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Thread: Water heater died....

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Tom W.'s Avatar
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    Water heater died....

    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....
    Tom
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    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

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  3. #3
    Boolit Master MyFlatline's Avatar
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    Had to replace mine Friday, $418 for a 40 gal. electric. Fortunately, I did the install myself. Old one was from 1989, not bad..

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    labradigger1's Avatar
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    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.
    Life is so much better with dogs!

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    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.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    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.
    Last edited by popper; 10-22-2018 at 03:05 PM.
    Whatever!

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

    dragon813gt's Avatar
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    Water heater died....

    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.

  8. #8
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    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.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    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.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    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.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    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......

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master

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    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.
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  13. #13
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    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

    The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
    Not all who wander....are lost.
    "Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

    If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan

  14. #14
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    Tom W.'s Avatar
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    $900 turnkey price. It took them maybe an hour. Lori said that they had 4 to replace today.....
    Tom
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  15. #15
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    NRA Benefactor 2004 USAF RET 1971-95

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by MT Gianni View Post
    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.

  17. #17
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    Chad5005's Avatar
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    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

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    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.
    Whatever!

  19. #19
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    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.
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  20. #20
    Grouchy Old Curmudgeon

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    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.

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