Water heater died....

[Tom W.]

The people are coming to replace it sometime today. I was very surprised to see how much they've gone up in price since the last one I had to buy.....

Lori said that she got the last one in 2004 or so, so I suppose she got pretty good service from it. The one in my house in Eufaula is 20 years old at least. I've had to replace the pop off valve once....

[redhawk0]

I agree...earlier this year I purchased a new 40 gal 12 year Rheem for Natural Gas...it was $600 and another $450 for the installation. That's a pretty high price to pay just for hot water for 12 years.

redhawk

[MyFlatline]

Had to replace mine Friday, $418 for a 40 gal. electric. Fortunately, I did the install myself. Old one was from 1989, not bad..

[labradigger1]

I have hard well water here and electric 40 gallon tank. Built the house in 2000 And I am on the 3rd new one as of 11/16/17 last year. I need to get in the habit of changing the sacrificial anode every few years. My last replacement was a A.O. smith commercial unit for 475.00+/- with a discount from my plumbing contractor buddy.

[tim338]

I'm due for a new one too as mine is from 1998. I am thinking of going to the tankless model. Haven't checked prices yet.

[popper]

Friend is on his 3rd tankless in just a few years, seems hard water kills them pretty fast. Of course most a made in Canada. Tankless have to heat the water hotter so the minerals really corrode stuff faster. Replaced the gas unit after 14 yrs, basically full of rocks. Water company doesn't spend the money to get the crud out - main reason they fail. Elec. controlled ones don't cost more due to the controls - but probably the fail point. Replacing 16 yr old double elec. oven. Elec. control board failed, no replacements available - pretty junky design anyway - appears to be the main fail mode. No fr4 board, pads of pc board come loose, new ones are no better. Steam cleaning oven - yea, lower self cleaning time & temp but doesn't even boil the water. More market hype. Last one I did was 300$, now is 2500$ installed. Lowes wants 2k$ + 150$ for install and another 250$ to enlarge the opening by 1/4 by 1/8" Up front! Have to pull the oven to get a router in, too much for my back anymore(250#). They just know you have to replace them so can charge whatever they want. same as autos.

[dragon813gt]

Water heater prices went up quite a bit due to the government mandating higher efficiency ratings. This meant more insulation and in the case of gas fired no more standing pilot. You now get automatic ignition and a vent damper. Which means no hot water if the power goes out.

All water haters have anode rods in them. Some are easy to replace, most aren’t. If you want the tank to last then you need to replace it periodically. I say this as I haven’t ever replaced the one in mine. It’s the entire cold water dip tube which is a complete pain to replace.

[MT Gianni]

In the past gas water heaters were failing due to corrosion and calcifying. In the future the electronic failures will shorten the life while the tanks are still solid. I live in a hard water areas but have done so since the 70's. You can get a softener at Lowes for $300 that will double the tank life if you live in a hard water area. [Soda Springs ID gets 18-24 months with a water heater with no softener.]
Even if you just hook it to hot water only I believe you are money ahead if you water is over 9 grains hard. I would in no way get a tankless heater without soft water.
I went Electric in our house even after 40 years in the gas business. With the electronics driving the cost up, the internal safeties no longer being resettable and the chimney cost it was a better decision to locate the water heater centrally to minimize water run time.

[Jniedbalski]

There are other ways of controlling hardness calcium without a softener. In hotels around here they use a injection pump for there ice machines. They use food grade citric acid in small amounts in the water line .It keeps the thin tubing clean from calcium and over time the calcium rubs holes in the tubing. It’s probably not much cheeper than a softener. You still have hard water but it dosent build up in your pipes or tank.

[Hossfly]

Had a tankless heater for about 5 years, it quit so the rural electric would give you an electric water heater if you switch to elec. from gas or propane and elements for life. No brainer.

[Pipefitter]

If you live in a hard water area the best way to make a water heater last is to once a month put a hose on the drain valve and drain about 10 gallons of water from the heater. The propane heater in my house is 42 years old and MAY need to be replaced in another couple of years......

[Beagle333]

I do my own install, but it's right there in the walk-in closet and elevated. Easy to do. I think the last one cost $450 (maybe 2 years ago) and I think it's a 9 year tank. I wrote the expiration date on it with a big magic marker and it's going out the door on that date, no matter how good it works. I pushed the last one to its death trying to milk all I could out of it and what I got in return was a slow leak that went undiscovered until it had done much more damage than the price of a new heater. So no more, I'll replace when it says they should go.

[redhawk0]

I feel for ya, Beagle....My tank is in a cellar and its rare that I go down there. My first tank when we bought the house was about 11 years old (9 year tank)...and it leaked all over the place...slowly...it went undiscovered for probably a month judging from the amount of water on the floor.

This last tank that I replaced was a 12 year AO Smith and I got 14 years out of it. What it did though was fill with sediment (about 6" worth...yes I cut it open) and would no longer recover the hot water fast enough...I could get a shower which drained the tank down but the cold water rushing in wasn't getting heated efficiently through all that sediment. A second person getting a shower immediately after was pretty chilly.

What I hope to do with this tank is purge it every 3 months to remove the sediment build up. Hopefully I'll keep this tank a bit longer.

redhawk

[Tom W.]

$900 turnkey price. It took them maybe an hour. Lori said that they had 4 to replace today.....

[skeettx]

redhawk0
Get one of these
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Basement-Watchdog-Battery-Operated-Water-Alarm/1005609

Mike

[dragon813gt]

In the past gas water heaters were failing due to corrosion and calcifying. In the future the electronic failures will shorten the life while the tanks are still solid.

All the electronic parts can be replaced. Water heaters w/ Honeywell SmartValves, expensive, have been around for a long time. The switch to ignition controls is no different in concept. It makes repairs cheaper because it’s modular compared to the Honeywell control which was everything in one box. If you replace a good tank because of failed electronics you’re doing something very wrong.

[Chad5005]

we put in a tankless propane water heater when we built the house in 2016 and so far so good but we have good water.very little calcium

[popper]

Hopefully the drain vale is a decent one, mine would either not close or leaked after one attempted drain (actually draining does no good). Last one I replaced cost me a rotator cuff surgery. it was so full when I dragged it out to the curb I could hear the chunks of rock rolling around inside. I do remember Dad showing me how to replace the rod in a late 40s heater that had a real full glass tank.
When the gas models start makining the rumbling noise it's time to go.

[jonp]

A console model of who knows how old came with the house. 3 or 4 yrs later it got erratic heating water. I drained it, took out the elements and went to Lowes. Replaced them both for, maybe, $20? and 5yrs later it is still chugging along. Very easy repair. We are going to replace it, however. I bought a Takagi tankless and had the new propane company move the tank and put in a new line. I then ran a new one from the regulator inside the house and it's ready to hook up. All I have to do is move the water and that won't be too bad since one of the first things after pulling out the furnace and electric stove replacing them with propane was to remove the copper pipe and put in PEX with hand fittings with an eye towards do something like this.

Was going to put it in last weekend but the dryer stopped heating so I ordered an element online for $20 or so and put that in. I couldn't believe how expensive dryers were! Cheapest we could find was a basic Amana or Hotpoint for $399.

[shooter93]

Install a softner just for the hot water heater. That's what I'm going to do. Cheer up you guys.....I have underfloor heat and my heat and hot water all in one. I need to replace it and it's around 5500 bucks if I install it......smiles. It is extremely efficient (98%) and a 50 gallon size heats the entire house and supply enough hot water that it is imposible to run out. I built this place 27 years ago so I really can't complain.

[iomskp]

You are lucky with the cost of the heaters, I install water heaters as part of my business Gas, Electric, indoor, outdoor, tank and tankless, in northern Australia my buying cost for an internal rheem electric 60 gallon unit is over $900. au, install is about $300. unless there are upgrades required to comply to new laws, I have given up on traditional electric water heaters and have fitted a heat pump with a stainless tank to my own house to see if I can get more than 5 years out of it.

[Randy Bohannon]

I just did a complete replacement of my my entire water system from the meter to the farthest sink all new copper with a Rennai tankless water heater.Mine was in the basement and ready to give up the ghost and become a mess.The house is not big and the contractor only charged 1K to replace all of the galvanized pipe the new H/W heater is mounted on a wall in the basement,no more leaky space eating standing tank.What goes bad on the tankless is the burner.It is required mantenance to once a year run a solution to clean them, same for boiler heat. The galvanized pipe had lasted 78 yrs so our water water is pretty good.Our ground water is cold so gas is required when the incomong water is cold probably less than 50 deg. you want gas,this little unit is 149K BTU's.. Gas heats water cheaper,faster and hotter than electric,contractors here will not install electric due to high dissatisfaction call backs.. My neighbor built his house 20 yrs ago and put a tankless in,rasied 3 kids and never a blip in it's service to 5 people.
I've only had mine since Sept. I love this thing,rock solid 120 deg. endless hot water,my unit will do 160 deg. The technology is there for the right applications.I spent a total 4K on the entire project it took them 2 days. You can buy my exact unit on Amazon for $1200.00 . Installing one is not for your average DIY'er it could be done but with Rennai you lose the 12 yr. warranty unless installed by their people. It made sense that they do everything and I got a first rate install and would do it again in any house I own and lived in.

[MyFlatline]

Most of the tankless units I have seen , far exceed what an existing power panel can handle..Has that changed ? I have told my customers , that a re-model is not cost effective in electric do to the excessive power need.

Please correct me if I am wrong..

[MaryB]

When mine goes I will replace with one of these https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/water-heaters/residential-water-heaters/richmond-essential-reg-40-gallon-6-year-electric-water-heater/6em40-d/p-1444452199797-c-8690.htm?tid=6929948917176530664&ipos=1 the water here eats tanks in 4-5 years...

[frkelly74]

I got the 50 gal version of that very tank. I had a gas unit that was vented through the original chimney (built in 1916) which was collapsing in on itself. The install date on the outgoing tank was 1998 so I went electric because I could install it easily. The chimney is down now, And the chimney that was outside the house was made of hard red SAGINAW brick, they will become a walkway at some point. The mortar just kind of falls off of them.

My dad put in a tankless heater in the 70's and when you turned on the hot water the lights would dim.

[Mal Paso]

I think most are talking about gas fired Tankless like Rennai.

Heat causes Lime to come out of solution and deposit on the inner heater walls. In a tank heater lime builds on the inner chimney until it is too thick to flex with the heat cycles, cracks off and falls to the bottom. Drain valves are too small to ever get it out that way. I vacuumed it out of commercial heaters that have a port but residential water heaters here come out twice as heavy as they go in.

Usually no difference between tank type 6 and 12 year water heaters except the warranty. Sometimes there is an extra anode but mostly they are charging up front for the ones they will have to replace.

[jonp]

yea, i think the comments are mostly propane or natural gas. The electric tankless are real energy hogs from what my research told me and not anywhere as good at heating. Best use for those are the small point units for under sinks at the farthest reach of the waterlines. Any comments on this about electric units?

[Sweetpea]

As far as electric tankless, I had a job a while back that we were supposed to install 2 of them.

One need 3 60a 240 circuits, the other needed only 3 40a 240 circuits.

On a 200a service. That was full.

We ended up running gas throughout the house, and two new gas tankless heaters.

Freed up some space in the panel, which was good, since the downstairs dryer and range were on the same circuit, along with many other idiotic things.

[Don Purcell]

Well, it's like I tell people anymore that there is one advantage to becoming an old geezer, that whatever I buy may last me the rest of my life.

[popper]

Tankless are primarily for point of service, been around for a long time. Normal system here has to heat the ground pipes before you get any. Part of problem could be solved by insulating in-ground pipes but the developers set the code as they don't want to spend the money.

[Down South]

I just replace an electric 30 Gal water heater. $400 for it or a 40 Gal model but I couldn't fit the 40 Gal unit in the hole.
It's my fault for failure. I changed this heater about 6 yrs ago.
What I noticed on all my heater failures is the anode was shot. I have determined to start replacing the anodes every two yrs. I have a 40 Gal tank for another part of the house. I pulled the anode to check it and all was left was the wire. I ordered an anode for it and replaced it.
Anodes can be purchased for less than $20 from Amazon.

Funny part is I went to three major hardware stores to purchase an anode and they mostly all gave me a blank stare and asked what an anode was. A couple had anodes for RV heaters. At least most RV folks know about replacing their tank anodes.

[mold maker]

When me and Mama lived alone a heater would last 12 years. Then we took in two teen granddaughters the heaters dropped to 5 years. A tankless gas unit gives endless hot water at half the price and has lasted 5 years so far. What a blessing to have enough and cheap.

[MaryB]

I am adding a solar powered preheat tank this year. When my batteries are full divert the raw DC from the panels to the preheat tank... will save me a LOT of money in the long run.

[tim338]

I had a guy come and give me an estimate yesterday. He said unless I got a water softer a tankless was not a good option. I am going with a A.O. Smith direct vent. Not as efficent as a tankless but better than the one I have (which is failing). Kind of expensive at $1300 installed but I don't want to do it myself. He said if I flush it twice a year it should last a long time.

[NyFirefighter357]

Water heater prices went up quite a bit due to the government mandating higher efficiency ratings. This meant more insulation and in the case of gas fired no more standing pilot. You now get automatic ignition and a vent damper. Which means no hot water if the power goes out.

All water haters have anode rods in them. Some are easy to replace, most aren’t. If you want the tank to last then you need to replace it periodically. I say this as I haven’t ever replaced the one in mine. It’s the entire cold water dip tube which is a complete pain to replace.

Replacing the anode rod and regular draining off the settiment is the key to a long lasting h/w/h. Glass lined usually last the longest. H/W/H should also be installed with dia electric unions.

[jonp]

I am adding a solar powered preheat tank this year. When my batteries are full divert the raw DC from the panels to the preheat tank... will save me a LOT of money in the long run.
Are you putting the tank in your basement or new garage, Mary? Will it be a natual loop? I looked into one but we have no basement and from what i could see one worked best with the height diff.

[MaryB]

Are you putting the tank in your basement or new garage, Mary? Will it be a natual loop? I looked into one but we have no basement and from what i could see one worked best with the height diff.

For the house so it will go in the bathroom closet next to the existing water heater. Basically just another water heater with the elements changed to a lower voltage(100 in my case) to preheat the 45 degree groundwater. Since that is one of my biggest electric users it will save me a lot of money and pay for itself in 2-3 years.

[RED BEAR]

mine died about 6 or 7 years ago it is upstairs and got a nice river through the kitchen. went through lowes and got a great deal a little over 200 for heater (40 gal) and 125 to install. the installer grumbled the whole time about how little he was making. but like everything else the price ain't what it was.

[beagle]

Must be something about 14 years. Mine went out on me last week after 14 years. I know the feeling. If I and this one last 14 years, I'll be 90 and somebody else can worry about it. I feel your pain both in lack of hot water and billfold. Last time mine went out, I went to Lowe's, bought one, came home and drained it, installed it and hauled the old one off. Too old for that now./beagle

[marlin39a]

I replaced mine last year. Bought it from Home Depot, along with new connectors. Very easy to replace. I've heard horror stories from folks who had them replaced by plumbers.

[Tom W.]

Mine wasn't hauled off. Around here you just put it by the side of the road and someone will come and get it. One time I had just put something out there and still had my hands on it when a guy came by and asked if he could have it.

My wife and I noticed that we didn't have much water pressure in the bathroom so we called the plumber again. Evidently there was rust in the line and it had plugged up the screens in the spigots and shower head. They came in and flushed the line out and all is well again.

[Down South]

Mine wasn't hauled off. Around here you just put it by the side of the road and someone will come and get it. One time I had just put something out there and still had my hands on it when a guy came by and asked if he could have it.

LOL, I remember reading a story, Don't know if it was true or not but it made sense to me.

A guy had a non working refrigerator for give away out beside the road. No one bit. So, he took the sign down and put up one "for sale". It was stolen that night.

[MaryB]

I have done that with tires... they have a little tread but not enough for Minnesota winter driving when I swap them. Instead of paying $10 a tires disposal I stick them on the curb for sale $40... they either get stolen or one of the migrant farm crews buy them for their summer beaters they leave in MN. Either way I either saved $40 or I saved $40 and made $40!