Originally posted by BigWooo
We were shopping for a water heater recently for a small guest house. One thing I found out was that the less expensive on demand heaters had a
constant flame, so as water flow increased the temp would decrease. Also the less expensive ones were more finicky about water pressure. The higher
priced units have a flame that adjusts to the water flow so the temp stays constant, and they're more tolerant of low pressure. But they're also
pretty expensive.
We're building a small guest house and decided to use a 10 gallon RV water heater instead of messing with the on demand type. It works well for a
small place and it's plenty of hot water for two people (more than that, forget it). If we leave it on, it only fires up a couple times a day to
re-heat the water.
If the pilot is off, and you light it before you need hot water, it takes about 15 minutes to heat up.
The problem with using one of these is where to put it. We had a cabinet made for ours, it's outside but protected from the elements. You don't
want the flame indoors. If you're not going to be there for a long time it needs to be drained.
If you decide to try one, don't get the kind with electronic ignition. You can't adjust the water temp. so in the winter, when the incomming water is
colder, the hot water doesn't last as long. The pilot units have an adjustable thermostat, so in the winter you can adjust the temp higher and the
hot water will last longer.
Just something else to think about.
[Edited on 8-5-2007 by BigWooo] |
