Hot Water Heater

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

FYI it is a water heater, NOT A "hot water heater", Who needs to heat hot water???

Your use of punctuation in your correction is incorrect. 

[jlanciani]

FYI it is a water heater, NOT A "hot water heater", Who needs to heat hot water???

This from the guy who uses "b4" on a regular basis...

[Stwood_]

Is this the _____________water thread?
 




I haven't boned up on the newer fancy heaters they have out now. I keep hearing about the high prices though.

[p_toad]

I'm not sure the OP has an answer yet though...   so, here's what I did...

I had an A.O. Smith which lasted something like 23 years before it started leaking.   It had a pilot light and I burn propane.   when it died, i got a new A.O. Smith and my neighbor and i installed it right where the old one was with very minor mods to the black iron pipe and feed pipes.   You can get water heaters with (what i've seen generally) six or 10 year warranties, but i'm not even sure that it covers the electronic components.   I got mine at a commercial distributor and was shocked that i had to pay close to $800.   I was MORE shocked to see that the "on the street" price was $1400 and a regular plumber would be eating up that extra $600 (at least according to an estimate I got from one place)...

If your original is electric, i would replace it with the same; just remember if you move it to the garage you will need to take your 240V with you.   Consider an alarm, a leak pan under, and possibly an automatic shutoff should it leak (saw one of those installed on This Old House for a washer IIRC).

[Snipe Hunter]

thank you.  I was restraining myself from posting that.

Me too

[Bob10]

Funny the little things that bug you guys

[JosephP]

Sooooo.....I am standing at my sink and I have 2 knobs: hot and cold. Which one is it that gets its water from the appliance being discussed?

[Cooler]

I read a few years back that water heaters should be replaced every 7 to 10 years as they lose their efficiency.  I don't know why they should degrade that quickly however.

http://www.water-heater-repair-guide.com...tancy.html

The average water heater life expectancy has diminished over the 
last several years. 
Thirty years ago you could expect a new water heater to last at least
twenty years. Even without regular maintenance.

[JosephP]

That seems to be the case with all appliances. I think as they have to make tighter tolerances to meet energy standards and they are using cheaper parts to do it (while the consuming masses demand "features" over quality), that is the end result.

I read something when we replaced ours 9 years ago (of great...so we are due again) that the longer warranty tanks have more insulation so they may pay for themselves with energy savings. I think the reality is, it is the same unit, you are just buying an extended warranty, and the manufacturer figures they might as well spend a few more dollars and wrap some more insulation around it???

Is it worth replacing the anode rodes in a 9 year old tank, or will that only buy me a couple of years?

[Joe Doyle]

I renovated part of my house about five years ago, and we removed our water heater and replaced it with a Rennai tankless water heater. I am very happy with that decision, and have no trouble recommending a tankless heater for anyone.

Pros :
1. Much smaller footprint. It hangs on the wall, and has a small footprint (10" deep x 14" wide x 22" high (plus a bit for the vent)).
2. Our electric bill is smaller, as we are not heating water 24/7/365.
3. We never run out of hot water, which is big since on any given day I can have 1-5 teenage girls over my house, and they all like to shower here for some odd reason.

Cons :
1. It is more expensive on the initial purchase (figure $1,200 - $1,800 depending on model and how many gallons per minute you go with).
2. If the electricity goes out, you have no hot water. This really sucked during Sandy, where we had no power for five days.
2a : I don't have a generator, but I did by a DC/AC converter that I can run off of my car, so I can always run an extension cord to power the heater for a quick shower.

Others may have differing opinions, but I am very happy with my decision to go tankless.