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HELP! Tankless combi boiler vs high recovery water heater?

3 years ago

I know this subject has been discussed at length on Houzz, but I'm hoping someone has more recent experience. The contractor I'm using is very experienced and well-respected, but I wanted to get additional experiences and feedback b/c this project has a very high price tag and a long waiting period for appliances.

I'm replacing a propane 75-gallon hot water heater (with recirc pumps) which heats water for my house AND the rarely-used radiant heat flooring system on the bottom floor of my house. This system uses a ton of electricity and propane and the pumps are loud.

My guy first recommended a combi boiler on-demand unit, but I've had bad experiences with tankless water heaters not keeping up with demand - I have old, high-flow shower heads and deep-fill washing machines (don't judge - I took out a quarter acre of grass and landscaping so I'm conserving water there).

So then he recommended a 50-gallon 65,000 btu high recovery tank. I've never heard of these things, and wonder if anyone has used them? Won't the high btus suck a ton of propane? I'm trying get lower gas and electric bills.

Also, are they making tankless combi-boilers these days that can keep up with high hot-water demand over a fairly long period of time - like up to an hour?


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