A Plumber Details Innovative Changes in Tankless Water Heaters

Hi, and welcome to another episode of "What's New in Plumbing." I'm Bob Fishman, and I just had a chat yesterday with Alan Urszuy, the co-owner of A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore, a Baltimore plumbing company and Alan filled me in on a number of innovative advances in the field of of tankless water heaters { With Americans becoming more and more energy conscious, tankless, on demand water heaters are becoming more and more accepted. Not only are they a relief to the pocketbook, but they free up room in the basement, since the novel very small devices can be conveniently attached to any wall in the home. The appliances heat water to the desired temperature only when required. The appliance heats incoming water rapidly, and there is no need to store hot water in a large tank. |As Americans look for more ways of saving fuel, and domestic space as well, householders are turning to tankless, (hot water on demand), heaters to provide their domestic hot water needs. Tankless heaters are attached to the wall. They only heat up water on demand, and for that reason save lots of cash on the energy bill. A number of companies are selling tankless heaters to the American market. To present some of the heaters specific pluses and minuses, I will reflect on the Rennai tankless heater. I heard about the Rennai during a recent chat with Alan Urszuy. Alan had lost of good things to say for the appliances, noting their power efficiency, and superior digital sensory system. In addition to providing the tankless heating unit, the Rennai heater has a lot of features, which are attractive to consumers. The appliance is 95% energy efficient, which means the vast bulk of the heat created by gas combustion is transferred to the water. The heater, is also a condensation heater, that includes a stainless steel system that traps remaining heat from flue gases to pre-heat incoming ground water, which then circulates to the principal copper heater exchanger. The Rennai heater is touted as being sufficient for nearly all moderate to large size homes The unit in particular can produce up to 8 gallons per minute of water that has been raised 35 degrees above the incoming temperature. The exact amount of potable hot water made depends on the temperature of ground water. So on a winter's day, when inlet ground water is colder, it may create less hot water per minute, than it will in the summer. Just for comparison sake, with the increased use of low flow showers the average shower might use as little as .6 to 1.5 gpm of hot water. In addition to its energy saving heat transfer design, the Rennai features a concentric vent pipe which rises from the heater to the roof or alternately the side wall of the house. Water heating vent pipes serve two functions. They bring air in from the outside for combustion, and they provide an outflow route for the gaseous combustion products. Formerly these functions were served by two separate vent pipes, which meant two separate holes in the roof. With the concentric vent pipe, however, only one roof hole is needed. The hot gases are expelled through a central outflow pipe and the outdoor air is sucked in through the surrounding intake pipe. The double layered pvc pipe also provides increased protection against the possible leak of poisonous carbon monoxide from corroded vent pipes. Users of the Rennai tankless water heaters report that the device does has some negatives. Because the heater is an on demand unit, it is not triggered to produce heat until its digital sensors perceive a water flow of at least .6gpm. Unfortunately, some of the new ultra low-flow shower heads restrict water flow to this very level, and reports have circulated about Rennai owners experiencing hot water cut offs during their showers. The same problem has been seen with hot water flow in the dishwasher, and this is not surprising since dishwashers generally require fewer gpms than showers, Another problem experienced by Rennai owners is termed "cold water sandwich." This problem occurs during summer months when the temperature of incoming ground water is elevated. The rapid heating Rennai unit quickly warms incoming water to the temperature at which the heating unit cuts off. During the cut off, a bolus of cold water comes through the tap, sandwiched between zones of hot water flow. This is what is known as the "cold water sandwich." Not the type of sandwich you'll want to enjoy, during your summer fun. Homeowners are developing ways of adjusting to these problems including removal of the low flow shower nozzle and installation of small point of use hot water tanks. But these methods are expensive and also fraught with difficulties. The Good news is that these minor problems are much like earlier bugs that were worked out of the first low flow toilets.And, it is likely that enterprising manufacturers will see these problems as challenges to find a more perfect tankless water heater. Well that's it folks for another episode of What's New in Plumbing, Have a great day!

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A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore is a Baltimore plumbing company which specializes in kitchen plumbing . The company also provides Essex Plumber

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