CLpower

talked with the owner of the company, he actually talked me out of the softener, said i'd be fine having them come flush the system every 1-2 years for $150 a pop vs paying for a water softener (i'd require one outside, he said i'd be looking at $1,500-2,500 installed roughly). Esp considering all the rain we've gotten lately (officially out of a drought). Even if I have to replace the core, it's cheaper then going with the softener.


They come on Weds to install.


Rinnai 9.8gpm model

brian2

Does it ever freeze in walnut creek?

CLpower

very very very rarely (and by that, maybe gets below 30 a handful of nights a year). That said, i'm told not to worry about this being outdoors, that they are designed for outdoor use and designed to handle freezing temps

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

What brand unit are you going with? I'm really surprised it can go outside. Water lines run right into it so what's protecting them from freezing? I would put it in the garage, then just run the venting outside. Maybe they just don't want to drill the holes for the venting. These things require big vents. I replaced our electric water heater with a Rheem tankless and it has been great. I had to run 2 3" venting pipes outside which was a pain.

CLpower

It's a rinnai unit. Doing some reading tankless heaters were originally designed for outdoor use. And also have protections against freezing (to -30). That said, Pipes freezing isn't a concern out here.

Not a venting issue as venting is already in place on the old one. I asked the outside question to both quotes I got and neither were concerned at all. And frankly, having the heaters within 100 ft of both bathrooms now (they are the closest water source to the heater now vs being the furthest away is a huge + for me)

thoiboi

Same brand we got, good choice

CLpower

photo298.jpgphoto169.jpg

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

clean install! enjoy the added room!

Does is have a recirculating pump? My uncle has a tankless that circulates hot water at a certain hour so you have instant hot water. Mine doesn't have that but it's located right under our kitchen so it's pretty quick where we use it most.

thoiboi

Nah, not instant hot water, it takes a bit to essentially purge the water in the pipes before it gets hot but once its hot, it stays hot

brian2

was the install inspected?

CCColtsicehockey

Damn now I really want to do this. That is really small system outside.

CLpower

It doesn't. Opted out for now, but can add later. Temp to the bathrooms is a little faster then with the tank since it's now right next to them. Kitchen takes about 20-30 seconds.

From the factory they are set to 120 degrees max. There was an adjustment in the panel I made that now allows me up to 140. This has also helped as we like it hot (we sweat when the heat is on)

CLpower

Seriously. The cost to put back where the old one was or put here was the same. So it was a no brainer.


That said, this was a purely selfish job. Our old heater was perfectly fine. But I figured it didn't have much time left (was actually put in in '95 not '99 like I thought)

I just really wanted the garage space. Overall everything came out to $3600

CLpower

Sure...I looked at it

thoiboi

brian2

it wouldn't get by the town inspector

CLpower

Just curious. Why is that?

1StGenCL

That looks awesome and something we've been looking at but we have electric and everyone is so back and forth on them.

As for the inspection, I'm curious as well.