Hot water heater is spitting out rust. I’m looking for someone who can install a tankless heater.

when the last time you flushed it?

did replace mine myself last year, took a full day as i had to make a couple of trips to the store for this and that and going slow as i've never done it before.
having endless hot water is great
total cost was under 2K. i was quoted 4K+ if i had a company do it
they're not that hard to do, just need to come up with a plan and gather necessary parts so it's done in 1 shot

Yeah, flush annually and swap out the anode every 5 years. Rust can indicate anode is depleted.

Tankless won't work for us since the water from our well is remarkably cold.

What brand did you go with?

I'm still figuring out what I want to do for the house I'm remodeling

Have you run a cost analysis? Everytime I do the tankless comes up short due to low life expectancy combined with high cost.


The other issue I have with them is lack of ability to do a circulation pump. We have a looong run to the MBR (probably 100') and it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get hot water without the pump going.

The other thing that turned me off was the unit not triggering for a "small" flow like a bath sink.

Some of these issues may have been solved by now, but it just never penciled for me.

You also didn't mention if you have gas or not. I'm assuming you do, and you need to be able to fresh air vent the unit.

Lots of considerations, but $400-500 on a high end tank model and being done in a few hours has always worked for me!

Rinnai


I could have kept the cost down some more if i didn't go all out and got all the fancy brass fittings and stuff, if i went regular PVC it'd probably be half less cost, or more.
Basically there are 2 major things that you need to figure out before you attempt it on your own
Venting:
you have to have it vented by either concentric pipe (exhaust and intake in one) or exhaust and intake by separate tubing.
Concentric pipe is somewhat expensive, 39 inch piece is about $30, the separated venting can be done in regular PVC/CPVC
Vent outlet needs to be done to building code, no more than certain distance to your building's door or window if it's to be vented on the side and there are height requirements and distance between exhaust intake vents if it's a roof vented piping.. This has to followed to avoid future home sale problems...

Draining:
and if it's a condensing unit you have to have a condensate drain piping installed, just like you would on an A/C unit

I was able to reuse the existing blow off valve's piping with a mild modification, same for the gas line

everything else is just plumbing

It is 8 years old and I have never drained it till this week when it started showing rust. Basically I ran a bathtub that never gets used and it started. So I drained it and it has taken a week for it to run almost clear. I’m getting quotes but they are running $4500+. I was hoping to stay under $2K. It is gas and the vent joins to my gas furnace exhaust.

mine was the same but from what i understood from watching vids on yutube and the manufacturer's installation manual is that you can not vent the tankless heater's exhaust into the galvanized sheet metal, it somehow corrodes it, so i had to run it on it's own

yeah, DIY is pretty much the only way to stay under 2K

watch stuff on youtube, measure your distances, gather supplies, free up a Sunday, get a helper and go for it

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

this is what i installed, for a 3br/2ba 1800sf house, YMMV however, depending on the size of your house (or more accurately your gallons per minute flow of all your appliances/faucets that run hot water)
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rinnai-7-5-GPM-160000-BTU-Indoor-Natural-Gas-Super-High-Efficiency-Tankless-Water-Heater/1000667047
I have 2 baths, clothes washer and dishwasher running at the same time and it keeps up good, flow slows just a tad when all 4 are in use but any 2 at any given time are no problem at all. PSE is doing $250 rebate on it so it's going to be around $750 for the unit
(mine had a tiny dent on the front cover and they gave me additional 10% off)

You sure that's not rust from the pipes rather than the water heater? Do you have galvanized piping in your house?

Are you seeing rust colored water elsewhere, or just at this tub?

Edit: you can't vent a tankless on a shared vent with your furnace.

My well water is normally 50 and has been down to 44 during winter. My tankless propane works great.

+1

Seems like just the one tub?

About 1 in 3 people I have spoken with that have made the switch to tankless, are happy bathers. Of those with discontent some cite the distance from the heater to point of use as being the potential culprit which steals efficiency and heat.

Wondering if some of them have undersized their heaters given demand.
So, I'll be interested in how this turns out for you.

I,wouldn’t give up on your current water heater. Rusty water in a seldom used bathtub is common. Your water heater may well be ok

While it started in the far away bathtub, I saw it all when I drained it. It is still coming out on all faucets. I think I have decided the cost of a tankless is too much and going with a simpler replacement tank. But I might up the capacity. I think I have a 50 gallon and I might go to 60 or 74.

Thanks for all the help. I’m afraid the tankless DIY might be outside my skill set but the replacement tank is easy.