Tankless Water Heater Cost

I just learned that my Rianni R53 has been leaking and is rusty and corroded. It needs to be replaced.

I wonder if anyone can roughly estimate the cost of replacing it. Given that all the plumbing is in place I would think the cost would be significantly lower than the prices I see online for installing one into your house.

This model is still sold and I would prefer to just drop it into place - maybe another model will fit as well. I want to assume for now that the existing pipes will fit the new tank.

Thanks, Reddit.

[Edit] I've gotten two quotes over $5,000. That's more than it cost to install!

First off - huge fan of all you guys do. I've been a lurker for quite a while and have learned so much from the collective wisdom that is volunteered here. Very, very cool.

My question....

I've gone on contract on a spec home that's still in the build phase, which has given me some latitude in the decision-making process. One thing I've requested is to go with a natural gas tankless water heater instead of the natural gas heated 70 gal tank the builder had intended. With 5 people in the home and one on the way, it seems like that would be a wise investment.

The problem.... he's saying it will be an additional $3000 to install the tankless. I'm lost. I can't imagine how such a small change could result in such a large estimate when nothing has been installed. From my research, i've learned that the tankless will require a 1inch gas line, water piping that is NOT Pex, an electric outlet, and appropriate venting. As for the units themselves, I can't see more than a few hundred in cost increases.

1. Pex water lines - https://files.catbox.moe/ewko3u.jpeg

2. 1 inch gas line - https://files.catbox.moe/x1m392.jpeg

3. Electric outlet - https://files.catbox.moe/69fqtf.jpeg

4. not shown - sufficient venting.

It looks like everything needed for the tankless is already there. Am I missing something? Is there that much delta work required given the current state of the build?

Has anyone recently purchased a tankless hot water heater? I'm wondering what the average cost of getting one would be.
Also has anyone tried doing any upgrades through the energy rebate program from the Alberta government and City of Edmonton?

Has anyone in the Orlando area with a house built in the 80's had a propane tank installed and used gas appliances like a tankless water heater and/or stove?

What has your experience been? What was the install cost, and monthly costs?

I'm thinking about swapping my standard electric range and hot water heater out for propane versions, specifically a tankless water heater, but I'm not sure how involved the process is to get it all installed, and if it's actually worth it in the long run.

We just bought a house and are looking at buying a water heater to replace the current tankless rental. The quote we got from a contractor (through Costco) seems high to us. I was hoping to get an idea of the price range we should expect (including installation).

The room where it would go is quite small, so we plan to go with a tankless to save space.

General info:

• Southern Ontario
• 2 adults in the house
• 2,500 sqft

Thanks in advance!

Sometimes reducing costs in the long term means increasing them in the short term. That's basically why I decided to research the idea of installing a tankless water heater in my home.

I found that on average I could get a whole-house tankless (one that can handle 2 bathrooms concurrently) for around $600. Add to that the cost of installation (I definitely recommend getting a pro to install it) and yearly maintenance (descaling, etc), and we're at around $1,000 for the whole caboodle.

Now for the good part. We're a family of 5, so our monthly water heating expenses are relatively high. By the end of the first year with the tankless I realized I'd saved almost $300 for the year on electricity. Doing some quick mental gymnastics (didn't even need a calculator, mind you), I realized I'd be making back my initial investment in a little over 4 years time. Everything after that is pure savings.

I was wondering if any of you had any experience with installing a tankless water heater, and if it ended up saving you any money.

How much are you guys charging to install a tankless water heater where a tank type water heater was installed. Just ball park? I am getting a lot of questions about it and am afraid I am quoting too high. I am saying around 3k. That provides the heater, runs the req. PVC vent line, updates the gas line, usually to 1", adds a valved kit for flushing and runs the condensate drain.

EDIT: thanks for the info, sounds like bidding too high is not the problem, I may be underselling a bit.

one question for the gas tankless water heater consumption: for one with flow rate 6.6gpm and one with 9.5gpm, if they are both running under 3 gpm, are they consume same amount of gas? Or 9.5gpm heater consumes more?

In other words, since tankless water heater installation costs higher than the unit itself, any reason not to buy something overkill?

Thanks

The house we recently bought had a 10 year old Rinnai R53 natural gas tankless water heater (180,000 btu). It started leaking via pinhole size hole in one of the pipes coming out of the heat exchanger. I had a service tech evaluate it and determine that it wasn't easily fixable and to replace the heat exchanger wouldn't make sense given the age of the unit. We never loved the Rinnai in the first place due to a 1-2 minute delay for hot water to most of the (2 story) house. However, the current mount location (due to need to be vented directly to the outside) requires an extra ~20 feet of 1/2" piping. We now have quotes for two replacement options which I'm trying to decide between. Both would be relocated so they are much closer to the actual water supply lines to the fixtures, since the newer systems can be power vented a further distance. Our options are 1) Navien NPE240 (199,000 btu tankless system) or 2) AO Smith 50 gallon GPVL50. The installed price of the tankless will be ~$3500 and the 50 gallon will be $1770 (i.e. half the price). Warranty on Navien is 5 year parts/15 year heat exchanger. Warranty on 50 gallon is 6 year (although rep told me 10, 6 is what I found online). Family of 3 at the moment. So my question is: is the Navien more efficient enough + longer life enough to offset its roughly double cost of the AO Smith storage system? Any general thoughts about which system to go with? AO Smith's website says their system will cost about $233/year to operate. I can't find a similar estimate for the Navien, but it would need to be ~$175/year cheaper to break even in 10 years, assuming both systems lasted that long... seems unlikely to be that much cheaper to operate ($58/year). I've already read this article which says that tankless systems probably save less than most people estimate. Appreciate any general guidance or opinion. Home is in upstate NY.

Not sure if this is quite the right place, but since it's about saving energy (and therefore money):

Title pretty much says it all. I've got a 50 or 60 gallon "high end" gas unit that retailed for about $850 new (it's about 1.5 years old) and I'm sure I could get some resale out of it. I'd love to use the closet its in for other things (the closet is like 7'x2' with a 9' ceiling) and having that monster gone would help. My main service panel is about a foot away from that closet so I could run new breakers for an electric, or I could probably has a gas line installed (IIRC the 1/2" lines are too small) for a gas unit.

Unfortunately, the reviews I've been reading seem to point towards tankless units still being behind the curve in terms of reliability and performance. Are there any "good" models that are affordable that provide considerable energy savings? I'd definitely be looking for a whole house solution.