Starfish We went through the same decision process earlier this year - we had fewer baths but needed a single HWH to, additionally, provide space heating for the whole house. With the whirlpool tub, multiple shower heads and 5 bathrooms, you will potentially need a lot of flow. I thought our main concern was to have high recovery and respectable flow; my solution was the AOS Vertex unit with 50 gallon, 75,000BTU/hr and 127 First Hour Delivery Gallons all with a power exhaust that hooks to a 2" pvc pipe - claims 90% efficiency. I've been pleased with the Vertex - it meets our needs and is quiet and efficient. Since then, AOS has released a Vertex 100 model with 100,000BTU/hr and 164 First Hour Delivery Gallons. John

With all due respect to Lazypup and the code, Lazypup's post is a bunch of FUD. Clearly there are many heaters being manufactured (and installed) that don't meet the R-12 code requirement. AO Smith Promax line and the State Select line are just a couple of examples (R-8) There are many many more including many of the ones that you would buy at the local home supply store. Feel free to check the spec sheets on the water heaters. Many will either say R-8 or one inch of foam which is equal to R-8. I would guess that there are millions of residential water heaters in service today that don't meet even the R-12 rating (which is not particularly high) and new ones installed every day. By the way, water heaters typically work with a 60 degree temp differential (120 water - 60 basement)That is similar to it being 70 degrees inside your home and 10 degrees outside. Now, do you want R-8 wall insulation, R-12 or R-18? Yes, if you install a blanket improperly you may cause problems for the heater. Duh! If you use shampoo improperly you can hurt you eyes also. Note too that the wording is that a blanket isn't required if it has an R12. That's not at all the same as saying that a blanket wouldn't save you energy and money. State Water Heaters http://www.statewaterheaters.com/lit/spec/res-gas/SRGSS01206.pdf AO Smith Water Heaters http://www.hotwater.com/lit/spec/res_gas/ARG-SS01406.pdf Whirlpool at Lowes http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=188421-135-BFG1H5040T3NOV&lpage=none

jake, thanks for taking the time to answer me! lol! Sorry about the typo - I meant $1K! It is a one story house with no basement. My current electric water heater is in the attic and if I decide to go with a gas lowboy that will be in the attic too. Re my comment about the unsightly pipe running up the side of the house to the attic: I was confused about this too. My main water pipe from the street is on the east side of the house - the gas line will come in on the west side of the house. So (if I am understanding correctly) what they will do is extend the water pipe (currently hooked to the electric water heater in the attic) across the attic and down to the tankless unit on the west side of the house and then back up again along with the gas pipe. Does this make sense? I admit I am having trouble understanding how the water part of this works. Re venting: If I locate the tankless unit in the attic, I doubt I could vent to the side of the house - that would require about 15 feet of pipe to get to a side wall when the roof is, oh, so close. I wonder if the vent can be elbowed toward the back part of the roof and not the street side of the roof. I don't want to see the vent from the street! I doubt if there are any code issues about putting the water heater in the attic - all this would be done with city permits. About the water heater being in the attic - well I currently have a 40 gallon electric water heater in the attic in addition to my air conditioning unit being up there too! Scary, right? A tall person can stand up in the attic so it's not that bad to work up there. My DH was wondering if the water heater could be installed in the laundry closet on the main floor of the house right above the washer and dryer. That would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't it? I am starting to lose steam on this project. I can live with the electric water heater and the electric dryer. But, I just want to be able to boil water properly which I can't seem to do on my electric stove! I swear a propane tank outside near the kitchen could solve that problem quite easily!

Well I haven't actually moved into the place yet. I'm buying a new house and im not sure of the size it it currently. It is hooked up to the oil boiler and since that is being replaced with a mini split system the water heater is gonna go too. The water heater I believe was about 8 years old but I didn't catch the size. Currently at my apartment I have a 29 gallon for myself and my 3 kids and during the summer its not so bad but during the winter then forget about it. I have hot water for maybe 20-25 min of showers then its done. My mother apartment has a 40 and no complaints from her but all only one bathroom and no washer. My apartment has only one bathroom as well but I do have a washer. I do tend to wash clothes with cold water though.