Hot water heaters: Talk to me? NG vs Elec, Tank vs. Tankless

WhiteysWifey

We're in a jam, going on day 4 now of no hot water with 4 kids. 

We had a Bosch autostar tankless hot water heat, it died on Sunday and cannot be revived. Most stores don't carry natural gas heaters and it will be 2-3 weeks for a special order. So we're now looking at an Electric Tank hot water heater: What's your experience with them? as well as the cost per year with electric {I know this will vary greatly by area}? 

Thanks for any and all insight.

sugardumpling

Oh that is terrible.  We have a propane water heater tank and were debating going tankless. We are in the Hudson Valley area. I think we will ultimately go to electric tank heater.  I am curious to see what responses are and truly hope you have hot water soon.  

TarHeels&Rebels

I'm sorry to hear stores up there don't have natural gas.  Can't you order online? There's no way I'd take an electric water heater unless the person gave it to me for free and paid its outrageous bill! But natural gas is ridiculously affordable here - to run my tankless hot water heater is generally only about $15/month - maybe electric is cheaper in NY, idk.

We have a Rinnai and have been super pleased with it. No problems and it heats up super quickly.

MikesAngie

As someone who has worked in both residential and commercial construction. I will caution anyone against inline water heaters as the sole water heater in a home. That said inline water heaters are helpful if you have large soaking or jacuzzi style tubs as a secondary water heating source. 

Gas is far better than electric with both costs and efficiency but since time is of the issue it sounds like you don't have much choice.  On thing I would caution you on is not to buy the least expensive unless you decide to order a natural gas tank heater to have at the ready.  The least expensive tank hot water heater gas or electric will only have a life span of 5 years and if it's under heavy use even shorter. The inexpensive water heaters are designed to get new home owners in their home and are meant to be replaced within 5 years.  

WhiteysWifey

Thanks ladies for all the insights. 

We are in the midst of a solution. Someone my FIL knows was wanting to get rid of a 40gal NG hot water heater {$100}, which is getting installed this afternoon. At least that will give us some flexibility in dealing with the issue long term.

We found a store an hour away that has a 75gal NG hot water heater. We're looking into repairing our existing tankless hot water heater, ordered parts for $60. But at least we're not in a jam now and can make a thoughtful decision, rather than one out of desperation.

We've pretty much decided to stick with natural gas, rather than electric. Now we're just deciding {if we can't fix our current tankless} whether to go with a 75 gal tank or an equivalent tankless.

Thanks again for all the input!

TarHeels&Rebels

Glad you found a temporary solution! I hate being in a jam and having to make an important decision without all the options available.