We have one. Need to replace an old tank. Is there a better brand or should we get another Rinnai?
Plumber uses Navien? Also A.O. Smith?

Love my Navien 240a for going on 10 years. Cost has certainly gone up in that time but I would choose it again if I had to make the decision over. I also had a mid-tier Takagi that served us well on another property.

Whatever route you go, I recommend installing an inline scale inhibitor to protect the heat exchanger.

I've had a Rheem for at least 6 or 7 years. Never had any issues with it and never had any buildup inside.

I recently had a Rinnai tankless water heater installed in my house as part of a remodel. Never had a tankless before. Any recommendations for an effective proactive maintenance regimen/schedule?

Are these all gas or electric? I'm interested in upgrading to one but electric is our only option.

Can't go wrong with Rinnai, Navian or Rheem (I would somewhat say in that order). All should have parts easily available through your plumbing supply store. I don't know anything about AO Smiths but would imagine they are fine too as long as you get it from the plumbing wholesaler (Moore Supply, Ferguson or Morrison) and not a box store. I would base off required flow rate and go based off of availability. Have a plumber install it, they will probably warranty the install and make sure to flush it once or twice a year.

karmapoliceman said:

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I recently had a Rinnai tankless water heater installed in my house as part of a remodel. Never had a tankless before. Any recommendations for an effective proactive maintenance regimen/schedule?

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Look up the descaling flush procedures and do that regularly.

My Navien unit had additional screens and filter that are not at first obvious, you may have same. Check those at time of flushing.

Plumbers try to steer towards Navien as you said maybe because supply houses carry them and parts. I wish you could find reviews online but it seems damn near impossible. The latest quote I got was about $1650-$1750 for one of their units.

I bought a Rheem off tankless king for $1050 (minus $650 txGas rebate) in 2018. I didn't really care about wifi, but it did have a remote panel we put in a closet.

I don't think a descaler is going to be necessary with yearly flushes. Every year I'd run vinegar through it for an hour straight with a little pump I got off eBay.

If you have a water softener then you can hold off on flushing/descaling it even longer.

AO Smith is manufactured by Takagi, which is a highly regarded manufacturer. I installed one almost 2 years ago and haven't had any issues. Put one into my mom's place a few months back based on my good experience. You can look for either name when shopping around.

What would be a reasonable quote to install a gas tankless water heater for a single-story house under 2000 sq ft? I didn't get an official quote, but one plumber told me around $5K.

Anyone pulled one off without access to an exterior wall? They're looking at ours which would be in the middle of the house on a slab so no easy access for relief valve.

I just got a quote for $5k to remove (2) 40 gallon, replace with one indoor Navien with recirculation connected to where the 2nd unit was for $5,000. $4,000 w/o the recirculation connection.

attic?

High Functioning Moron said:

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What would be a reasonable quote to install a gas tankless water heater for a single-story house under 2000 sq ft? I didn't get an official quote, but one plumber told me around $5K.

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Entirely dependent on how far a gas line he has to install. That is a big chunk of the cost.

Measure from meter to heater location. It's probably $40-$50/lf.

Then a few grand for the unit itself.

Dr.Rumack said:

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Anyone pulled one off without access to an exterior wall? They're looking at ours which would be in the middle of the house on a slab so no easy access for relief valve.

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Where does your current tanked water heater drain to?

we did.. but it's in our basement, and we have a floor drain there.