Whether you have a large family or several house guests in for the weekend, a tankless water heater will give you all the hot water you need, and then some. You can wash clothes, bathe the kids, and still have endless hot water for a shower. Contact Jim Wagner Plumbing, Inc. today, the Lombard, IL Tankless Water Heater Installation Plumber.
With a tankless hot water heater, you’ll enjoy these benefits:
- Save up to 70% on your water heating
- Energy efficiency, only heats water when needed
- Ability to run multiple appliances at the same time
- Consistent & controllable water temperature
- Peace of mind
- You will never face the serious flood that can result from catastrophic water heater failure
- Save the 12 to 16 square feet of space used by your traditional water heater
- 20 year life expectancy, 12- year limited warranty
We proudly service and install Bradford tankless water heater units!
Tankless Water Heater Repair
If your tankless water heater is giving you problems call the experts at Jim Wagner Plumbing, Inc. We will diagnose the issue and get your tankless water heater producing hot water again as soon as possible.
Tankless Water Heater Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do tankless water heaters work?
Tankless water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. Therefore, they avoid the standby heat losses associated with storage water heaters. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. In an electric tankless water heater an electric element heats the water. In a gas-fired tankless water heater a gas burner heats the water. As a result, tankless water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. A tankless water heater heats water as it travels through a pipe, because you only have to heat water as you use it, the unit is very efficient. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water. Typically, tankless water heaters provide hot water at a rate of 2 to 5 gallons (7.6 to 15.2 liters) per minute. Gas-fired tankless water heaters will produce higher flow rates than electric tankless water heaters. Some smaller tankless water heaters, however, cannot supply enough hot water for simultaneous, multiple uses in large households. For example, taking a shower and running the dishwasher at the same time can stretch a tankless water heater to its limit. To overcome this problem, you can install a whole house type tankless water heater or install two or more tankless water heaters, connected in parallel for simultaneous demands of hot water. You can also install separate tankless water heaters for appliances such as a clothes washer or dishwater that use a lot of hot water in your home.
Q. How do I determine what size tankless heater I need?
You have to determine the temperature of the cold water entering the home. In our area 95% of the house holds receive Lake Michigan water which can range from 35 to 55 degrees depending on what time of the year it is. The desired heated temperature is 120 degrees. The tankless unit would have to heat water up to at least 85 degrees to meet the demand of our winter months. The next thing that needs to be determined is the household flow rate. All fixtures have a gallon per minute or GPM stamped on the fixture where the water exits the fixture. Note: If you have a large whirlpool tub or a shower with multiple openings you may have to contact the manufacture for the GPM. The fixtures that maybe used all at once will determine the gallon per minute or GPM.
Example:
Two showers in use at the same time at 2.5 GPM each would total 5 GPM at a 85 degree temperature rise. If more fixtures are used the GPM increases and the produced temperature rise decrease. Refer to graph the more GPM flow the less rise means colder water everywhere. The graph is based on a RINNIA 98LSi. The R98LSi offers our highest maximum output of 5 gallons per minute (GPM) of hot water, making it the perfect solution for large-sized residential homes and commercial applications.
Q. Why does the gas line have to be re-sized?
The BTU rating of a tankless water heater is usually 3 to 6 times greater than a conventional 40 or 50 gallon heater at 40,000 BTU. When the home was constructed the gas supply was based on total BTU’s and or the size of the heater at that time. When a gas appliance is added you have to make sure you have enough gas volume to support the new appliance. Note The BTU for all of the gas appliances is added up to determine the gas meter size. Usually this is upgraded by your gas service provider.
Q. Why can’t I vent my tankless water heater through the chimney like my existing heater?
A standard residential 40 or 50 gallon heater has a vent that is 3″ in diameter based on the typical 40,000 BTU of gas value. A tankless water heater that has to produce hot water instantly needs a very large burner. Some gas tankless water heater units burn as much as 300,000 BTU which will require a larger exhaust such as a 5″ to 6″ exhaust. Another over looked requirement is when burning that much gas you need more air “oxygen” to burn the gas. Most tankless water heaters have a combination intake and exhaust built into one tube, but they need to be installed independently through the roof or the side of the home.
Q. Why are tankless water heaters so efficient?
Tankless water heaters heat water as you need it. A storage tank type heater always maintains hot water at a predetermined temperature (120 degrees). When a water heater is in a room that may be 70 degrees the room temperature will cool the water tank pretty quickly.
Q. I can’t find a tankless water heater that is large enough to meet the demands of my house hold?
When a home requires a large gallon per minute we install a series of tankless units. We match the flow rate and rise and divide it between two or three units until we meet our demand.
We are a Rinnai certified installer!
