Water heater died....

[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/plumbin...6530664&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.