HOWTO: Install a Tankless Hot Water Heater

HOWTO: Install a Tankless Hot Water Heater Unlimited Hot Water

When I bought my latest house I was already planning on some upgrades to various things. One of these was the hot water heater. The water heater that came with the house was old and would start to run rust-colored water if the faucet was left on long enough. I'd been hearing about the new "tankless" style heaters so I went gathering information about them. Turns out they did what I wanted, using much less energy in their off state since they only heat water as it flows, there are no large reservoir tanks to worry about keeping warmed.

I installed my heater after finding rust and silt in the bath tub when trying to take a bath. I performed a second installation with a friend after she saw how nice the tankless heater worked, and her hot water heater just plain stopped. This article is the result of the lessons learned during both of those installations.

When I went looking for information on installing a tankless hot water heater most places told me simply to find a "qualified professional" and have them do it. Well, I'm a do-it-yourselfer so that wouldn't cut it. I found very little information on installing a tankless heater, thus this guide was born. The following items are the things I wish someone had told me ahead of time.

I am very pleased with my home upgrade to a tankless hot water heater. As you can see in the photos below the space savings were enormous. My utility bill (for natural gas) has dropped by almost a third. I can shower for as long as I want without ever worrying about running out of hot water (or getting rust and sediments out of it.) Another advantage is that the service life on this tankless hot water heater is 20 years. Most of the new hot water heaters I looked at charge a big premium to have a service life of even 12 years, so I will be enjoying my trouble-free hot water for even longer. The installation was challenging, mostly due to my lack of advance knowledge and planning, but it certainly is within the reach of a competent DIY'er. After reading this you have any questions or comments, go ahead and contact me and I will do my best to answer them.

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HOWTO: Install a Tankless Hot Water Heater