# tankless lifespan



## klempner (Mar 4, 2011)

As to the 12 year tank versus 20 year tankless lifespan, I got to thinking: the 20 really should be 30 or 40, right? Or 50. The heat exchanger fails at 17 years. I replace that single part. It goes another 13 years. Then maybe I buy yet another one and get 20 more years. The motherboard goes at 19. put another one in. it should go indefinitely IF THEY KEEP THE PARTS AVAILABLE. Saying it has a 20 year lifespan is sort of odd. If one single part fails at a time, why 20 years? As to 20, I’m skeptical that I can get the motherboard in 20 years, or very many of the parts at all. I would love to be wrong, but 20 years is a long time for parts availability.

I would certainly lean toward a manufacturer who used a lot of interchangeable parts between models (or between brands even), that stuck with similar designs through new models, sold lots of units (therefore more demand for parts, more incentive to keep in production). Not that I would be able to figure all that out.

It’s probably safe to assume that in 20 years, they will be better, and that just buying a whole new unit at that point would be better, but it’s an intriguing idea to me—what if could get a hold of the one single part after 20 years that would allow the unit to go another 15 years. Overall cost of ownership would plummet.

My clothes dryer is probably 30 years old. All parts still available, last time I checked. A car, no thank you. Would rather have a new one after 20 years. But a water heater? They’re already 95% plus efficient. That’s always the argument with air conditioners: new ones are more efficient, so cheaper to get a new one. But how much more efficient can tankless go? I fully expect 9 out of 10 of my 20+ year old power tools to still be going in 20 more years. I expect all of my sewer machines to easily make it to retirement. Easily. Not quite the same, but . . . 

But anyway, I’d like the see the 12 vs 20 year figure become 12 v 30. because it seems like it’s really only one part away perhaps from that being the case. And it’s entirely up to the manufacturer whether than one part would still be available.

Or at least, if people are going to continue to say 20 years, that they would say, “and of course if you replace the part that has failed, it will continue to go indefinitely.”

I could assemble myself an “insurance policy” of, say, the five parts most likely to fail, if that’s easy enough to decide—heat exchanger, motherboard, fan motor, flow switch. . .—and between my own unit or some day a customer’s unit, would probably not go waste. Unless of course there’s endless revisions and variations of motherboards, as there seems to be with the Honeywell tank control valves, for example. Will have to pour over Rinnai’s parts lists (for example) in the near future and see if I can determine how much interchangeability between models and through time there is.

Or, just not sweat it and call 20 years good. next go round won’t have to upgrade the gas, and maybe not the vent. And maybe, next time, they’ll have the sandwich and the two second delay figured out, and maybe even the minimum flow rate down to .1 gpm.


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

I think you are over thinking lifespans. Time is money as you said time finding the part, ordering it, getting it in, then installing. If you want to go through that for nothing go for it.

If not and you break down the time spent to resolve something without a warranty compared to more a one time shot, throw a new one in and gone as well as good for X amount years, I think answers the question.

Reminds me of my first father in-law. He would spend hours taking something apart, cleaning it and reusing it, compared to buying it new and getting the job done.

For most of us after 20 or so years who is going to give a heck, we may well be retired.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*Surely you are joking about this....*

You got to be nuts to think you will actually find parts or a heat exchanger for a tankless water heater 17 years down the road from now
It aint gonna be cost effective and possibly not feaseable.. 

You cant even get parts for a common Rheem 50 gallon power vent that was made back in 2000...they dont stock them any more..... 

Do you think you can find me the replacement parts for an Eternal tankless unit???

Eternal is gone now and many of the tankless places will probably have
the same fate down the road too....or they changed hands so many times they dont know what the hell they have in stock and for what....

No one is gonna sit around for 2 weeks while you attempt to get parts for some out of date tanklesss heater...... it aint gonna happen... 

With a fussey customer, you got a credibility life span of a few days then someone else will sell them a new one while you are still sitting with your thumb up your ass looking everywhere for some part...

why would you even consider fooling with one:no::no:....


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## MindLost (May 25, 2013)

Even if the lifespan isn't great, at the very least its going to be a lot easier to just swap out a tankless than to swap out a 65G tank lol. 

I highly doubt that you will be able to find parts, but if you have a good customer, or you're good @ following up with your customer (AKA- descaling the unit) then you're always going to be their go to plumber. 

From my little knowledge it seems like the tankless units since the SS venting have gotten a lot more affordable, and if they're anything like televisions they're going to get cheaper with time. 

But to answer your question, sure. I guess in theory once you buy a unit and are able to buy the parts that it could very well be your last unit.


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

We've installed 4 tankless this week in the $3800-$4800 each range, 2 more pushed off to Monday, one of my guys sold that job at $9500. The heaters perform and the customers love them, what's not to like.....


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

dhal22 said:


> We've installed 4 tankless this week in the $3800-$4800 each range, 2 more pushed off to Monday, one of my guys sold that job at $9500. The heaters perform and the customers love them, what's not to like.....


pvc vent or metal vent???


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

sparky said:


> pvc vent or metal vent???


Always condensing boiler.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

dhal22 said:


> Always condensing boiler.


What that mean???


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

Condensing boiler tankless water heater which means pvc vent.


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