Question about replacing my old tankless water heater

[leelee77]

I have a Bosch natural gas tankless water heater that is about 13 years old. When we installed it, we found that it took a high rate of flow to trigger it to turn on. If the tap wasn't on full blast, the water heater would not turn on. So, we added a small electric water heater after it to act as a reservoir. That way, we always had a supply of hot water for those times you don't have the tap on all the way, and it has worked really well this way.

My water heater is getting kind of old and my question is, will a new tankless water heater have this same issue and should I figure on keeping the same setup with the small electric water heater, or have they solved this issue with newer models?

 

[leelee77]

Well, I guess that as no one is jumping in and saying "oh, tankless water heaters are designed way better than that these days!" I will keep my current setup with the 6 gallon tank after the tankless. It has worked so well this far and I can't see any reason it would be a bad idea except that it's another expense to replace when it needs it, but not a big one, really.

 

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[Jadnashua]

Some of the tankless systems have the ability to recirculate hot water and have a small internal tank. A small electric tank is probably simpler, and may even be better insulated. To me, it's one of those if it ain't broken, don't mess with it.

Some people swear by tankless systems, my limited personal experience was it didn't work well for me. THey work much better in more temperate climates. My winter time incoming cold water has been measured barely above freezing, so there's a huge temperature rise to deal with. Those with a more temperate climate will fare better and their experience will improve.