Anyone know anything about water heaters?

[JulesMaximus]

I'm getting ready to replace ours. It is 20 years old and is way overdue to be replaced. Originally I was going to buy one and install it myself with the help of a friend who has done this before. Problem is, he is busy, I am busy and I don't really want to impose on his time to help me with a simple plumbing issue so now I'm thinking of hiring someone to do it.

My wife called a plumber, she is a Realtor and used to be a property manager for large industrial properties (multi-million sq ft properties) so she is actually very knowledgeable in this area and has people she has used for years. Anyway, they use and recommend Bradford White water heaters. I've never heard of this brand before so I was wondering if this is a quality product.

My friend has a Rheem water heater and he thinks those are good quality.

Anyone have any recommendations?

BTW-I love that my wife can handle this kind of thing. I really do. :biggrin:

 

[steppinthrax]

Gas or Electric?

Have you thought about tankless?

Anyway my old house has A.O. Smith. It's a nat gas model. I really haven't lived in a house long enough to see how long a water heater last.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Gas, and I have thought about tankless but really don't see the extra expense as worthwhile.

Our house was built in '94 and we've been in it since '99.

 

[Jumpem]

Rinnai tankless.

 

[steppinthrax]

Gas, and I have thought about tankless but really don't see the extra expense as worthwhile.

Our house was built in '94 and we've been in it since '99.

If your installing it yourself you will see the benefit.

 

[stormkroe]

I haven't seen an actual 'bad' brand of water heater in my travels, pretty much if you've heard the name somewhere before it's probably going to be ok.
Don't expect to get 20 years out of your new one though.
Tankless is pretty good but depending on your temperature zone and family size could require redundant 60amp circuits. That's bigboy power and might be too much to add onto your main. There are gas versions, but the same idea applies (can your gas meter support an extra 120k btu).

 

[jjsbasmt]

The Bradford White line is commonly used in commercial applications such as apartment complexes. They are very reliable and durable.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Since it's gas, you need a licensed pipe fitter to do the connection and while it could be a DIY job you need expensive pipe threading tools which may make it not worthwhile.

I would stick with a tank but look into a high efficiency one that has two pipes (intake and exhaust).

 

[steppinthrax]

Since it's gas, you need a licensed pipe fitter to do the connection and while it could be a DIY job you need expensive pipe threading tools which may make it not worthwhile.

I would stick with a tank but look into a high efficiency one that has two pipes (intake and exhaust).

They sell flexible yellow gas conduit. He would just use a "converting coupling" to go from the iron pipe to the flexible line. As long as he uses pipe dope compound (for gas) he should be fine.

Something like this guy did during a stove instillation.

http://cellar.org/showthread.php?p=832608

 

[iroast]

I'm actually in the same situation. My Bradford white (40gallon, 40,000 BUT natural gas) water heater leaked after many years of service. I've been calling around and the price to install a similar type of water heater starts around $950 and as high as $1900. I'll probably end up with a Rheem 40 gallon, 38k BTU with 12 yr warranty. It is probably worth while to get the extra coverage from Home Depot if you're purchasing the water heater yourself.

 

[steppinthrax]

I can't go tankless in my house because I have a well. I will always be on a tank. I also don't have nat gas. I think the only thing I could do is a heat pump water heater, but that would be extremely expensive.

 

[iGas]

Water heater are pretty much all the same except for the warranty rating due to how many anodes that it have and slight thickness in insulation (fiberglass, or closed cell injection foam). The more anodes the better, however one can buy a cheap water heater and install extra anodes in it.

 

[steppinthrax]

Water heater are pretty much all the same except for the warranty rating due to how many anodes that it have and slight thickness in insulation (fiberglass, or closed cell injection foam). The more anodes the better, however one can buy a cheap water heater and install extra anodes in it.

Very correct.

The major things that extend water heater life is your water quality and if a pressure tank is installed with the unit. If you have city water they usually last longer. Well water or hard water tends to shorten the life.

Most people never replace the anode rod!!!!

They just recently started to sell the rod at HD.

 

[Jumpem]

I can't go tankless in my house because I have a well. I will always be on a tank. I also don't have nat gas. I think the only thing I could do is a heat pump water heater, but that would be extremely expensive.

I had a tankless on a well at my last house. It worked fine.

 

[Greenman]

A condensing water heater is a pretty good unit. The last one I installed was an A.O. Smith 50 gallon. A little spendy, but a very nice unit.

 

[irishScott]

I actually replaced my gas heater last year. In my case the exhaust pipe was turned at a 90 degree angle to go straight through the adjoining wall, so I had to buy one of the more expensive power-vent heaters (basically it has a fan to blow the exhaust out). If you don't have one of those and it's just a chimney, apparently you can do the installation yourself on some models.

Step-by-step by Lowes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGkME6hpnWw

Also, the replacement heater we got was a Lowes-brand Powerflex. Can only vouch for the last few months, but it performs nicely and my water stays warmer for longer over the ancient 1980s model it replaced. Lowes also installed it, and I've got no complaints about their service. Quite the opposite in fact, the plumber had a family emergency and had to reschedule at the last minute, and the lady managing the communications was readily available during business hours when I called for updates and such.

 

[gorcorps]

It's my understanding that they heat water

That's all I know

 

[steppinthrax]

I had a tankless on a well at my last house. It worked fine.

From what i read it's a hit or miss. They sell an adapter that makes a pressure coming from the tank to the unit constant. They work on small measurements in pressure loss. If loss is detected it assumes someone is using the water. idk maybe they have ones that work on wells.

 

[OverVolt]

Yea, anodes are the key to keeping a water heater for a long time.

Tankless is dumb IMO.

You know how you get super on-demand hot water? Already having hot water :awe:.

 

[stormkroe]

I had a tankless on a well at my last house. It worked fine.

Not all wells have the same gph, a water heater tank makes a great capacitor.

 

[Red Squirrel]

With a well you'd probably want a check valve before the water heater if you go tankless. That and a water softener as tankless will get ruined faster by sediment and other crap in the water.

 

[BoomerD]

Bradford White is one of the "best names in the biz," yet like just about all companies in all industries, they have their share of lemons.
When we were in CA and had gas for water heating, BW is the brand I bought. My current house has a 24 year old Rheem "Glass Warrior" that is still chugging along...I put in new elements after we bought the house, (one had gone bad) and it's just like new. It still almost never runs out of HOT water...
I can't speak bad about either brand. I had an AO Smith in the CA house when we bought it. IIRC, it was a 6 yr. model...lasted about 11 years before it went to shit.

 

[lxskllr]

Happiness reports regarding tankless heaters have been wildly variable. I wouldn't get one at this time. Otherwise, I'd just get a decent brand of acceptable capacity. If your old one was fine, the same size will work. If you *never* ran out of hot water, you could consider a smaller unit to save money, but you might end up screwing yourself. A little extra upfront cost and energy expense is cheap insurance for something you keep over 10 years.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Anyone know anything about water heaters?

They heat water. Trust me on this.

 

[andylawcc]

I bought a GE/made by Rheem model from Home Depot. 2 years plus 5 months later the Pilot Light won't stay on and it was JUST outside of its initial 2-year Full Warranty coverage, which means they won't send someone out to fix it for free.
It still has a limited warranty (4 years) so the part is covered (the thermo coupler crapped out, they sent a whole pilot assembly unit Fedex next day for free).
However, since I didn't have time and my dad been bugging me, i just paid someone to do it for $120, so I am out that amount.
Plus the damn thing went out on me on a Friday, so we had no hot water for a whole weekend until they can ship it out on Monday, which arrive and be installed on Tuesday. i thought I can easily find it in LA but turns out it is not so easily to locate a Rheem parts dealer.