TheBestSideOfTheWall Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 The only post I found on this was originally posted two years ago so I thought I would start a new thread in case someone had new info or there were newbies with additional information. The questions are this: Do you use solar, on-demand, or traditional tank system and how do you like it? [Added bonus if you include how many people it services, how long it takes to reheat after it drains, and how you feel your bills are effected by your current unit.] How often do you drain sediment if you have a unit with a tank? Where would you shop if you were in the market for a new system? Who would you recommend to install a new system (assuming it is just an easy install? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvanparys Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 We have an on-demand heater that functions effectively for the two of us. If we needed a new heater I would start with Amazon and Home Depot...Possibly we could find something local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 We replaced our on-demand heater with a solar hot water, 18 dry tube, insulatyed stainless tank, by Sharp. It cut our propane usage in half ! The on-demand unit was plumbed to be available at the turn of two valves, but was not really needed when just the two of us were at home, as the solar unit would last for a few cloudy days. We did wash with cold water and used showers, not tubs. Loved it! Talk to your local solar supplier/installer, who will design a system to your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednet94 Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 For family of 4 we have a solar heater of 280liters. It is bigger then advised but it only runs out of hot water about two times a year after several rainy/cloudy days which rarely occurs. Use if for showers, laundry and washing dishes. So we don't have any gastank anymore as it isn't worth it for less then 5 days a year we run out of hot water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Solar Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 Any one with questions on solar hot water systems and the best ways of inter-connecting with existing gas water heating setups, or creating a new setup from scratch, can drop by the STI Solar Technology booth @ the Chili Cookoff today or tomorrow, for info and the chance to speak with trained & highly experienced local installers Arturo and Isaac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 I am planning on bringing one of these down on my next trip up north. It works better with low flow and pressure because it uses a different and more precise flow/pressure sensing set up. http://excelonlinestore.com/gas-heaters/tankless-whole-house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstone Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 We have a 2 zone home, so 2 on demand water heaters. An additional bonus when the sun is shining is a quick HOT shower using only the water in the cold tap ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragtopman Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 I have a 12 tube 150 liter solar water system and my propane goes a whole lot farther now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 With all the cooler and cloudy weather we've had in the last several months how well have your solar hot water units performed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy_guy Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 We have a 280 liter high pressure (because we use a 70lb pressurized pump) solar heater and its awesome! Great for the 2 of us, and always have very hot water available even after 2-3 days cloudy weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmw1150rt Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 For those of you that have installed solar hot water what is your ROI in years? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyinmexico Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 I am in a rental I just bought. I am on my THIRD HOT WATER HEATER with a plumber the local town organization advertises. He put in a hot water heater ( my 3rd) and after a week it does not work. I am in loosing it. He hangs up on me when I phone him. I have no papers or waranty or anything. I have been TAKEN so many times. I don't know what to tell you. If you find a decent plumber who installs hot water heaters please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barcelonaman Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 4 minutes ago, Joyinmexico said: I am in a rental I just bought. I am on my THIRD HOT WATER HEATER with a plumber the local town organization advertises. He put in a hot water heater ( my 3rd) and after a week it does not work. I am in loosing it. He hangs up on me when I phone him. I have no papers or waranty or anything. I have been TAKEN so many times. I don't know what to tell you. If you find a decent plumber who installs hot water heaters please let me know. What local town organization?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 13 hours ago, Joyinmexico said: I am in a rental I just bought. I am on my THIRD HOT WATER HEATER with a plumber the local town organization advertises. He put in a hot water heater ( my 3rd) and after a week it does not work. I am in loosing it. He hangs up on me when I phone him. I have no papers or waranty or anything. I have been TAKEN so many times. I don't know what to tell you. If you find a decent plumber who installs hot water heaters please let me know. I'm assuming you are trying to use an on demand setup, correct? Unfortunately there have been many reports on this board of these not working well because of pressure, flow, water quality or other issues. Also you might want to post the details of your situation on Lake Chapala Wall of Shame (Facebook). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jreboll Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 I’ll be interested to learn how your on demand setup turns out once you get it. Lots of us see that as the way to go but it hasn’t turned out well for most Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 I have used (or tried to use) several different brands of on-demand water heaters. They have been nothing but trouble. Yesterday a friend told me she has a Rheem 13, as big as a box of Kleenex, that is fantastic--and ELECTRIC hot water heater that uses almost no electricity and gives her exactly the hot water temperature she wants. It's not cheap (Amazon.com.mx has them for about 7000 pesos) but she says the savings in gas is remarkable. You might want to look into the Rheem 13 electric. I'm just quoting her; I have not used this hot water heater. https://www.amazon.com.mx/Rheem-RTE-13-Calentador-eléctrico/dp/B003UHUSGQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519571839&sr=8-2&keywords=rheem+calentador+de+agua+electrico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerbit Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 17 hours ago, bmw1150rt said: For those of you that have installed solar hot water what is your ROI in years? Thanks ROI isn't always the bottom line. Try filling a spa tub with a tank system. You end up with tepid water at best. Solar and on demand erased that issue. Our gas goes about twice to three times longer now. Also a hedge against future gas costs going up, they won't be going down in the long run. Our ROI estimate would be about 4 years at current gas prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Our ROI was about 14-16 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 2 hours ago, zerbit said: ROI isn't always the bottom line. Try filling a spa tub with a tank system. You end up with tepid water at best. Solar and on demand erased that issue. Our gas goes about twice to three times longer now. Also a hedge against future gas costs going up, they won't be going down in the long run. Our ROI estimate would be about 4 years at current gas prices. This is exactly what we want to accomplish. Could you describe your setup in detail? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Solar Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 5 hours ago, More Liana said: I have used (or tried to use) several different brands of on-demand water heaters. They have been nothing but trouble. Yesterday a friend told me she has a Rheem 13, as big as a box of Kleenex, that is fantastic--and ELECTRIC hot water heater that uses almost no electricity and gives her exactly the hot water temperature she wants. It's not cheap (Amazon.com.mx has them for about 7000 pesos) but she says the savings in gas is remarkable. You might want to look into the Rheem 13 electric. I'm just quoting her; I have not used this hot water heater. https://www.amazon.com.mx/Rheem-RTE-13-Calentador-eléctrico/dp/B003UHUSGQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519571839&sr=8-2&keywords=rheem+calentador+de+agua+electrico Couple of mentions with all respect; keeping in mind that nothing uses as much energy as heating water.... be it residential use, or pool heating. 1 - the link shows the unit is 240 V and uses 13,000 watts of power. That's 55 amps (an electric stove is 240 / 40A)......A lot of lakeside homes are simply not set up for that, & even those that are would need a good bit of electrical work to supply this "little" 4 gallon per minute unit. And any moderate to large regular use of hot water is going to use a LOT of power, one would likely want to consider adding solar electric or upsizing an existing system if they had this unit. 2 - a 16 liter / minute Bosch or Kruger costs about the same, within 1000 to 3000 pesos, mas o menos, and the new ones work automatically and much better than previously, with solar as the primary. I agree there were issues with previous series of both of those brands, lately we've seen much better results from them (and we do not sell them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerbit Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Mainecoons said: This is exactly what we want to accomplish. Could you describe your setup in detail? Thanks! Only two of us in the house, 12 tube, 125 liter solar calentador on the roof. Pressurized model. From tinaco to solar, an on demand, 1/6 hp, tankless bomba. The on demand gas fired calentador is a Kalotron 13 liter " intelligent model that senses water temp from the solar heater and fires only when temp is below the range pre set in the heater. The Kalotron is also a pressure model.Battery ignition. I am going to eventually use foam pipe wrap tubes from roof to gas heater to see if in winter I can maximize the loss of heat from the plastic pipes as water travels. I'm also going to add a thermometer inline on the pipe as it enters the gas heater to check temps. More curiosity than anything else. Biggest issue I found when researching this was mixing a non pressure part with a pressure part. I had a friend install a non pressure solar calentador with pressure coming out of the tinaco. He ruptured seals and warped his tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 We have had a Bosch on-demand for 4 years and have had it cleaned once by the Bosch service dept out of Guadalajara. It helps that we have a water softener as hard water is the enemy of on-demand heaters (and a lot of other things too!!). The service cost $900p btw. The water heater shares gas with the clothes dryer and we go 3-3 1/2 months on one of those large portable gas tanks. It also probably helps that we have a good pressure tank (30-50 psi). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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