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Asking about hot water heaters again.


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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?

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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??

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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).

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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

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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. 

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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!

 

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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).

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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. 

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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). 

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