BobKones
Member
Hi folks!
I have a class A that I've been living in for around 5 years. When I started out the first thing I noticed was the cheesy showers so I fixed that a couple of years ago. I have an Atwood 10 gallon tank and I turned it into a boiler that runs at 180f for increased capacity. The hot feed from the tank goes through a commercial grade mixing valve that regulates it to 118f to the rest of the unit. This is my ideal shower temperature.
What this does for me is get me about a 25 minute shower at the exact same temperature from start to finish. Any longer and you get gradual temp drop but generally I'm in for 20 minutes at the most. Any longer and I deserve what I get I revised the control system for the tank so that I can control the desired temperature/offset independently for gas and electric (idea being that both come on very quickly to fight the temperature drop as you shower). It's paid big dividends. I've never had to look at it since the original design...
..up until the last week or so! The 23 year old Atwood tank now looks like it's leaking, and probably weeping from a tiny hole in the bottom somewhere. It doesn't look like it's any of the fittings
I typically remove the tank annually for scale removal/flushing and it's pretty ratty inside. It would not surprise me if it's got thin spots from erosion all over. In other words, it likely needs to be replaced. I cannot get a replacement tank anymore (too old) so I have to get a whole new water heater.
This brings me to wonder if I should consider going tankless. The hydro usage on my tank right now is monitored in real time and it costs me about $20 a month to run it. I'm on a bit of a hydro kick lately and have cut it back considerably with a residential fridge. I wouldn't mind recouping that $20 as well and see just how low I can get it.
I'm looking at a 2.9 GPM Fogatti (55,000 BTU). Standing water pressure is 100 PSI and operating pressure is typically ~60 PSI. That max on the Fogatti is 116 and the new pump I have coming flows 5.3 GPM. So...by the looks of it the pump should outperform the unit. (I also have a 2 gallon accumulator installed).
Research shows that the Girard units suffer from thin copper in the heat exchangers where they bend the pipes and that they tend to pack it in due to the paper thin copper in these areas. Also, their unit is less BTU's. This is what brought me to the Fogatti.
My biggest question is, given the effort I've gone through to maintain a perfect temp shower from start to finish, do you think a tankless unit is up to the task or would it end in disappointment? Ambient temps in winter can be as low as -7c (19.4f) and I use a heating cable on the fresh water feed for a few weeks (typically) per year. Incoming water temp should be about 2c / 35.6f
Reading the reviews is not always ideal because everyone is ecstatic over 'endless' hot water, even though both of those units apparently shut off after 20 minutes...which few people mention. Also, there are virtually no reviews stating actual water temperature consistency over the duration of a shower or what the actual temperatures are. This is subjective, of course. For one person, 'endless' hot water could just mean it's not cold and it lasts much longer. I prefer to generate steam when I shower, but what I really like is that right now, I just put the hot on full and it runs start to finish at the temperature I preset on the mixing valve. And it's very, very accurate because all it's doing is slowly emptying a tank that starts out at 180f and the mixing valve does the rest.
What do you think my chances of success are if I moved over to a tankless water heater?
Lastly, do these units generate a lot of scale that ends up in the aerators?
Much thanks to anyone that has actual experience with these things!
I have a class A that I've been living in for around 5 years. When I started out the first thing I noticed was the cheesy showers so I fixed that a couple of years ago. I have an Atwood 10 gallon tank and I turned it into a boiler that runs at 180f for increased capacity. The hot feed from the tank goes through a commercial grade mixing valve that regulates it to 118f to the rest of the unit. This is my ideal shower temperature.
What this does for me is get me about a 25 minute shower at the exact same temperature from start to finish. Any longer and you get gradual temp drop but generally I'm in for 20 minutes at the most. Any longer and I deserve what I get I revised the control system for the tank so that I can control the desired temperature/offset independently for gas and electric (idea being that both come on very quickly to fight the temperature drop as you shower). It's paid big dividends. I've never had to look at it since the original design...
..up until the last week or so! The 23 year old Atwood tank now looks like it's leaking, and probably weeping from a tiny hole in the bottom somewhere. It doesn't look like it's any of the fittings
I typically remove the tank annually for scale removal/flushing and it's pretty ratty inside. It would not surprise me if it's got thin spots from erosion all over. In other words, it likely needs to be replaced. I cannot get a replacement tank anymore (too old) so I have to get a whole new water heater.
This brings me to wonder if I should consider going tankless. The hydro usage on my tank right now is monitored in real time and it costs me about $20 a month to run it. I'm on a bit of a hydro kick lately and have cut it back considerably with a residential fridge. I wouldn't mind recouping that $20 as well and see just how low I can get it.
I'm looking at a 2.9 GPM Fogatti (55,000 BTU). Standing water pressure is 100 PSI and operating pressure is typically ~60 PSI. That max on the Fogatti is 116 and the new pump I have coming flows 5.3 GPM. So...by the looks of it the pump should outperform the unit. (I also have a 2 gallon accumulator installed).
Research shows that the Girard units suffer from thin copper in the heat exchangers where they bend the pipes and that they tend to pack it in due to the paper thin copper in these areas. Also, their unit is less BTU's. This is what brought me to the Fogatti.
My biggest question is, given the effort I've gone through to maintain a perfect temp shower from start to finish, do you think a tankless unit is up to the task or would it end in disappointment? Ambient temps in winter can be as low as -7c (19.4f) and I use a heating cable on the fresh water feed for a few weeks (typically) per year. Incoming water temp should be about 2c / 35.6f
Reading the reviews is not always ideal because everyone is ecstatic over 'endless' hot water, even though both of those units apparently shut off after 20 minutes...which few people mention. Also, there are virtually no reviews stating actual water temperature consistency over the duration of a shower or what the actual temperatures are. This is subjective, of course. For one person, 'endless' hot water could just mean it's not cold and it lasts much longer. I prefer to generate steam when I shower, but what I really like is that right now, I just put the hot on full and it runs start to finish at the temperature I preset on the mixing valve. And it's very, very accurate because all it's doing is slowly emptying a tank that starts out at 180f and the mixing valve does the rest.
What do you think my chances of success are if I moved over to a tankless water heater?
Lastly, do these units generate a lot of scale that ends up in the aerators?
Much thanks to anyone that has actual experience with these things!