Before beginning this article only contains information on tankless water heaters that run on gas either natural gas or propane.  The tankless units that run on electricity are not economical as most cannot produce the efficiencies and output as gas.

During a trip to Europe in 1998 I found out about these little suit case like devices called tankless water heaters. Up to that time I had only been accustom to the tank water heaters.  While I was there I found out how they worked however, here in the States they were not very popular in 1998.  It took sometime for these units to become popular and to find an installer to install them.

Fast forward ten years to 2007 when I purchased my first tankless water heater. Our old tank was eleven years old and I figured I had better start seriously looking into finding another tank or a tankless to replace it. The motivating factor was that the government was not going to extend the tax breaks on the tankless in 2008 so I purchased the tankless at the end of 2007.  The model I purchased was the Rinnai R53i which supports multiple location use and has many features which eliminate some of the known issues that come along with other tankless water heater.

Update:  April 2012 - The tankless is still going strong and have had no mechanical or electronic problems.  We dis have an issue where a leave got sucked into the inlet and got caught up in the the fan.  It was a weird sound coming from the heater but after taking it apart and cleaning out the fan the noise went away.  Also, I once accidently layed up a large board near the intake and the unit started to make a funny sound while running.  After realizing the issue I removed the board and there was no other sounds.

Summary
Product- Bostitch MIIIFS Flooring Stapler
Test - Used to lay hardwood flooring.
Cost- $500.00
Conclusion - Laying a hardwood floor just got easier with the Bostitch MIIIFS. It made good on power and performance with only a couple hiccups during the process. None of the staples jammed in the tool, however, there was once an issue with it firing two. These issue could have been caused by user error as the user was trying to stay on a schedule and laying the staples as fast as possible. The added bottom adapter protects the floor as the tool is slid down to the next position. Also the adaptor has rollers on it and it has a large base allowing for better alignment with your foot.

The Bostitch MIIIFS with the flooring adapter is an all around great flooring stapler. This was a brand new one that we picked up on-line at Amazon.com.  We used it for laying a single floor and for testing out how well this model worked.

Summary
Product- Aarow Tacker & Staples
Test - Used to tack down tar paper.
Cost- $40.00
Conclusion - Tacker lays down staples quick, but when it jams do not look directly at firing end. Jammed staples could fire out when trying to un-jam the tacker. Also Aarow staples that are left unused in a tool box can lose their abilitly to stay together. Using partial staple magazines leads to more jams in of the taker during use.

Buying in bulk is sometimes a good thing. You usually get more product for your money. However, what if the items are perishable? Well believe it or not some home improvement items have have shelf lives too. One product that seems not to hold up overtime are staples. You may ask, "Unless you have allowed them to rust how can they deteriorate?" The staple itself may not deteriorate but the substance which makes them stick together can.

In my tool box I usually carry a hammer tacker like the one in the picture. Arrow is the manufacture of this product. This tool is great for quick and fast securing of roofing tar paper and other materials like plastics, insulation, etc. Usually I will buy a box or two of their staples that I will need for a project. The remaining staples I will place back in my tool box for the next project.

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