Check out some similar questions!

howiewowee · Oct 12, 2006, 07:06 PM

I have 2 gas tankless water heaters. I need to add a backup of either electric or propane to help with the winter strain of a gas fireplace, heat, etc. Is this an expensive process?

iamgrowler · Oct 12, 2006, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by howiewowee

I have 2 gas tankless water heaters. I need to add a backup of either electric or propane to help with the winter strain of a gas fireplace, heat, etc. Is this an expensive process?

If they are gas fired and were installed by a qualified installer, then the gas connection should have been sized accordingly to meet the BTU load of all gas fired appliances under maximum load.

You can have a conventional hot water tank engineered into the system if you want to, but I don't really think it's necessary, nor would I consider it an inexpensive venture.

howiewowee · Oct 13, 2006, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by howiewowee

I have 2 gas tankless water heaters. I need to add a backup of either electric or propane to help with the winter strain of a gas fireplace, heat, etc. Is this an expensive process?

Thanks for the note growler. The gas is supplied by a series of wells on our property, not through a utility company. Several families are on the line and we are at the end of the line. So, guess who is the first to lose pressure when the weather turns cool? 8 months out of the year, everything is fine. Beginning about now though, things begin to get "iffy." Don't like those cold showers in the morning, hence the question about a back-up. The plumbing and tankless heaters were professionally installed. Thanks again.-Howie

labman · Oct 13, 2006, 07:42 AM

Rip out the tankless water heaters and put in a conventional one. Put them up on Ebay or Craig's List and sell them for enough to cover the cost of the project.

Once you put in the tank, you will have the stand by loss whether you continue to use the tankless heaters or not.

I looked at the ecomomics, and put in a new tank last summer. A modern tank just doesn't have the stand by loss the tankless hype claims. Any additional gas usage for you may be due to having hot water in your shower. I think I paid about $300 for the tank and pipe and pipe fittings. Relocating the tank closer to the point of use ran up the pipe and fitting bill.