I hear you on the sticker shock with tankless. The maintenance thing is real, especially if your water’s got a lot of minerals—scaling can mess with the heat exchanger pretty quick. Some folks I know have to flush theirs every year or two, which isn’t hard but it’s another chore. I’m curious, though: has anyone actually tracked their utility bills after switching? I’ve read mixed things about whether the savings are as good as advertised, especially for smaller households.
Honestly, I’ve seen some folks save a bit with tankless, but it’s not always dramatic—especially if you’re living solo or just a couple people. The upfront cost and regular descaling can offset those savings pretty quick. Sometimes a good ol’ tank heater just makes more sense, especially if you’re not using tons of hot water.
Tankless isn’t always the slam dunk people hope for, but I’d push back a bit on the cost angle. Here’s how I see it:
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True, but if you’ve got hard water, even a tank heater needs regular maintenance (anode rod checks, flushing, etc). Not exactly set-and-forget either.“The upfront cost and regular descaling can offset those savings pretty quick.”
- If you’re planning to stay put for 8+ years, the efficiency gains from tankless can actually add up—especially if energy prices keep creeping up like they have around here.
- Space matters. My old tank took up half my utility closet. Swapping to tankless freed up a ton of storage. Not a money thing, but still a win.
- Resale value: Some buyers see “new tankless” as a plus, especially in older homes.
If your hot water use is super low and you’re not worried about space, yeah, tanks are simple and cheap upfront. But if you’re already facing rust issues and thinking long-term, it might be worth crunching the numbers again. Sometimes the “old school” way isn’t always cheaper in the end...
Honestly, I get the appeal of tankless, but I’ve seen a few friends regret it when their water pressure dropped or they had to wait longer for hot water at the tap. The space savings are nice, but sometimes simple just works better, especially if you’re not running out of hot water with a tank. Not saying tankless is bad—just not always as smooth as advertised.
The space savings are nice, but sometimes simple just works better, especially if you’re not running out of hot water with a tank.
That’s honestly been my experience too. People rave about tankless, but when I was helping my uncle swap his old tank for a tankless unit, we ran into some weird issues—like, suddenly the shower would get lukewarm if someone turned on a second faucet. Maybe it was just the install or the size of the unit, but it definitely wasn’t as “instant” as we expected.
I guess if you’ve got a big family or run out of hot water all the time, tankless makes sense. But if your current tank is just chugging along and you’re not dealing with cold showers, it’s hard to beat that reliability. Plus, with rusty water heaters... sometimes it’s just the anode rod going bad and not the whole thing rusting out. Might be worth checking that before tossing the whole heater? Those rods are way cheaper to swap than a whole new system.
