Residential Water Heater Problem Repair And Reviews

Question: Rinnai or 50 gallon tank water heater?

(Posted by: Lauren on 2010-03-03 17:23:21)

I'm looking to buy a new hot water heater but im stuck on which to get. A rinnai or a tank? What the advantages and disadvantages of both. What one would be best for my money?

Posted by: STEVEN F on 2010-03-03, 18:48:25

As long as the GPM rating of the tankless unit is enough for your demand, there are NO advantages to a tank.

Posted by: john on 2010-03-03, 19:41:58

If you have an exhisting 40 gallon gas tank and are thinking of going to a tankless there are several things to consider, if you go tankless your exhisting gas supply may not be adequate standard 40g tank is around 35k btu when on rinnnia when on uses 195k btu so enlarging your fuel supply is almost always mandatory. second with a tankless you cannot use a recirc system (hot water loop) because the very purpose of a tankless is that if your not using it its not on. now there is another brand called navien which has and internal or external recirc system. however upgrading to a tankless right now qualifies for tax credit under the stimulus package

Posted by: Alec on 2010-03-03, 19:51:02

Rinnai heaters are nice but most of the time they are inadequate. They require a great amount of pressure to work properly if you do not have the pressure you have to add a booster pump, which is one more thing to break down. Depending on your water source and what part of the country you live in Rinnai's are sometimes need to be run in parallel because the water coming into the house is to cold and they came sometimes not handle the temperature rise vs the demand. You will need to look at the GPM tempeture rise char it you can find one. They are having a difficult time catching on in Wisconsin because of this. The other advantage of a tank heater is that any good plumber will know his way around just about any water heater. Rinnai style heaters are still kind of a mystery to most of us, they involve so much electronics if you can't fix the problem through the computer you have to call someone that is certified to service them. You could probably also buy a few larger heaters that run at the same efficiency as the Rinnai for the same price. Hope this helps

Posted by: mark on 2010-03-03, 20:28:31

Tankless advantage endless hot water tankless disadvantage water temp slightly surges from hot to cold (very slightly but noticeable in the shower) takes twice as long to get the hot water to the fixture than a tank tank advantage hot water to fixture if power goes out but on city water still can take a shower until hot water is out of the tank not temp surge tank disadvantage limited hot water (if you get a tank big enough, no problem) cost more to operate (if you put a timer on it can reduce power usage) cheaper than tankless & will usually last longer than tankless