This is one DIY project that can’t replace skilled trades and knowledge. There are gas piping sizing and gas meter sizing calculations to consider. Most residential gas meters are 250 CFH. A 200,000 BTU tankless would consume 200 CFH, leaving only 50 CFH for remaining gas appliances in the home. A gas furnace would put this over the top. Therefore, gas meter and regulator would need upsizing.

This was an exact replacement for the old one that lasted about 10 years. kzfaq.infoUgkx7yWIKcrbA9KMHkGSfcgxW2lsjHT6B8Sh The top of my mitigation tube by my roofline was just a 90 elbow which allowed too much debris to fall down into the fan, eventually ruining it. Without this issue, I bet it would have kept running another 10 years. When I replaced this fan, I added an extra elbow joint so the top tube now it does a 180, which should solve that problem. The radon guys around here wanted to charge me a $300 diagnostic fee, then parts/labor (probably close to $600 total). I installed this all by myself in about an hour for the cost of the fan; it would probably be even easier/faster with two people. FYI the manufacturer's warranty greatly differs depending on whether you install it yourself (1 yr warranty) or have a licensed installer do it (10 yrs).

I recently installed Rheem condensing 199k unit. Did my research. Had gas company upgrade my meter. Ran 1" decreasing to 3/4" black pipe all the way to unit. Ran 2" pvc intake and exhaust. Installed lime scale filter on cold water inlet pipe along with service valves. Will change yearly. I have pump and hoses to descale with vinegar yearly. Ran 1/2" increasing to 3/4" pvc condensation line through wall to outside. Also will clean out cold inlet filter biyearly. I'm not gonna say these units are easy to install but with some prep and knowledge I believe a handy homeowner CAN install and maintain one of these units and save alot of $$. LOVE MY RHEEM. Can't wait to see electrical savings over 50 g electric tank that it replaced.

Pulled out my Rheem and installed a Navien about 10 years ago. The Rheem failed about once a year and error code required a burner assembly cleaning. Wasn't dirty. It was a known problem. Got a replacement control board and still had issues. My house has a salt/water softener system and I've not cleaned the Navien with vinegar yet but plan on it soon. The NPE-240A has an internal pump just in case you have a facet that takes a while before you get hot water. I haven't touched it in 10 years but started researching cleaning and adding the pump feature to get hot water to the kitchen quicker. I bought another Navien for a retirement house, I liked it so good. It uses 2 inch PVC pipe for the vents. Cheap and easy. I've got a 1 1/2" gas feed line into my home so we were OK on the gas feed. The Navien had a 3/4" gas line supply line with a 5/8 for the last connection.

I bought a Noritz tankless and had it installed almost a decade ago. Love it. So glad I got rid of my tank. My plumber told me all the parts I needed, and I got them from a local plumbing supply store rather than Home Depot. Some things you just gotta go elsewhere to get all the components. Moved it outside so that we didn’t have to deal with the exhaust vent issues. Also moved it outside because the inside pipe was 1/2” and the tank required 3/4”, so the plumber ran a new line from the gas meter to the new location and capped off the pipe at the old tank location. Converted the old tank closet into a better storage closet so got an extra win there too. They make different size tankless units depending on how many bathrooms and how heavy your usage is. They aren’t a one size fits all kind of thing.

When we built our house we sized the gas for two tankless units. 1.25" gas trunk through the house at roughly 7" WC. We never even installed the second tankless for the far side of the house. No need. These things are great and a single is enough for 3 baths and an always bustling kitchen. Even hooked up an outside spigot to kick out hot water to the rear patio (kiddie pool fun in the winter) 👍

no disrespect but the gas shutoff should be below the union. nice video and pipe job.

You are going to develop corrosion on the copper pipe where those steel straps contact the copper due to electrolysis. Better to use plastic or copper straps.

Ok if you read the manufacturer's installation instructions it says you can install a tankless on a ½" piping as long as the ½" piping doesnt exceed 25' and the ½" must connect to a ¾"(+) pipe.

just installed one of these today. the author of the video is not kidding about the vent pipes. they won't have them in the store and forget about elbows. we ended up getting a 5" sheet metal tube and a 3" sheet metal tube and rigging the double pipe setup ourselves. the 3" tube is your vent and the 5" is your air intake. It wasn't that hard, but it took a good bit of rigging to get it done. Fortunately for us, this was a first time gas appliance install, so when we ran the gas lines we just went with 3/4" all the way from the meter to the utility room.

I went with a one inch pipe system all the way from the meter to the water heater, but I installed it outside and it works great

That's why condensing models are easier to install. I went with a 199k model. But my gas line was already 1.5" when I had the house built. I've got 2 furnaces and all my appliances are gas. PVC is a lot cheaper than stainless vent. In case of earthquake a flexible gas line is really a must. I'm in the HVAC industry for 41 year's now, so that helps.

How do I shut off water supply to prevent pipes from busting?

FYI I walked to a new development a mile from my 20 year old house. All new houses in Calif require tankless. They have 1.5 inch gas line going to garage, branch of 3/4 at tankless heater, reduced to 1.25 going to furnace, branch of 1 inch at furnace, reduced main line to 1 inch, branch of half inch to gas dryer, main reduce to 3/4 to stove, branch of 1/2 to backyard BBQ. You might be okay as is since the tankless heater does not use all burners unless you have 3 showers and sinks and furnace etc. going at same time...how's it going?

Hello, not a bad install. Definitely better than most plumbers with at least two years experience. I do want to add, be prepared when something does go out on this unit. You will need to call customer support and they’ll walk you through diagnostic’s. Then the part will need to be mailed. Hopefully two days later if you pay for the overnight. I’ve never found a place that carries parts for these tankless w/h. The other problem is when the power goes out, so does your “hot” water. Where a tank would be just fine. Change those straps as well.

They have flat sheet at the big box to make your own double exhaust. I saw them yesterday actually. Ymmv. When I installed my gas tank water heater 10 years ago the exhaust was the biggest headache as well.

Fine job on the install, next time you will be much better at it from what you learned. I know it can be frustrating being a hopeless do it yourselfer like me. I live in a very rural area and getting a "professional" to install and service anything is hit and miss at best. May take tons of research to get a job done right but you will never regret learning something. Yes I installed a Rinnai (condensing) tankless 2 years ago and it has been flawless. Way cheaper to run on propane than the electric heater I had for 25 years. One of my professional horror stories goes like this. Had a "professional" install a steam boiler in a commercial building. The unit flooded at random since day one and not infrequent water damage up to the second floor of the building. Steam radiators dump water out the steam vents when flooded with water. 3 "professionals" from different companies including the installer hired to fix it and failed. Probably 5 total fix attempts. I sold the building to a friend and I told him I would have it fixed. Yes I had to fix it myself, float valve defective and hitting the top of the housing. Yes the vaIve was installed correct/level. I just put a dent in the float where it struck the housing and guess what no more flooding and my friend said the boiler ran perfect for years and never flooded once. I told him I had to fix it myself so he was aware that it was a looser DIYer that had to fix it. Funny how the construction codes require a licensed professional but never mandate a professional outcome. I am a professional (medical) and never complain about DIYers. Just help people when they need help whether they are the cause of their misfortune or not and skip the "I'm a professional and better than everyone else" attitude.

Im a actual plumber and it baffles me the time invested for diy vs cost to have a pro do it… atleast he actually completed the task and it works but man i cant imagine the confusion it took.

How do I install the AERATOR AERATOR IS.5GPM/1.9LPM

It's funny how all these people are saying get a professional to install it homeowners do it incorrectly. Well when I got mine installed on my house and the one from my parents house in stalled for them both plumbers used 1/2" to 3/4" adapters.

I doubt that any of these parts you had a hard time finding in 2020 are any easier to find now at the end of 2021. Thanks for your time, this was helpful. My customer is aware that it may take a little time for parts to come in

thank you for posting

Can I ask you how much the Unit price?

Thanks a million. Do I have to have a fresh air intake pipe astride the exhaust line as well?

Not sure of his locale, but hardline gas all the way through to the tank is not code in California. A segment of Flex line is required due to earthquake risk.

This is another video of homeowners who think they know what they’re doing and proving that they don’t. The reason the heater has a three-quarter inch inlet for the fuel supply is because it needs that many BTU of gas to work properly. it is likely going to be running extremely lean and will either not work to its name plate capacity or cause other problems to the heat exchanger in short order.

Upsizing the gas line like that not recommended. But you could have used the 1/2 inch flex on the 1/2 inch side of the piping and then convert to 3/4 inch. Thus would have saved you the union. I d add m wondering if the tankless allowed you to use other gas appliances; like others said this has high demand so when it is on it takes all the gas available.

Ambeo, for the next homeowner, do not use steel or galvanized steel straps with your copper pipes. Dissimilar metals will react with each other over time. Brass is the transition metal between iron and copper pipes. For copper pipes, stay with brass, copper or plastic straps and tie downs.

Interesting tale, problems are always lurking in every project. I installed my Bosch tankless a few years ago and it had 6" concentric pipes, what a pain lining the holes up. I am looking at replacing the unit with a Rheem Anyway I have a couple of questions. 1. Rheem says your warranty is void if not installed by a "pro" so you have no warranty? 2. How did you get the 5" concentric piping, I cant find anything more than 3 feet long for $100 each?

You did a great job. DYI is always frustrating but you learned and did it,

May I ask what is the gas bill from the gas water tank to this gas tankless water heater??

Now after a year of use. What do u recommend is best now, tankless or a regular water heater.

Does the gas line have to be 3/4 inch all the way from the house gas main to 3/4 inch flex just before entry into the water heater?

What size hose do I need to run from the heater

Can u show the link wear u got that vent pipe?

I'm not going to give this guy any shit because he managed to finish the install which is very impressive, most homeowners would've quit a quarter of the way through, I've been a licensed plumber in NYC for over 21 years and I can tell you these things are very challenging to install especially the first time, once you have 10 or 15 of them below your belt you'll be much more prepared for any trouble one of these units can give you. My employees manage to fuck these installs up so much that I end up just doing them myself with a helper. The gas line is going to be a problem, you are starving that unit. You should've went with Rinnai or AO smith tankless (also made by Rinnai) 199,999 btu uses 1/2" I am also pretty sure you oversized the unit which was a mistake. I have 199,000 Rinnai in my personal home with 3 bathrooms, kitchen, washroom, I can turn on all 10 fixtures and consistently get 125° water at all times at each fixture. You do not need to oversize these units, they produce hot water much faster than you think they would. Hopefully you won't have any error codes but if you do, it would be much cheaper to take the L and buy the correct tankless than switching out the gas lines, good day to all!

GREAT Info!

What’s up with the coiled up drain line?

2:58 Literally thought some shit in my kitchen was going off.

Would like to see how the stainless venting is installed. Good job!

Where you buy your parts?

You can get your gas sizing table from the Uniform Plumbing Code, Chapter 12.

I am ready to install a Rheem tankless gas water heater . I look forward to the job

I see some inaccurate statements in the comments about the gas line. It's the ID of the pipe + distance, the Rheem units allow for 1/2 inch less than 25 ft. They also tell you how to roughly do the math on your gas needs for your whole home. I had a licensed plumber review my 1/2 to 3/4 connection and he said it was fine.

I have same unit for a long time, I got my pipe in pipe at menards. If you get a tankless make your willing to fix it every 5 years. By fixing it I mean cleaning the burners...

Upsizing a gas line by using a 1/2'' to 3/4 inch pipe isn't really fixing the problem as the homes other gas appliances may experience a loss of gas pressure when the water heater runs. Trying to cheat in any fashion doesn't usually work out to well for folks who do this sort of thing. Yes even some contractors will do stupid things but that doesn't mean they are correct/right. BUy, use the proper sized model or just stay with you what you already have in the home/business. IMHO.

Try putting Metal behind pipe to protect wall from Torch burning it or the house down!

May I ask, what is your skill level? I’m a tradesman and I’m looking at installing two in my house.

I'm looking at the Rheem on home depot now and it suggests "buy with" the set of valves as a kit for $118

Where are you located?

Looks like a handyman's work .... And why you go from half inch to 3/4 and then put the shut off after the Union

Whats the electrical requirements?

Good points. That's one reason I spent a long time researching tankless models and features before settling on one that minimized the specialized components, like double wall stainless venting, etc. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/kKeTp5ZmmsXDdKc.html Even so, I ran into availability issues with some of the 3" PVC venting fittings, because that's not a commonly used/stocked size. I recall browsing the selection of fittings and noted there were lots of PVC fittings and there were lots of larger fittings. But what I missed was that the larger fittings were ABS and not PVC. I also chose a heater designed to work with 1/2" gas line. Spending a bit more for a condensing model heater ended up saving money in the install by using PVC venting and the existing 1/2" gas line.

That tank requires 3/4 inch gas line all the way. Thats just choking it off. 200,000 btus off half inch then probably your furnace etc just no good. Even if you did your gas line sizing theres no way half inch will be any good for that unit

Can’t use flex gas pipes in these anyways even though you call it a set back. Also if you’re not checking your gas manifold pressure when running and your gas pipe is undersized you’re probably sooting the unit up.

Honest 👍

Rheem makes the ez 40 tankless wh and it directly replaces conventional water heaters,comes with everything, maybe it's a noritz

Why 2 Gas Valves?

Like how gas the gas line is 1/2” and the heater requires 3/4” and he reduced it down

I researched this recently in detail, entrance gas pipe sizing caused me to consider a Heat pump water heater. Most guys say, "Ah just install a tankless..." Wrong...

This is why I don't some things......it's best left for someone that does this kind of thing for a living and knows start to finish what it takes to make these or their trade function as designed. Too many things to get wrong...vent pitch, line sizing, meter sizing, everything else that can go wrong and probably will if you don't know better! For me, electrical and the technical aspect of HVAC/plumbing is just better done by veterans of the trade.

How much money did you really save going into something that you don’t know what you are doing? Also by not having what manufactures specs it voids the warranty.

Definitely looks like a “side job Sal” install And if he thinks he hates it already just wait a year or two He will be reinstalling a tank

The AERATOR I CAN'T GET IT ON THE HOT SIDE, I HAVE A ELECTRIC TANKLESS HOT WATER HEATER

Your copper fitting sweats look great. It just takes some practice to learn.

There is. Saying that says, give your dough to the baker even if he eats half of it. It means call a plumber next time.

you did a fine sweating job

I doubt that gas line you have carries enough BTUs to keep you from popping a gas error code

Great tips, thank you. I'm in market for smaller Rheem unit from Depot, will be prepared as you suggested. A few thoughts 1. A camera is not a pointer. I need Dramamine. 2. please use a tripod and get in front of the camera to show the parts you are referring to, or hold still. 3. Product info on Rheem brochure says you can use a half inch gas line. I wonder if that is for smaller gas tankless? 4. Did you have someone else solder the copper pipe or did you do it. 5. Post more videos on your work, I noticed many developments in California require tankless only on new homes. 6. I gave you a thumbs up

Not sure about Rheem..but Rinnai heaters are to be installed by a certified plumber..otherwise warranty is void.

Getting error code 11

Home depot carries the 3/4 flex online only tho

The union is suppose to be between the shut off and the unit

this is over a year ago, but your solder joints are fine, you deff need too get rid of the slip joints if you haven't already

Juice ain't worth the squeeze...I think I'll just stick with a conventional tank design.

I noticed there is no drip leg in the gas line.

I feel you brother I caught pure D hell installing the tank from Home Depot ended up going to a Rheem dealership and even they couldn’t help me with the exhaust had to get them online,I wouldn’t wish this product from Home Depot on my worst enemy 😂

i have done a few with friends. recently was asked to help to do another one. he had gotten bids by plumbers and one was $6k and the other $9.5 k the tankelss retails for $1300 . that's quite a good profit for a days work. even the plumblers on youtube vids seem to do it in a day.

if thats a 90 % efficient tankless you better change your venting now it is going to rust out fast!!!!!change it to pvc . And put a pump on the condensate line. take the line out of your house and dont let it run onto anything but dirt outside your house( dont let it run down the side or onto brick or anything metal including a iron pipe in the floor of your basement). its not just water coming out of that condensate its carbonic acid. I install these quite a bit and have seen the damage they do to concrete metal and everything but plastic. you can get a neutralizer for it to before it goes into anything as well .

Most home built after 1950 the main gas line that comes in is 1 1/4 " the tankless work better if the line comes in to unit as 1" the water valves under the tankless water heaters are 600 you can build the same valve system with ball valves and cost under 100 mines been in for 12 years in clean it every year with cleaning vinegar alot cheaper than the chemical they tell you to use and that chemical eats your rubber gasket,s so use cleaning vinegar with 7% works good and doesn't eat up things you don't want eaten up. Tankless is the only way to go mine is a rinnia 299k btunuse for hot water heat and hot water I'll never go back to a tank. Mine original cost was around 1700 and that was all the materials my clue pipe is outer pvc and inner alium works great never have had any problems but most definitely clean it every year and it's easy to do.

I'm just not sure replacing a gas tank heater with a gas tankless is going to save enough to be worth it

lowes carry 3/4" flex gas hose and not HD

I wouldn't use those shark bites they fail easily in my opinion

"it takes real skill" lol. this man now understands why a "simple" repair can cost $300.

It appears you have plumbers tape directly touching copper lines, you need plastic in between. Dissimilar metals touching is a no no.

You did not do your home work. Most Tankless need 1" Gastite to unit only reduce to 3/4" at unit. You will stave it for gas with 1/2". My tankless is 199,000 BTU and I don't believe 1/2" can supply that. Also the info tankless co. give you is for Warm ground water like Florida. In Philadelphia my February water temp. can be 38*. So it won't supply 4 showers like they say. More like 2 showers. You need to size a tankless for feb. water temp.

First mistake is buying a Rheem. Second is looking to HD for anything in support of a tankless. Third, your gas supply will not allow the tankless to perform at 💯 capacity. Surprised this isn’t coding out. Lastly this install in Georgia? Everyone in Ga is a licensed plumber. 😜. In all honesty you did a better job than some pros. I make a good living off this type of scenario.

Something important to understand is……gas and electric NEED to be installed by the licensed / certified tradesman. Simply because……if there is ever a fire as a result of what you did NON CERTIFIED…..there is a very good chance that your insurance company will not cover your claim. Please pay more attention to what you do. Remember that insurance companies are not in the business of paying out.

I've been plumbing 21 yrs. 0k. Sloppy work though.

Gas line max 3/4 Must not exceed 30 ft. Per 199k BTU.

I believe some things are not meant to be installed by amateurs and this is one of them.

thanks for being honest . I would be concerned about gas flow

These heaters need more gas volume, not pressure. Imagine trying to put out a house on fire with a garden hose. The pressure may be very high on the hose to hit the second story roof, but it's not enough water volume.

The gas cock and union are backwards. How are you supposed to shut the gas and disconnect it at the unit?? Lol

I'll say this as a 20 + year installer .. at least you have the courage to admit you screwed it up . I wish more DIY idiots had the guts to admit it. Thanks for the video showing DIYers to hire a professional for these types of projects.

The gas is wrong. The union is on the wrong side of the gas valve. The gas line is undersized. The copper flex pipe is not good at all. This would fail if it was inspected.

You need a drip leg on the gas line

Agreed. Google is not your friend. This was a bad idea.

Whats the gain from this investment?

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