Hi Chris, Using your identification "Eco-Temp tankless " returned zero hits on Google. I have not heard of this brand before and I try hard to keep up with this section of the industry. What I can offer is that there are five (5) major _manufacturers_ of tankless water heaters that market to North America. Alphabetically: Bosch, Noritz, Paloma, Rinnai, and Takagi. A multitude of other companies market gas tankless. Even more market electric tankless. Sometimes these other companies simply change the decal on the machine to their own name. Not unlike buying a Mercury instead of a Ford (or vice versa). For example. A.O. Smith, a premier manufacturer of tank water heaters, also markets a tankless under the A. O. Smith label. Today A. O. Smith are marketing the Rinnai, earlier they were using a competitor tankless manufacturer.
Even in the short time since tankless entered the mass market through Home Despot, minor manufacturers have come and gone. What is the support and warranty worth when the company is no longer serving North America or out of business? There are way too many horror stories regarding tankless. IMHO due in no small part to the unwillingness of the installer to 1) read the installation manual, 2) understand what he read, and 3) follow those instructions. If the installation is good there will be far fewer service issues and the user will have a baseline from which to judge subsequent performance. Scaling (water quality) is the mortal enemy of any tankless. Provide for and explain descaling to the customer or address the water quality issue during the installation and everyone's life becomes simpler. There are two classifications of gas water heater both tank and tankless - natural draft and power vented. The only commonality between the two are the fact they both use gas. If you have properly installed a natural draft tank or tankless you have zero experience (and carryover skills) with a power vented tank or tankless. Read the manual _before_ installation and save callbacks and frustration. In a freezing climate, the only responsible way to install a power vented tankless in tight construction is by using a direct vent configuration. Make a good installation and you or your customer will enjoy the benefits of endless hot water, no standby losses, and space savings. Best wishes to you in your tankless decision, Bill Loesch Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Daum" <ch...@oasismontana.com> To: "'RE-wrenches'" <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 11:14 AM Subject: [RE-wrenches] Eco-temp tankless water heaters > Dear folks: > > I have a customer who is rebuilding after losing her home from last year's > California fires; her situation finds her in need of a tankless gas water > heater, and trying to get the best bank for her bucks. She has heard many > horror stories about various models (mostly service issues); does anyone > have information or experience with the Eco-Temp tankless heaters? > > Thanks! > > Chris Daum > Oasis Montana Inc. > 406-777-4309 > www.oasismontana.com _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
