i really don't know why people in the US have so much problems with tankless water heaters. in Chile literally 99% of people have tankless propane heaters, super hard water and no big issues other than maintenance every 5 years or some mineral buildup in the coils. people usually just replace the whole thing every few years (they cost 150 dollars avg). or they inject acid to restore the coil back to new.
I love the savings on gas it has saved me 250 gallons basically a one tank a year instead of two . The greenhouse people will love this less emissions 🙂👍
What are your thoughts on the Navien combo unit for hot water domestic supply and hot water for the heating of the home's baseboard heating? My daughters house had one (about 10 years ago) and the heating of the house overrided the domestic hot water usuage. If the heat was on in the winter and you wanted to wash the dishes, you very often had no hot water until the heating of the house was satisified.
In California the Navien combo unit is very popular when using with in-floor radiation and domestic water. If you live in a cold climate, I would not recommend the combo unit. I wouldn’t even recommend it in California. The Navien has really improved but I would recommend two separate units.
Can you comment on these: 1. I heard if a homeowner installs a Navien the warranty is void. What’s your take? 2. In So CA, our gas company says they’ll put in a higher flow gas meter, if the flow was not enough to keep the tankless happy. What’s your take on that? The meter pressure would still be the 0.5 psi (or whatever it is) but the CFM rating would be increased. Also, with these new clothes washers that shut off cold flow very fast, I had problem of the tankless being triggered even with only cold being requested, solution was to install a check valve on the cold feed right at my Noritz tankless.
1. I’ve never been told that. 2. You can go 25 feet on a half inch gas line to a Navien. I’m sure you have enough gas pressure. Five pounds is plenty. My Navien works just fine with our new washing machine.
Great advice on the large on demand, after speaking with the technician he mentioned to me the price difference is peanuts, so big or go home . Cheers 🇨🇦
I have no problem with on demand water heaters and see the benefits but living in earthquake country I appreciate having a tank water heater as an emergency water source.
My current NG water heater is a standard 4-year-old one but since I'm doing a remodel and after this video I am seriously considering going tankless as the updated shower is double the size and will have dual shower heads and wands on opposite sides + a bench and all the walls will be porcelain tile, I want to make it into a spa-like experience and never have to worry about hot water running out. My question is: The current water heater is inside the 2 car garage, this is a one-story house, the vent of the current water heater was annexed to the old HVAC (replaced with heat pumps) exhaust and is (metal). Is it going to be really expensive to make the switch? Thank you for the video
The only pipe you need to take to the outside is the exhaust pipe. That’s the requirement on the Navien and it can’t be any longer than 30 feet and it’s 2” PVC pipe. It must be sloped to the outside. Can you install the tankless outdoors? One good feature of the Navien is you can have circulation without adding a return pipe. The combustible air pipe doesn’t need to be run outside because it’s big enough to draw air from the garage. You’ll never run out of water with an on demand. A true spa experience.
Bought a Navient. Motherboard crapped out barely 2 years old. Cost me labor from an authorized servicer who wasn’t the installer. BTW rebates require an installer not customer
You should have gotten that motherboard for free because it has a five year warranty on it. I’ve had customers call Navien and they troubleshooted over the phone and sent them the parts. You’re mad because you picked the wrong service guy. Navien is a good company as are all the major manufacturers.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber I did call them. They didn’t offer any help on the phone. The installer wasn’t certified so I had to find someone that was. Rheem next time. My son has one & loves it. I even told them I understood electronics so replacing it would’ve been easy for me. Besides, we had no hot water. Would you wait for a part to be shipped or prefer that someone showed up?
We lived in the Poconos was a brand new house. I told the plumber “Put the heater middle of the house (ranch). Of course he didn’t. Our bath was FAR opposite end. Turning on the hot took close to a minute or more before it started to get warm. My wife used to walk away then come back it too so long. My brother’s house has a recirc pump installed so he pushes a button under the sink which circulates the hot line back to heater so when you turn it on it’s instant heat.
I take it you didn’t buy the Navien with the recirculating pump built in. You can open the cover and the pump will be on the left hand side. If this Navien is fairly new, it will come with a circulating system built in. If you need parts for the Navien, you can go to a distributor and they will probably sell you the parts. They are very easy to install.
Great video. I initially considered going to the largest capacity tankless unit I could find. But as I looked into it, I found that a larger unit would increase the installation cost dramatically over a more modest sized unit for my 2 bath house. I also looked into other factors that influenced installation issues, so be sure to consider the entire installed system cost, not just the cost of the heater. I covered my selection process in a video titled "My Tankless Water Heater Selection Process". I think my tankless unit has already paid for the added cost of it, over putting in a new tank type heater, since it was installed in 2017. In fact, with this "California Climate Credit" program, I've not paid a gas bill since 2018. One note for folks that live in affected air quality districts in California (SF Bay Area for sure), there's a proposed regulation banning the sale of new gas fired water heaters of any type starting in 2027. So if you're thinking of installing one in the future, keep that in mind. I plan on purchasing a spare unit, just in case something goes wrong with it 10+ years from now.
@@RazersBeergrdn turn the power off to the heater, remove the wires from each element and use an electrical tester and see if you have continuity. If you do, the tester will buzz. When you filled up the water heater and it had any air in it, you could have burned out the top element. Check your electrical breaker to the heater and see if it is working right. Buy a good electrical tester.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Good afternoon Mr Jim ! I am a first time RV owner. I need to change my toilet bowl and was recommended to buy DOMETIC 320…I read TOTO toilet bowl is the best that I have seen but don’t know if Toto can be used in an RV? So far, I have watch over 30 videos already and so far I am convinced you are the best experienced, best knowledge and I will not go against your ideas …because I am just a pianist totally no knowledge as to what to buy…I checked all your videos I did not find anything mentioned about RV toilets…please help your new subscriber here because I am like a blind pianist at least I can close my eyes and play piano but toilet I can not even close or open my eyes because it looks all the same to me physically…please help me of any ideas what brand and model I should buy for 2006 KEYSTONE SPRINGDALE model 298-29 ft…I really appreciate your input before I make mistake in buying…also, can I use a TOTO to my RV? And what model do you recommend? Thank you!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I would recommend a Toto toilet either round or elongated bowl for your RV. You can buy either one in comfort height. First thing you need to know is the measurements for the correct size. You need to measure from the center of the toilet bolts on the floor to the wall. If there is trim, add for the trim. Toilet bowls come in three sizes, 10”, 12”, 14”. That’s the dimensions from the toilet bolts to the wall. The most common is 12”. When you use a regular house toilet in an RV, it drains into a holding tank that you probably need to drain once a week. Make sure the valve from the holding tank to the sewer is not left open. You do not want to drain it directly to the sewer. You must hold it in the holding tank until it is necessary to drain. The Toto toilet I would recommend is the Toto Drake. Any porcelain toilet will work. I hope this helps you. Let me know if you have any other questions. I got this information from my brother who is a big RV guy and a retired plumber. P.S. I have more plumbing experience than he does, and he’s older!
@@TheGrumpyPlumber 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Thank you so much for your advice and your brother’s input. We will measure the distance from the wall and check the TOTO’s DRAKE model if it fits…I read most of TOTO’s drake model and so far all recommended this model to their homes. I haven’t read any review of anyone putting a TOTO toilet to RV . I did watch the video where he used a home glacier toilet to a customer RV…I will check LOWE’s or HOME DEPOT for this TOTO DRAKE MODEL…your advised is seriously considered and will be going to check asap because I truly trust you and your brother …sheend’pianist 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I was all hot to trot on my own but discovered I'll need a new gas pipe running the length of the house. Also, I figure the water heater door closet in the house will need a larger air vent for intake.
You can run a Navien on 1/2” gas pipe for 25 feet if it comes off a 1” line. You have a vent and an air vent on the Navien. The air vent can be run outside right along side the flue vent. If the closet is located on an outside wall, you have an easy deal.
We have the Navien NPE 240A. When it's hot outside, we end up with a horrible smell, like rotten eggs. We are on well water. How can we remedy that? We've put chlorine down our well, which worked for a while, but we do know it's not because of our well. Directly from the well, we have no smell. I understand it gets heated and then organic material brews. But how do we stop that?
In 2006 I installed a noritz 1st line of commercial tankless heater from plumbing supply $900+ $250 for double wall stainless venting, after 8 yrs copper heat exchanger started leaking. Ten year warranty on exchanger but would’ve had to pay labor. So I bought a new noritz heater with stainless steel 2 stage burners (latest and greatest) $2000+ paid a recommended plumber $500+ for install. After 3 yrs internal recirculating pump started leaking. Pump covered,paid same plumber $300 labor. Plumber normally sells navien tankless , said I wasted my money on internal recirculating pump. Said I didn’t need it. I took my water softener out 6 yrs ago because I had drain it out my yard which killed the grass. Installed scale watcher descaler . This really does work, but had-to clean aerators quite a bit until the last yr or so. I also have a spin on scale filter before the heater. I’m on a well and I don’t want soft water on my drinking water but would it be a good idea to install a small Water Boss softener before my tankless heater? I do have flush valves on the heater (flush once a yr) . My problem is there’s not much room in my utility room but I do have a condensate pump on my furnace that also is gravity fed and taped into my tub trap. One other question, when getting a shower the water will heat up and cool down (you can here the burner’s kicking on and off and you have to make adjustments all the time and it’s aggravating. Does it abound 50% of the time. Someone mentioned it might help to clean out my showers balanced valve? I hope all this makes sense,thanks
Does all this make sense? Sorry, but none of it does. If you had left the water softener in, you could have put in an RO system for drinking water and the softener would have helped to solve a lot of your problems. Softeners are not dangerous, just those that don’t understand how they work.
You could install a Big Blue Filter which would take up less room and you get the same warranty as a regular water softener. If you use a softener, use an 11x11 brine tank. The most important thing; when you go with a tankless heater, you get unlimited hot water. Unlimited. Never run out of hot water.
I appreciate your info. I have a question. Is there a particular kitchen faucet style (one handle or two handles) that is better for a tankless hot water heater to kick on? Or should it not make any difference?
This is the second on demand water heater video I have seen of yours, but need advice on electric on demand water heaters. I have a 700 square foot cottage that needs a water heater and was interested in going on demand but it is all electric. I hear mixed thoughts on electric units. I have looked at the Rheem, Ecosmart, AO Smith and Stiebel, but I see mixed ratings on all of these. Please review and give you input on these.
Sorry, but I have no way of testing water heaters. I get a lot of information from plumbing associates, as well as my own experience, on new devices. I’m very much into new products. I am checking out a particular on demand electric heater. The brand name is Stiebel Eltron. I need to tell them what power source I have with this particular house so I can determine what size to buy. You only have a 700 square foot cottage with probably one bathroom. If heated with electric heat, you have a good electric source. I’m excited about this particular brand as they have been around for quite awhile in Europe. If I install one, I’ll make a video.
Hey Jim - Thanks for the info. My current conventional gas W/H uses a metal flue. If I get a Navien, do I need to install a PVC flue? Can I slide the PVC flue inside the metal flue? Thumbs up.
If I had an all electric home and natural gas at the house, I would probably put in an on demand gas heater. There are now new electric on demand heaters out there. I’m looking into them because they sound good. I spoke to one manufacturer who is sending me information.
@@the_original_landcruisers I went online and looked up electric on demand heaters and a lot of installation depends on the electrical panel in your home. The bigger units take three 240 breakers, one for each element. I’ve never installed one. There are videos out there showing some different brands and how to install. If I had an all electric or all solar house, I definitely would get one.
@@the_original_landcruisers I went online and looked up electric on demand heaters and a lot of installation depends on the electrical panel in your home. The bigger units take three 240 breakers, one for each element. I’ve never installed one. There are videos out there showing some different brands and how to install. If I had an all electric or all solar house, I definitely would get one.
No, the tankless heater will not work if the power goes off. A well won’t run nor will the electric water heater or your heating system if the power goes off. Just sit with a glass of wine and look out at the nasty weather.
Don't for get about an electrical source. Often times you'll need to also pay for an outlet to be ran near the unit sometimes requiring an upgrade of your breaker box.
@TheGrumpyPlumber if they have no power source I tell them to call a sparky. I'm just installing the unit and plumbing. Electrical isn't my problem it's the homeowners.
Navien has better technical support. Back in December I had a problem with a customer’s Rinnai and called for technical help. I was on hold for two hours and, for all the information I gave them, I was not in agreement and not impressed with the support person. The unit was 15 years old and I replaced it with a Navien.
Have you turned up the thermostat? Have you checked the temperature with a thermometer on the hot side of the faucet and see what it is set at? If the heater is old, you might want to replace the heater. If it’s still in warranty, the manufacturer will give you a new thermostat.
Worth noting a couple of things related to tankless, but not related to gas. If you plan to do a tankless installation and you don't have, or don't want to use gas, there are quite a few units out there. Personally, I'm with Jim on go for the best you can get, which is the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 36 (SET36), a whole-house tankless water heater from Germany. That said, the plumbing side of the SET36 is very straightforward, and as Jim suggests, if you are able to install your own tank water heater, then you'll have no problems with the plumbing side of this.* But the electrical work, while not technically difficult, is extensive and cumbersome because of the amperage the unit requires. Retrofitting grannie's cottage would be great... if only she had 200Amp service, because the SET36 requires 150Amp service just for the water heater! That in turn requires heavy duty wire, heavy duty breakers (3 X 50A), and so if you're not technically adept at doing the electrical work and getting the amount of power to the unit, then you may have to downsize to a smaller unit for her cottage. The point being, if you've already got gas, they are somewhat more straightforward and won't require a lot of other upgrades. Electric Tankless will require a substantially greater investment upfront, particularly if you want to put in a whole house unit like the SET36. 🙂 *Just remember to install the tankless water heater kit before you run the power lines into the unit! On the hot water side, you will otherwise not be able to rotate the valve into place because the leftmost hole is rather close to the valve position.
I appreciate this comment from a very knowledgeable source. If you are thinking of building a new home or doing a major remodel, I highly recommend a Stiebel Eltron Tempra 36.
My issue with soft water is the salt. Salt can be absorbed through your skin and if you have high blood pressure, which I do, it can make it worse. I have a tankless 2 whole house tankless water heaters and one is 12 years old and the other 14. I don't have a water softener nor have I cleaned the scale out of them and they work like champs. We are building a new home and we will have tankless again but I will add the clean out this time.
If you’re building a new home, why don’t you put in a whole house filter that takes no salt to clean it. It regenerates every few days to clean itself. Today softeners are computerized to clean themselves and leave hardly a trace of salt behind. They claim you get more salt from your dinner than you would get from water with a softener.
I’ve never done this before but you probably have to have a domestic and boiler combination because you need a lower temperature on the towel warmer. If you’re going to do than, you might as well put in-floor heating in the bathroom. Navien makes a combination heater and boiler.
Plumbers love tankless cause gotta pay them to install from 1 to three g. Then they break every year u gotta call them. These thing are computers with heat exchangers. Fortune to fix. Stay far away
