We replaced a natural gas water heater with a natural gas tankless model. No problems with the install or operation (about 1 year in). We did need to have an electrician add an outlet near where the tankless heater was installed, they just ran it from an existing outlet in the garage. It takes about 15 seconds for hot water to be available in the bathroom, less for the kitchen which is closer. Overall I’m happy with it and would do it again. We have a 1-car garage and gained some room when the old hot water heater was replaced by a much smaller unit attached to the wall. I forget the details, there is some difference in exhaust requirements between standard water heaters and tankless, but these days they have retrofit kits and were able to run something inside the old tubing that went up to the roof.
Gasp!
I just had a plumber over to give an estimate for a replacement water heater: either (a) a 50 gallon tank heater; or (b) a tankless water heater.
I am still speechless: they are quoting my around $3200 for a tank heater installed (all in) and upwards of $7000 for a tankless. I know next to nothing about tankless installation, but it seems to me the tank installation is RIDICULOUSLY high (the tank itself and some parts might be $1200, so $2000 is for installation.
I know we live in the Bay Area, but $2000 for installation for a replacement tank with all the lines already in??? Can someone please provide a sanity check as a matter of urgency!?
I am clearly going to get several quotes for this.
A lot of our cost with new water tank was for the installation (maybe $1500? plus $600 Home Depot tank). A lot of that cost was because the town code had changed since 1993, so it required some extra stuff.
This past April our 50 gallon tank developed a leak and needed immediate replacement. Turns out our was a commercial model that had a very fast regeneration rate. Never got a quote for replacement because the plumbers weren’t able to source a comparable unit without a 3 month wait. They could find a 75 gallon but it wouldn’t fit into the space. That meant our only option was to go tankless.
Our house is large, so there was some question as to how many tankless heaters we would need to cover all the fixtures. A rep from Navien came out to help the plumbers determine exactly what was needed. We ended up with 2 tankless installed in a cascade fashion with recirculation. A little electrical work was needed to get an outlet in the right place. All in, the job cost $8000. So far, I’ve been very happy with them and like the scheduling function I can control on my phone.
We replaced a 50 gallon tank in our Seattle condo when we bought it… $1500 total, including the blasted tax in 2019. I would expect prices to be higher now.
ETA: IMO, $2000 for install is ridiculous. It takes the dude less than 2 hours to do this when everything is in place. Call around for more quotes if this is not an emergency and you can wait.
Thanks! Have done that today, with three more plumbers coming next week, just before the holidays.
It is sad when I am excited about water heaters during the holidays! But, needs must, as some say.
ETA: Our water heater is almost 18 years old! Thankfully, there’s no emergency just yet, and I am counting my blessings that we haven’t had a flood and that we still have hot showers.
We had an older HWH replaced this summer. $1300 total w/ installation. Replacement model was a basic 50 gal, 6 year warranty, AOSmith. Of course, this was in the low COL Midwest. Former one was about 23 years old! Once again, “they don’t make them like they used to!”
We were able to get quotes over the phone, assuming a simple replacement, without any surprises.
OP: Given the age of our unit, we knew it would be time to replace soon. We researched tankless about 2 years ago, and of the (3) local plumbers I called, all 3 highly recommended against them. I don’t remember all the reasons, and it could be simply because they were not as experienced with installation. However, I think the main reason had to do with extra maintenance, and extra piping our home would require, thus making both installation, and yearly expenses higher than we might be anticipating. We would probably consider for new construction, however.
We also researched various warranties on traditional tanks. CR suggested a 12 year tank at the time, believing (or testing) that it was better constructed. But when the time came, we simply chose what was readily available, and what our plumber recommended. He also believed there was not a significant difference in their construction, and the added warranty time is often forfeited without meticulous maintenance records.