When it rains, it pours...

[Herb G]

Our water heater (electric) is 12 years old. It needs replaced.
I was looking for a direct vent (powered) gas heater. Gas is much cheaper here than electricity.
Problem is, regular gas heaters have a 12 year warranty.
Powered vent models only have a 6 year warranty.
They are also at least twice the price of a regular gas heater.
That sucks.

On the other hand, our freezer is 21 years old, and living on borrowed time. Most new ones only have a 1 year warranty. That sucks too.

Just today, our upstairs (kitchen) fridge started making a gnarly noise. I think it's the fan going on it.

We sure as heck can't afford to replace 3 major appliances at one time. This place will be the death of me.

When it rains, it pours.

[Anthony W]

For the fan on the fridge, when was the last time you cleaned the dust out? It may have accumulated a wade of dust throwing it out of balance.

[Estrogen Hostage]

Anthony W said:

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For the fan on the fridge, when was the last time you cleaned the dust out? It may have accumulated a wade of dust throwing it out of balance.

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Agreed. Pull the back off and look.

[Robert Adams]

When I did he math comparing a gas water heater to one with a draft Inducer the one with the fan would never pay for itself. It's like going with higher seer ac units. The lifetime savings are very little compared to the upfront upgrade cost.

[jteneyck]

I agree. When I replaced our HWH I purposely bought a traditional gas model with a pilot light and no power vent. Not only was the warranty far longer, it was cheaper by far, easier to install, and works just fine if the power goes out. Our NG bill in the Summer is less than $20 a month.

An on-demand HWH made no sense to me when I looked at the cost/benefit ratio. I never would have reached a break even point, even installing it myself.

John

[mike4244]

I would go with the direct vent heater.A neighbor has the power vent heater. She hates it, very noisy besides costly. If I am not mistaken the
efficiency ratings are below the direct vent type.

mike

[Herb G]

The problem with a regular vent is the heater has to be moved from it's present location, a new exhaust stack installed from the basement to the roof, and all the plumbing re-done so it lines up correctly.
A power vent can go where the electric model is now, just need to run the gas line another 7' or so.
The vent can go out the back of the house right above foundation level.

Whoever plumbed this house needs their butt kicked so hard they could wear it for a hat. I've never seen such jury rigged crap in all my life.
I can't afford to do it correctly though. That would be several thousands of dollars to redo all this plumbing.

[TDKPE]

Herb G said:

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The problem with a regular vent is the heater has to be moved from it's present location, a new exhaust stack installed from the basement to the roof, and all the plumbing re-done so it lines up correctly.
A power vent can go where the electric model is now, just need to run the gas line another 7' or so.
The vent can go out the back of the house right above foundation level.

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That's why we went with a power vent unit; replaced a gravity vent because the chimney stack went through a chase that was part of a closet in an upstairs room, and we were taking out the closet as part of a room reconfiguration (huge thing; stuck out into the room). So we vented it out the side wall. I wouldn't have bothered if it weren't for that requirement, and I didn't want a SS stack on the outside of the house.

Oh, and do watch minimum elevation above grade (for snow; probably not a big problem in your area), and distance from operable windows. There are usually requirements for those minimums (6 ft?), but I don't know off-hand what they are, and it may be a local thing, probably plumbing code, anyway.

[CapecodWW]

Whats your heating system? if you have hot water you might be able to add a zone and use an indirect water tank. this is how's mine set-up

[Herb G]

CapecodWW said:

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Whats your heating system? if you have hot water you might be able to add a zone and use an indirect water tank. this is how's mine set-up

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Forced air gas furnace.