YEAH, I CAN BE PRETTY HANDY AROUND THE HOUSE...
For the past several months I've complained that the water heater is dying. Andrew mostly ignored me. You see, the shower he uses daily had one of those crappy, low flow shower heads that barely got you wet enough to wash all the way down to your feet. The shower that I use has a great shower head that claims to be low flow but sure doesn't feel like it. Anyway, Everyday when I began my shower, the water felt nice and hot, but by the time I'd get lathered up I'd have to turn the cold down a little and the hot up a little. By the time I started to wash my hair I'd have to adjust again, and so on. By the end of my shower I'd have the cold water turned all the way off and the hot water full on and I was still standing in barely warm water. Irritating.
After many discussions and having him shower a few times in the shower that I normally use, he agreed that we needed to do something. Mind you, he would never verbally admit it, but all of a sudden one day a new water heater turned up in a box on the family room floor.
We had been discussing what kind of water heater to replace the old one with. The one that was there was a standard, natural gas, 40 gallon monster that was 5 feet tall and about 18 inches in diameter. It took up a huge amount of valuable space in the utility room that we could really use for storage. As he does with most major purchases, Andrew researched it to death. After several months of discussing and research, we came up with this:
A tankless, natural gas, highly energy efficient water heater. And, the best thing about it, you NEVER run out of hot water. No, wait, the BEST thing about it is the huge amount of floor space we freed up by not replacing it with the same old 40 gallon tank style water heater. This one mounts on the wall and now we have all that space to use for other things.
Actually, these tankless water heaters have been very popular in Europe for years but are just becoming more popular in the U.S. I'm not sure why it's taken the U.S. so long to introduce these to the general public. They make so much more sense than maintaining an entire 40 gallon tank of water at 120 degrees or hotter 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. With the tankless types, you turn on your hot water faucet and the flow of water through the unit turns on the burner and heats the water to your desired temperature instantly. When you shut of the water, the unit shuts off. I'm really excited to see how much we can save on our natural gas bill!
And, yes, I installed it all myself. I was so proud of myself, I then installed the new water softener right next to it.
Yeah, I'm told I'm pretty handy to have around the house. :-)
After many discussions and having him shower a few times in the shower that I normally use, he agreed that we needed to do something. Mind you, he would never verbally admit it, but all of a sudden one day a new water heater turned up in a box on the family room floor.
We had been discussing what kind of water heater to replace the old one with. The one that was there was a standard, natural gas, 40 gallon monster that was 5 feet tall and about 18 inches in diameter. It took up a huge amount of valuable space in the utility room that we could really use for storage. As he does with most major purchases, Andrew researched it to death. After several months of discussing and research, we came up with this:
A tankless, natural gas, highly energy efficient water heater. And, the best thing about it, you NEVER run out of hot water. No, wait, the BEST thing about it is the huge amount of floor space we freed up by not replacing it with the same old 40 gallon tank style water heater. This one mounts on the wall and now we have all that space to use for other things.Actually, these tankless water heaters have been very popular in Europe for years but are just becoming more popular in the U.S. I'm not sure why it's taken the U.S. so long to introduce these to the general public. They make so much more sense than maintaining an entire 40 gallon tank of water at 120 degrees or hotter 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. With the tankless types, you turn on your hot water faucet and the flow of water through the unit turns on the burner and heats the water to your desired temperature instantly. When you shut of the water, the unit shuts off. I'm really excited to see how much we can save on our natural gas bill!
And, yes, I installed it all myself. I was so proud of myself, I then installed the new water softener right next to it.
Yeah, I'm told I'm pretty handy to have around the house. :-)
posted by Scott in Iowa at 5/26/2008 05:08:00 PM
7 Comments:
Water softener? I forgot those existed ...
Yeah, you do sound handy. We have lots of work that needs done when you come out here. ;)
Yes, Matt, water softeners do still exist and are almost a requirement here in the midwest. With all of the minerals in our water, if you don't remove them with a water softener your water using appliances won't last as long as they should. In fact that is most likely why the old water heater was bad. too much lime and minerals built up inside it from the really hard water we have here. Oh well, no more worries about that!
good, now that thats all done you can start working on the patio! ;-)
I'm impressed! And jealous because I want a tankless water heater.
wow! Get your spanners and head over to the UK!
Yep! We mostly have the type of water heater you've just bought - toasty hot water any time of the day and only as much as you need!
Kudos on the tankless water heater. How is that working out for you? My partner and I have been trying to decide between gas and electric. I know electric is less efficient but we have a solar array for electricity. Hi from Baltimore.
I want you to come work on stuff in my new place! :)
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