What do you think of this quote for a tankless install?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I live in a major metro area and am considering replacing an aging gas water heater with a tankless gas unit. One plumber, who has good references, quoted me $3800 for replacing the old tank with a Rinnai RU199IN (199,000 BTU Super High Efficiency Condensing Indoor Tankless Unit), which also includes a pump and recirculation system. The work area is a large utility room with easy access. There would, of course, be a bit of reconfiguring of the copper plumbing, and maybe replacing one length of gas pipe, that is screwed into an ell, with a shorter piece. I see that the Rinnai unit is available for about $1600, so the labor and other parts is about $2200. Is this estimate reasonable, or too high?

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Jake The Wonderdog

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

So there's a circulation pump that is part of this heater. No need to install a separate pump.

A return line is a good thing though. Running it back through the cold water line isn't great at all.

You want to insulate the return line (and the hot water lines).

If he's installing a return line, then the price might not be bad (your original question).

This sounds like a pretty simple install.

You know already that I'm no fan of atmospherically vented gas water heaters. Not at all. But I know that retrofitting gas tankless is often stupid expensive. When I've installed them in my own homes I did the work (part of a total re-plumb). The cost was much more reasonable.

Why are you looking at tankless?

Unless you need continuous hot water, this might be a situation where I'd say the costs to retrofit don't make economic sense.

The gas supply does seem iffy. Know that a tankless isn't "on or off" it's variable input. Nonetheless, it's reasonable to expect that the boiler AND the water heater would be running at max if you were filling a tub on a cold day in Feb.

Based on the cost and the gas supply issue I'd really think hard about going with a standard gas tank heater.

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Comments (6)

Jake The Wonderdog
4 years ago
Hey Kudzu,

You have been a long-time participant on this board - almost 15k responses. Kudos to you.

Is there an electrical outlet already - also how are they doing the venting?

Do they have a recalculation return line already or how will they be doing that?

Be skeptical of the gas supply - 200k btu needs a lot of gas. When I did mine on this house I had to run a new 1" CSST line almost from the meter (about 35').

Really take a hard look at the Electric Hybrid units if you have a basement or warm garage - much cheaper to install and similar cost to operate.

At my house, I was able to fix other things by going tankless gas (like moving the water heater 30' closer to the bathroom and kitchen).
kudzu9
Original Author
4 years ago
Jake-

Thanks for the helpful insights. Yes, there is an electrical outlet right there. No recirculation return line at present so I need details on what he is planning to do (I got the impression that he was installing a pump at the farthest fixture in the house, but not running any major new lines). As far as venting, that's included in the quote, and shouldn't be a big deal as the the utility room is on an outside wall and the roof is right overhead.

The gas demand is something that's bothering me. I have a 5/8" meter that is rated for 300K Btu total load, but there are other thing that are gas dependent: a 95K Btu/hr boiler for the in-floor radiant heating system, and a gas rangetop in the kitchen.

The utility room is an unheated space separate from the rest of the house; it's like a big closet accessed from an outside door.
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User
4 years ago
The price doesn’t seem out of line. The particulars seem too vague and cookie cutter copy paste, as if they didn’t really look at your individual house and situation. And they are counting on some change orders.
kudzu9
Original Author
4 years ago
Jake-

Thanks, again. Now I'm better-positioned to ask questions when I have my next discussion with him. I haven't committed to tankless...replacement of existing is an option.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
4 years ago
It's a fair price.
kudzu9 thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC

What do you think of this quote for a tankless install?

Jake The Wonderdog

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What do you think of this quote for a tankless install?

Jake The Wonderdog

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Jake The Wonderdog

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