Spent $900+ on the same tank for my son-in-law and we installed it ourselves. Took about 2 hours.
New water heater...
- Thread starter dahliaclone
- Start date
I have no stake in this, I like scolding hot showers and tankless don't provide that.
A pretty easy rule of thumb for this kind of thing is double the cost of equipment. Could be a little more or less depending on how much rework is involved as this is not a 1 for 1 replacement . $10k is outrageous.
Yeah they absolutely do with an endless supply of that scalding hot water.
What do you mean? Even smaller navien heaters can do a 90 degree temperature rise at 2.6 gpm. Shower heads have been maxed at 2.5 gpm for over 30 years. Incoming water temperature is probably around 50 F. 140 degree water will cause 3rd degree burns in 5 seconds.
And requires more maintenance, generally never lives long enough to realize the return on investment of initial cost, etc. They are not for me, I've known too many people who had bad experiences with them. If I ever have a need for 'endless' hot water I'll get a fast recovery/commercial tank unit.
This has been going on for years. It's the "Well, if I can scam you with a price 100% over the norm, good for me!" Home Depot says their average tankless + installation is $4300. They have this on their national site:
Nationwide costs generally fall within the range of $2,400 to $5,400. Our overall estimate includes the following:
- Tankless water heater
- Permits
- Installation materials
- Installation labor by a local, licensed and insured plumber
- Removal of the old unit
Tankless water heaters absolutely provide scalding hot showers. I like super hot showers and I had to turn ours down.
I bought a 50gal 7yr for $625 on sale after rebate 2 years ago. 1.5h labor and the gas check cert ended up being about $825 total.
$10k seems awfully high. What are they going to correct that was done wrong? Is there piping that needs to be reworked? Venting that needs to be changed? Are you switching from electric to gas (or vice versa) that requires a new service to be run?
Even with that, $10k is too high. I know I didn't live in central Iowa anymore, but I just got a new 50 gallon water heater with reworked gas lines and my incoming water regulator replaced for about $2500.
Even with that, $10k is too high. I know I didn't live in central Iowa anymore, but I just got a new 50 gallon water heater with reworked gas lines and my incoming water regulator replaced for about $2500.
I have s*** experience with tankless, ignore my comments outside of doubling is golden if affordable of course
I have a brand new 40gal gas water heater that was installed in the older home we just moved into in August (after having had tankless for years in several homes). My wife and I run out of hot water before the second person showers if we don't leave some time for recovery.
$10k is an “I don’t need the work but for the right price ill do it” quote. We see that in my industry a lot. You should be half of that or less for that job.
Water heaters are also a fairly easy DIY job if you are comfortable with the gas plumbing or electrical work.
Water heaters are also a fairly easy DIY job if you are comfortable with the gas plumbing or electrical work.
What if you aren't? I am in the same situation as dahlia right now, our unit from 1997 bit the dust finally (bought the house in Sept of 2023). My wife went to Lowes and got quoted $4300 for new water heater +install, and my brother in law told her to just buy the heater because I (thanks, guy) should be able to simply watch a you tube video and figure out how to install it, therefore saving us something like $3500 for them to do it. But I have no experience with such things and my wife doesn't want me messing around with gas lines when we've got 2 kids 3 or under in the house.
Hire a plumber and don’t do it yourself. A bad install job could leave your house full of carbon monoxide.
I have a wife and 2 daughters, and we don't have the issue with our 40 gallon tank heater. I've taken showers while the washer has ran too, and only thing I missed was some water pressure. Tankless will do nothing for pressure.
Just because I have friends that have had bad experiences, doesn't make me or my comment "dumb."
Plus at old house (about 6 years ago) when I needed to replace the water heater, I wanted a tankless and the plumber talked me out of it, even though it would have made him more $...
