Hi, and welcome to another episode of "What's New in Plumbing." I'm Bob Fishman, and I just had a talk yesterday with Alan Urszuy, the co-owner of A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore, a Baltimore plumbing company and Alan filled me in on the latest novel advances in the field of of tankless water heaters { With Americans becoming more and more energy conscious, tankless, on demand water heaters are becoming more and more popular. Not only are they a relief to the pocketbook, but they free up space in the basement, since the new small appliances can be easily attached to any wall in the house. The devices heat water to the desired temperature only when required. The device heats incoming water rapidly, and there is no necessity to collect hot water in a huge tank. |As Americans look for more ways of saving energy, and domestic space as well, property owners are turning to tankless, (hot water on demand), heaters to provide their domestic hot water needs. Tankless heaters are affixed to the wall. They only heat up water on demand, and for that reason save lots of money on the power bill. A number of companies are presenting tankless heaters to the American marketplace. To present some of the heaters exact pluses and minuses, I will consider the Rennai tankless heater. I learned about the Rennai during a recent talk with Alan Urszuy. Alan had lost of praise for the devices, noting their power performance, and superior digital sensory system. The Rennai heater is a high efficiency heater, which means that 95% of the heat created by gas ignition is transferred to the water. The heater, is also a condensation heater, that includes a stainless steel structure that traps remaining heat from flue gases to pre-heat incoming ground water, which then circulates to the chief copper heater exchanger. The Rennai can produce up to 8 gpm, (gallons per minute), of water whose temperature has been raised 35 degrees above the inlet temperature. On cold day, when the inlet temperature is low, a 37 degree rise may not be sufficient to produce usable domestic hot water, so the actual amount of available hot water is decreased. Nevertheless, the installation is touted as being sufficient for moderate to large size homes. Just for comparison sake, with the increased use of low flow showers the average shower might use as little as .6 to 1.5 gpm of hot water. In addition to its energy saving heat transfer design, the Rennai features a concentric vent pipe which rises from the heater to the roof or alternately the side wall of the house. Water heating vent pipes serve two functions. They bring air in from the outside for combustion, and they provide an outflow route for the gaseous combustion products. Formerly these functions were served by two separate vent pipes, which meant two separate holes in the roof. With the concentric vent pipe, however, only one roof hole is needed. The hot gases are expelled through a central outflow pipe and the outdoor air is sucked in through the surrounding intake pipe. The double layered pvc pipe also provides increased protection against the possible leak of poisonous carbon monoxide from corroded vent pipes. Users of the Rennai tankless water heaters report that the device does has some negatives. Because the heater is an on demand unit, it is not triggered to produce heat until its digital sensors perceive a water flow of at least .6gpm. Unfortunately, some of the new ultra low-flow shower heads restrict water flow to this very level, and reports have circulated about Rennai owners experiencing hot water cut offs during their showers. The same problem has been seen with hot water flow in the dishwasher, and this is not surprising since dishwashers generally require fewer gpms than showers, Another problem experienced by Rennai owners is termed "cold water sandwich." This problem occurs during summer months when the temperature of incoming ground water is elevated. The rapid heating Rennai unit quickly warms incoming water to the temperature at which the heating unit cuts off. During the cut off, a bolus of cold water comes through the tap, sandwiched between zones of hot water flow. This is what is known as the "cold water sandwich." Not the type of sandwich you'll want to enjoy, during your summer fun. Homeowners are developing ways of adjusting to these problems including removal of the low flow shower nozzle and installation of small point of use hot water tanks. But these methods are expensive and also fraught with difficulties. The Good news is that these minor problems are much like earlier bugs that were worked out of the first low flow toilets.And, it is likely that enterprising manufacturers will see these problems as challenges to find a more perfect tankless water heater. Well that's it folks for another episode of What's New in Plumbing, Have a great day!
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Plumber Alan Urszuy speaks up about the Rennai tankless heater.
A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore is a Baltimore plumbing company which specializes in kitchen plumbing . The company also provides Essex plumbing
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