Tankless waterheaters....
 

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I'm remodeling my dad's house and was planning on moving the water heater from the tiny smallish sized bathroom to the garage.

Some dude came by to give me an estimate and suggested I keep the pipes, electric where they are and install a tankless water heater. Space saving, energy efficient and instant hot water.

Too good to be true? I've never heard of them.

It's a small house, about 1400 sq ft with only one bathroom. How much would something like that cost to install and purchase? Is the installation difficult?

Anyone with basic plumbing knowledge can replace a regular water heater, is this any different?

Any advice given is always appreciated.
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If you are speaking of the type that supply faucet hot water (not tub/shower) they are very simple to install. They just tap the supply line on the hot water side. The heating element is engaged by water flow. I put one of these in a guest bathroom that is somewhat isolated from the main water tank and it took several minutes to get warm/hot water at the tap. One thing that I did not take into consideration when starting the project - and was the most time consuming part of the job - I had no 110V outlet under the sink :( Consequently, I had to fish a wire and install a plug. It should also be noted this is not a high capacity unit - just made for general handwashing, cleaning, etc.

They are a dream - simple and awesome.

:)