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[Gina Norman <gina AT vnet.net>]

> We are thinking about putting in one of those instant water heaters. Has
> anyone here used them & if so, are you happy with it? Any problems I should
> know about?

I have one: a Rinnai whole house gas instant water heater thingy.  I
*love* it... there's as much water as I want, when I want it (and for a
gal who has 5 showerheads in her shower, that's saying something!).

Here's what I know:
- They come in "whole house", "regional" (or some such) and "booster"
styles.  I went with whole house as a replacement for a 40 gal. water
heater (which would run out on shower #3 if I had guests).
- An important factor is the length of the run from the heater to the
tap... mine is located outside the master bath, as that's where most of
the hot water is consumed.  It will take 2-3 minutes for the water to
really heat up at the kitchen sink, since it has to come all that way.
(This is not an issue for me, really, though if I ever add on to the
kitchen, I might add a booster unit there).
- You will need to know the incoming water temp. and the desired water
temp. to figure out the "size" (/amt. of power) the heater will need.
Mine is pretty much as powerful as they get (and cost about $850, I
think?).
- Mine has an inside controller that lets you set the temp. of the water
... in the summer I set it slightly lower, as I have less need for
scalding showers!
- They are *very* energy efficient.  I added a propane tank for the water
heater and gas fireplace, so I have no direct comparision, but my electric
bills did drop, even though I added 350 ft. sq. to the house's heated
space.

Bottom line:  *I* love it.  I don't know what it'd be like if the hot
water usage were not as concentrated in the master bath as mine is, but I
think it'd be a solvable prob. with a booster unit.


Hope this helps,

Gina

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My brain seems to have a circuit-breaker-like mechanism that, when I get
confused and befuddled by the overwhelming monstrosities of my life,
causes a default to the simplest and most pleasant of thoughts.  Like
Marshmallow Peeps.  I *like* Marshmallow Peeps.

Gina Norman                                      And the only bit that
gina AT vnet.net (me personally)                    really matters:
ginanorm AT nortelnetworks.com (me at work)         http://users.vnet.net/gina
ginathelintqueen AT yahoo.com (me personally, again -- sick of me yet?  ;)
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