I have a gas (propane) tankless water heater but would like to install an electric or propane heater as a backup water heater. But I'm not sure an on-demand (tankless) heater is the best choice for use as a "backup" heater. Tankless waters heaters are said to be far more subject to failure than conventional heaters. But apart from that concern, the immediate question is, how would I "switch" from one to the other? I assume there is some form of valve that could be used to redirect incoming (cold) water from one to the other; but I'm not sure it would be that simple. Opinions and comments are solicited and will be greatly appreciated.
Not exactly sure what your reason for doing this is, but if you already have a tankless (on demand) water heater then a fair option would be to plumb that current hot water to flow into an electric or propane storage tank type heater then that plumbed to feed the house.
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Thanks for your comment. I've had a tankless water heater for 18 months and it works well most of the time; but it's not as reliable as my old tank type heater. The tankless heaters are technically complicated and difficult to maintain and repair. I was thinking of getting an inexpensive, tank type "backup" water heater. The no-frills tank types seem to work well for years on end. My tankless water heater consumes a lot less energy; but it's also subject to unpredictable, inconvenient down time and high repair costs.
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