Subj : Re: Another Outage (Thur 1 Aug)
To   : Nightfox
From : poindexter FORTRAN
Date : Sat Aug 03 2024 08:39 am

  Re: Re: Another Outage (Thur 1 Aug)
  By: Nightfox to Avon on Thu Aug 01 2024 03:09 pm

 > Did you consider a tankless one?  I think those look pretty cool - No need
 > for a big tank/cylinder, and it heats water on-the-fly.

When I remodeled my kitchen, I replaced an older tank heater (was taking up room in my kitchen cabinetry, which made no sense...) with a tankless heater.

Pros: Lots of hot water

Cons: Lots of hot water - my kids started taking longer showers when they didn't run out of hot water like they did with the tank heater.

Needs flushing - my water is particularly hard, I flush my system every 6 months. The process isn't that difficult, you fill a bucket with cleaning solution (or vinegar in a pinch), insert an immersion pump in the bucket, flip two valves to isolate the water supply, then turn on the pump and let it run. After about 20 minutes, replace the solution with water and flush the system.

It's easier than it sounds. If you have a full-house water filtration/softening system, you can do this once a year. 
They don't solve the issue of long waits for water to heat up at long pipe runs, but there is a way to make water recirculate through the hot water pipes to keep hot water at the tap. We have about a 90 second warm-up time on our downstairs bathroom, I'm considering it.
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