Water heaters and air filters

[sprack]

I was at Home Depot today picking up air filters and I was wondering if anyone has a line on a cheap 3m Filtrete filters online?

Also I walked by the water heater section and saw the tankless waterheaters. A little comparison of numbers shows the tankless have 3x the 90 degress GPH rating of my standard 40gallon. Anyone have experience with these? I imagine they're also an improvement in terms of resale as well.

http://www.boschusa.com/JumpPages/WaterHeaters/

[N1K]

Interesting... I am going to be replacing my water heater soon...

Looks like the purchase price is high with these, but cost savings might be very very attractive over the long run.

[EVLXX]

Just talked to my next door neighbor, he's a plumber and HVAC guy, and he said...

with those Bosch units there is only 2 problems you have to worry about,

1. They have to have there own dedicated exhaust pipe..... which means retrofitting them into a house can be extrememly expensive.

2. Parts.... they are still so new on the market, nobody has any parts to fix them.

If you did have a problem for whatever reason, a call to your local plumber will probably get you nowhere...... then what do you do?

With current systems, almost every plumber has the parts on his truck to get you going.

Other than that he said they're great, instant hot water and easy to install. He has done a couple in some of the High end homes around here.

There biggest plus is for summer homes...... your not heating a water tank for the months you're not there.

Hope that helps.

[afd44]

Be very careful of those filtrete and pleated filters as they can raise the static pressure in your system and cause problems especially in cooling season. I do HVAC for a living and our factory rep says not to use them at all, but if you must, change them VERY frequently. Later Lonnie

[Northman]

What filters do you recommend, then?

I'm planning on replacing mine today, and was going to buy another Filtrete :???:

[Hobicus]

My parents have the tankless waterheater and swear by it. However, they're on a well and their water pressure is limited.

My neighbor put one in, and found that for the city water pressure, it has trouble keeping up. He ended up having to put in a restriction in his warm water line to reduce the flow so that it stayed in the heater long enough to get hot.

[EVLXX]

What filters do you recommend, then?

I'm planning on replacing mine today, and was going to buy another Filtrete :???:

Just the cheap-O ones buddy! Or the Bottom of the line filtretes.

Of coarse YOUR filter usage greatly depends on your living environment....

Do you live in a dust environment,

do you have pets,

how about humidity,

if any of those apply..... you might want to consider not using a one of those fine filters.

Then you may want to look into the reuseable / washable ones. :wink:

[EVLXX]

My neighbor put one in, and found that for the city water pressure, it has trouble keeping up. He ended up having to put in a restriction in his warm water line to reduce the flow so that it stayed in the heater long enough to get hot.

Hmmmm..... Now that's interesting to know, thanks Rich.

[Northman]

I do have a dog that sheds, and both Janet & I have been stuffed up lately in the morning.

I changed the filter today, with an off brand, allergen filter.

Even though it may be restrictive, at least I know it's doing it's job, right?

[Blackwing]

I'm asthmatic and have allergies to dust, we put one of these in ...

at 350 to 450 bucks i know its expensive but for me its the best money i've ever spent.

I installed it myself and it was super easy,i removed the bottom section of the cold air return boot and my local sheet metal shop modified the boot to accept the larger size of the filter, it only cost 40 dollars.

The current draw is negligible just over 3/4 of an amp ,so you can probably scrounge power any 110 volt outlet or light circuit thats near the furnace.

The amount of crap it cleans from the air is remarkable and my allergies which used to really act up in winter are pretty well gone now.

[EVLXX]

Chris,

You probably already know this but I'll right it for the benifit of others as well.

With the standard filter under Normal conditions you should chage your filter every season (3 months).

With the Purple Allergenic Filtrete, you should be ready to change it in 1 month, as they are finer filters they will catch more material and will clog up faster.

Initially they will flow just as much air as a standard filter due to the increased number of pleats.

And don't wait to change it until it looks dark and clogged, that's way to long. Change it as soon as it has a Uniform Light - Middium coating.

I run one in my furnace twice a year.... once in the late Fall, and then again in the late winter ( here in another Month) .

[Northman]

I don't have AC, so the furnace only runs for 6 months max, anyway.

[EVLXX]

Same here!

[sprack]

A thread from the WERA board. Couple other people swear by the tankless waterheater.

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71586

[Iceman_40]

My parents have the tankless waterheater and swear by it. However, they're on a well and their water pressure is limited.

My neighbor put one in, and found that for the city water pressure, it has trouble keeping up. He ended up having to put in a restriction in his warm water line to reduce the flow so that it stayed in the heater long enough to get hot.

Parents had one saved $100 a month from the electric one they had. And you will NEVER run outta hot water. Grand mother passed away we have 15 people shower in a row getting to go to the service. Water was just as hot at the end as the start.