Do tankless water heaters break down much? And are they suitable for cold weather climates?

Question

I have heard they work well for continous water, but they "break down" often and need service. Also, if water temp in cold weather is REALLY cold going in, does it still come out just as hot?

Answer 1

I am not a fan of tankless units. The initial cost is high and some plumbers that install them, do not do service work on them due to the complexity of them. Hard water causes problems with them since the heating is done through small tubes. There are also issues with some manufacturers who do not stock parts for them.

Answer 2

I think all these answers are correct. I've been telling people over the last few years to do more research into these units before buying, for the price they ask.

My sister has a big one in Northern Minnesota and, hasn't had any problems, yet.

It was costly, she wouldn't say at first, she can afford it though but, I assumed around three thousand for one I could replace with a tank heater for 300. She won't live long enough to pay for it.

Home Depot sells them for $900.00 a small one, not installed. Home Depot insures what they sell so, I would buy one from Home depot or another big place with the assurance they would have the parts and installation cheaper then someone else.

For my self, I would give them a wide berth on the whole and stick with the tank heater for a few more years.

Answer 3

I have installed about ten of them, and only about three are have not called me to remove them and reinstall a tank water heater. It has been my experience that they do require service more than tank water heaters, and it it much harder to service them. You have to wait for parts and you always have to call the 1-800 number for service and be on hold for a while. I don't think the reliability is at an acceptable level. If your going to use it for you whole house, then I would encourage you to rethink tank-less heaters. If its just for a bathroom or guest house then it might be a good idea to use tank-less. But no mater where you live they make gas tank-less heaters that can handle cold groundwater temperatures, depending in the gallons per minute you use. Electric units have more of a hard time. If your going to use an electric unit, i have had good experiences with Sosco. If your going to use natural or propane, then Bosch or Rheem make good units.

Answer 4

They don't break down any more than a tank type but they can build up scale or deposits with hard water more so than tank type as they don't have a sacrificial anode like tank types. There are a variety of manufacturers with different longevity issues in design so research them very well. Colder inlet temp of water may affect the time it takes to reach the temperature setting but not by that much. Check with some local plumbing companies for recommendations as well.

Answer 5

As an appliance technician - I dont like them for several reasons. One being that there are many companies and many times the parts are not available to repair and they are fragile and I have replaced parts only to have them burn out right away. There are other considerations, so check with http://appliancequickfix.com/ before you do anything.