instantaneous hot water vs indirect water heater

djdenny821

I'm la little leery of instantaneous wall hung water heaters. i think there might be a problem with heat exchangers and condensation. how do they hold up over time?
seems like indirect water heaters are virtually trouble free.

Jamie Hall

They hold up OK, at least the good ones do. OK being perhaps 10 years, with decent water quality.

The problem isn't so much in longevity, it's in that they have a very definite upper limit as to how much hot water flow they can produce. If that's adequate, OK.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@djdenny821

Some people love instantaneous some hate them. I have never heard of anyone that didn't like their indirect.

hot_rod

Plenty of indirects fail before 10 years. Buy a quality brand with “real” warranty 
On  stainless indirects be aware of the water spec listed with the tank, that can be a warranty decline issue, chlorides are of particular concern with stainless tanks 

local suppliers generally know which brands last in the area the sell to.

properly maintained a tank or tankless should last 15 years.

Larry Weingarten

If you go the indirect route, a thought is to go with a glass-lined tank and change anodes regularly, which is normally every three to five years. I'm a fan of simple and indirects are far simpler than tankless heaters.

Yours, Larry