like more advice than I can give you. 510-843-6378
Erika

Sept-Oct 2004

Hello, we are looking into replacing our conventional water heater by a tankless water heating system. We want to run several appliances concurrently (bath, shower, dishwasher) if needed, and have a two story house. There are many systems out there, both gas and electrical ones, and they seem difficult to compare. Does anyone have good experiences with a particular brand, and sees any advantage of using electrical over gas types? Thanks for your advice to the novice! beatrice

I am interested in having a tankless hot water heater installed in my very small (under 1000 sf) house. I am interested in hearing which brands are best, where to buy them, where to install them inside of the house, and who can install them quickly, honestly and economically. I am very eager for feedback. Thanks. Rebs

We just installed a Takagi TK-2 and its great (it cut our gas bills in half). People I've spoken with say Takagi is the best; my advice is to go for a larger one like the TK-2 (they're all small anyway) if you plan to do anything simultaneously (shower and dishwasher) Sheridan

We have a tankless water heater and love it - my husband is a contractor so we installed it ourselves and have had no trouble with it at all. The brand is Aqua Star. The only thing is for a bigger household is that you couldn't take two hot showers at the same time, but otherwise it is great. Cassi

Feb 2004

My wife and I are considering a tankless water heater -- i.e., a water heater that heats the water to be used on demand rather than always heating a full tank. The idea seems good to us from an environmental and economic standpoint. There are some older postings on this subject, but I wanted to hear about people's current experience and advice -- can these heaters service a 3 bed/2 bath house with kids, dish and clothes washer, etc.? If so, any recommended brands, retailers, and installers? [PS: we were originally thinking of going solar, but a couple of folks recommended against it -- should we keep looking at solar for water heating or is that a thing of the past?] Thanks!

My husband installed an on-demand hot water heater 2years ago (a TK1). We have an 1100 sq' house, 2 kids, a dishwasher, & we wash diapers in hot water. I have tried washing a hot washer load while taking a shower, and while the temp dips a little, it was not a problem for shower- taking, at least. It is heavenly for back to back showers. Check the Takagi website to see what might be adequate for your uses. There are a couple of downsides to on-demand: 1) It is a gas unit, but electricity powers the computer and blower fan. If the power goes out, (picture mid- shower) the water runs cold. Instantly. My husband installed a UPS backup power supply to take care of this. 2) In a regular hot water heater, when you turn on the hot water, you get the cold water in the line first before the hot starts coming out. Once you do this, you get hot water from the tank, even if you turn it off and on over a period of time. With an on-demand heater, you get the cold water at first, then hot. BUT, every time you turn it off and on again, even after only a few seconds, you get COLD again, and have to let the water run again. This is because it takes a while for the burner to heat the water up. So, you end up wasting tons of water if you are using it intermittently. This is a major drawback. It is possible that the newer heaters have addressed this, we don't know. Otherwise, it might be advisable to look into a circulating pump system if that would work with the heater in question. 3)My husband discovered that it required a large size gas line, and had to replumb sections of our older house. 4) Cost. We bought a scratched/dented version from CET Solar on line, and it was still $750 (2 years ago), more than twice the price of regular hot water heaters. They've come down a bit, but still pricey. We will be moving soon, and would set up a on-demand heater again, but only with a recirculating system in place. janet

In response to the guy thinking about a new waterheater, I just did a bunch of research on the tankless ones -- Takagis and another comparable Japanese brand. The result of all this is that we still don't know what we're going to do. The tankless heaters CAN apparently deal with a house your size no problem, but they cost a lot more up front (about $900-1000) and a lot more to install. We found that to buy and install a conventional heater would cost us about $1000, and to buy and install a Takagi would cost AT LEAST $2600, if not more. It'll take a long time (like over a decade) to recoup $1600 from the savings in our energy bill, and so we are not sure it'd be worth it. Wendy

A few more thoughts on the tankless hot water heater issue: We recently did a kitchen remodel, and as part of that whole project, we got a tankless heater. We did it primarily because we were able to put it outside, on the side of the house. It is only about the size of a suitcase. The problem was that, as part of the remodel, we needed the space that had formerly been used as the vent shaft for the furnace and hot water heater. We had already had to replace the furnace, and the new one vented out of the side of the house. By switching to a tankless hot water heater, we were able to eliminate the vent shaft entirely. Also, we now have room in the basement where the hot water heater used to be for more storage. On the downside, the unit was quite expensive (about $900), and it was also expensive to install (about $500) (also we think our plumber tried to rip us off, but that is another story). It also, as others have noted, requires you to run the water for a few minutes before the hot water flows. We did not realize this. We thought we were doing a great thing getting an energy efficient heater, but now I worry about wasting water. Anon

June 2002

Our water heater needs to be replaced pronto and we want to get a tankless model that heats on demand, like the Aqua star. We will likely try to install it ourselves. There are several other brands that I've heard of. Does anyone have any advice for us regarding brand and model or installation? How about where to get one for a good price? I know that Real Goods carries the Aqua star. We have one bathroom, a front loading washer and a dishwasher. We do sometimes use more than one thing at a time and may add a bath in the future. Thanks so much, Natalie

I don't think an Aquastar will do it for you. I would try Takagi or Paloma. We just installed our own Takagi. It's great. We can run two things at once, and we have endless hot water. I don't think the Aquastar will let you run 2 appliances at once. You should check the FLOW RATE for the different models. Check on line to for info. and get to know the product.

Our neighbor has an Aquastar-- and it only runs one appliance at a time. Ours cost more-- around $1000, but it's worth it (should take about 3 years to pay off the extra expense with energy savings) The install went ok- - but you really need to be handy with plumbing and electrical, AND you need a 3/4'' supply line for the water. Now that ours is installed-- we love it. Getting it up, and getting a new supply line in took time and patience. Angela

We bought an AquaStar water heater last summer and had it installed by our contractor during a remodel. We ordered it on the web from CET because they had the best price. Even with shipping we saved at least $100 over what Real Goods charged. Unfortunately it was defective, so we had to return it. The replacement has worked fine. We bought the medium-sized model, and find it gives us more than enough hot water, especially since we replaced our plumbing and no longer have ancient pipes full of crud. The trick with these heaters is that they only go on when you have enough water flowing, and, as with any water heater, you have to wait for the hot water to reach your end of the pipe. The extra large size requires a higher flow rate and we thought we'd waste water keeping the hot water coming. Don't know if that's true, but we seem to have picked the right size for us. It isn't an energy star, but it's nice to have a small heater on the wall above the washer instead of an ugly tank wrapped in insulation. Robbie

Feb 2002

A while back there was some discussion of on-demand hot water heaters. A few months ago we installed a new one. After doing some research we chose the Takagi TK-1 over the Aquastar. It is a bit more expensive and less readily available, but has a higher flow rate. It's been 4 months now and we love it. It provides enough hot water that we can run several things simultaneously- we no longer have to turn off the dishwasher when someone is taking a shower. We never notice a lack of hot water anymore. We did have it installed by our plumber, who purchased it at Cal Steam in Emeryville. (Now does anyone know what to do with an 85 year old, cast iron on-demand hot water heater? We've been told it may be worth some money...) Gayle

2001

My "tweens" have driven me to a search for a better water heater. We have increasingly pricey natural gas. Has anybody tried the flash type water heaters? Where would I get one and how would I get it installed? What is the best kind? We are a household of 5

The type of water heaters that you are talking about use large amounts of electricity. Here's a web site that offers this type of water heater: http://www.hotwater.com/

We got an ELM Aquastar water heater about seven years ago. It works like a car radiator in reverse. When you turn on the hot water, it makes a charming "Whoosh!" as the gas burner turns on and starts toasting dozens of fine tubules.

No question, it's efficient, and we've never run out of hot water. It takes up less space than a tank water heater and is easier to clean. Downsides: it can't be installed in a confined space such as a closet, and requires a wider exhaust pipe than a tank water heater (so a bigger hole has to be made in ceiling and roof). The temperature of the water from ours creeps up every few months, requiring adjustment. We've heard that bits of grit in water can clog up the heater's many fine tubes.

Finally, it needs reasonable throughput or it shuts off. As a result of this and our house's poor water pressure, the shower would turn abruptly cold sometimes (especially when you have guests), so we bootlegged a nonconserving shower head.

We have an Aquastar on-demand hot water heater. It works wonderfully, and with help from their tech support I have been able to do routine maintenance myself. My understanding is that they are more efficient and you really never run out of hot water. I believe there are Aquastar distributors in Berkeley, or one anyway. The manufacturer is in Vermont.-Jason Delborne

We have an Aquastar. Lots of hot water, anytime, and less gas usage. Because it's small, it frees up the closet where the tank heater used to be. Downsides: it was more expensive to install than we'd anticipated (substantially our contractor's fault), it requires a larger stovepipe and related hole in the roof than a regular heater needs, we have to readjust the temperature fairly often (the temperature creeps up over time), we had to put it in a very visible plce because it needs free air space for safety reasons, and you're supposed to backflush it annually (not that we ever have) to prevent clogging. Overall, if you need a new water heater, it's a good one to get. Kate

Efficient water heater for small house

2001

I need a recommendation for an energy efficient water heater for my small house; and also someone to install it -- is this the kind of a job you need a plumber for, or are there companies that specialize in installing water heaters, or can a regular appliance store handle it? CD

You might want to try an on-demand heater, which heats the water going through the pipe only when you turn on the tap, rather than keeping a tank full of hot water all the time. We installed one; it was easy for us, but we're pretty handy. They're not cheap ($500) compared to a regular water heater, but the gas savings are looking pretty sweet right now. Be warned: this is not a good option if you like to run your dishwasher, washing machine, and hot shower all at the same time.

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