Need a Water Heater

[ddurrett896]

First time water heater buyer and need some advice. Looking at an electric 50-60 gallon.

Most reputable brands?

Heat Pump water heaters appealed to me at first because of the lower $$/yr, but I read the recovery time is slow and being in a garage (cold in winter), It can take longer to heat since the intake air is cold.

Current WH is hard piped and I was thinking about have the next one installed with flex lines so I can swap out in the future. Any downside to flex line or recommendations on quality flex lines?

Thank you!!

 

[vavet]

I've done exactly one in my life. It was in the crawlspace of my former home (now a rental property for me).
I did not want to use a torch under the house, so I bought the hoses with the sharkbite fittings on one end and the threaded coupling on the other end to attach to the water heater.

They're not cheap - $17 each IIRC, but it's still cheaper than hiring a plumber and it's still cheaper than an insurance deductible if I caught the house on fire with a torch.

I bought a mid-grade unit from Home Depot, Rheem, I think. It was a Saturday and my tenant was without hot water. I just needed it done so I didn't try to get a unit from a plumbing supply house.

If I'd had more space around it, then I would've soldered copper to install it. That would've been cheaper, but the sharkbites worked for me.

 

[ddurrett896]

They're not cheap - $17 each IIRC, but it's still cheaper than hiring a plumber and it's still cheaper than an insurance deductible if I caught the house on fire with a torch.

Is this what you are talking about?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBi...Vl47ICh260gaqEAQYASABEgLnzPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[metlmunchr]

You can buy a water heater with a 316 stainless steel tank for $200 to $250 more than the same size (50-60 gal range) heater with a mild steel tank. Based on the unpredictable and often short life of mild steel water heaters today, I'd say that's one of the best ways a person could spend an extra couple hundred bucks.

There's no reason why you can't connect the new heater with flexible lines. Just make sure you use lines with at least a full half inch ID and not the small lines used for connecting sinks, etc. It's also good to add ball valves on the inlet and outlet lines as that makes it simple to valve the heater off to change a heating element or relief valve without having to turn off the water at the meter as many houses are plumbed with no means of cutting off the the supply other than at the meter box. The builder might go broke if the plumber spent 8 bucks for a ball valve ya know.

 

[ddurrett896]

It's also good to add ball valves on the inlet and outlet lines as that makes it simple to valve the heater off to change a heating element or relief valve without having to turn off the water at the meter as many houses are plumbed with no means of cutting off the the supply other than at the meter box. The builder might go broke if the plumber spent 8 bucks for a ball valve ya know.

Have a ball valve on the in coming water.

 

[vavet]

Is this what you are talking about?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBi...Vl47ICh260gaqEAQYASABEgLnzPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I think that's it...or something similar. It was whatever HD had on the water heater aisle.

 

[joe_padavano]

I've put in a bunch of water heaters in several properties. Definitely use the flex hose with the stainless overbraid for the connection. If your plumbing doesn't have threaded fittings, definitely add them. This makes life a lot easier the next time you do this in 9-12 years. I've used GE and A.O. Smith and am very happy with them. The GE lasted 15 yrs on a 12 yr warranty, so no complaints. I used A.O. Smith this time because GE no longer makes the short 50 gal version that I had previously. There's limited space where this one goes. The A.O. Smith was in stock at the local Lowes. The heat pump version just seems like one more thing to go wrong. If a normal heating element goes bad, you can change it. If the heat pump goes bad or looses freon, you're screwed.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I did exactly what has been mentioned above. I soldered a ball valve in the supply side. soldered on threaded fittings and used the braided flex lines. I used ones that were a little longer than needed and looped them. Now I can put in whatever size the store has in stock. Which is exactly what happened the last time I replaced it.

I've gone through several heaters over the years due to hard water issues (apparently). I went through three Kenmores which were terrible. The 1st was new when we bought the house and failed after 3 years due to tank failure. No warranty because we had no receipt and could not prove installation. 2nd one went after 2.5 years due to tank failure. No warranty again, forget why on that one. 3rd one was due to controller failure. They used a foreign controller so I could not buy one and the controller was only covered for one year I was told. Then I went to an AO Smith from a plumbing house because they assured me it was US made and they would honor the warranty. Well when that one failed for a tank failure in 3 years the plumbing house was going out of business and would not warranty it. They gave me an 800 number for AO Smith who told me to go to the retailer. I told him my issue and he didn't get back to me for weeks. The new heater was in and working by the time he called back and I was so frustrated I didn't even answer his call to see if I was getting anything back or not. Now I have a 10 year Rheem from Lowes I believe.

The install took literally minutes since I have it set up the way I do. Also, I have done a lot of research and found out the the tank failures, at least the last one, was due to the anode corroding faster than normal due to the hard water. So now I drain a few gallons off the tank every month, flush the tank once a year and check the anode once a year for excessive corrosion. I removed the one from the last tank and it was completely non-existent. I am on year two with the Rheem and so far so good. I also removed the anode to see the difference. The 10 yr is about twice the diameter as the 5 yr anode. I also put never seize on the threads when I re-installed it so it's easy to remove as well. I am actually due for the flush and anode inspection now. I have it set in my phone as a reminder.

Good luck with yours.

 

[captaindiode]

I like AO Smith, but the AO Smith at Lowes is a rebranded Whirlpool.

 

[pogrelis97]

I drain my water heater once a year and fill it with a couple gallons of vinegar for 12hrs then drain. eats up all the calcium built up at the bottom of the tank. I have hard water so this may not be necessary for some people.

 

[fsae0607]

Bradford White?

We had the WH take a **** the weekend before on our rental house and the wall pipes needed some plumbing work done. I was busy, so we farmed it out. The plumber recommended and installed a BW. Seems like a nice unit.

I have a Home Depot Rheem at my house and also seems like a good unit.

 

[Showkey]

Plumbers love BW..........they make $$$$$, they are only sold from supply houses, they control the price and parts.

 

[fsae0607]

Plumbers love BW..........they make $$$$$, they are only sold from supply houses, they control the price and parts.

I remember reading about that here on GJ. I didn't have much of choice since the rental house is a few cities away, it crapped out Sunday morning and I was busy that weekend.

Just looking at it, it seems well-built. Only time will tell. The plumber sweated in new male threaded connections to the wall pipes, so next time I can swap the WH in about an hour, with beer breaks!

 

[Radix2]

Rheem (now) Marathon

Hard pipe it since you will never replace it.

 

[yeldogt]

I'm a Bradford White guy myself ... Do you have a local supply house?

As far as flex -- for many years it was not allowed around me .. although it was mandated in anther areas because of earthquakes. I always use the CU flex from the supply house -- it's a bit heaver vs the cheap stuff from the big box stores -- have never had an issue. Valve on the cold. I don't like the SS flex.

Be careful of the braided flex. There is simply a plastic hose inside -- Frankly, I have never really understood the product. Also - many of them are braided plastic made to look like SS ... not that the SS is doing anything (or much)

The marathon WH has always received a good rating and very well insulated -- may be worth a look if you do indeed get low temps in the area around the unit ... much more expensive.

GE has never made WH's. In what has become a legendary marketing maneuver - HD did a survey on what WH consumers like/ recommend... the vast majority said GE. Obviously, they had no idea -- as GE did not make them. HD approached GE and pays them a marketing fee to sell un GE name -- GE service gets to fix them with the GE phone number on the units. Rheem used to make them -- they were pissed.

 

[machsnell]

Rheem (now) Marathon



Hard pipe it since you will never replace it.

Radix why will this never be replaced? Not a smartass question just would love to find a water heater I didnt have to worry about.

It doesnt say stainless inner tank and if so I would imagine it could rust through also.

What's the skinny on this model?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[tarmy]

Here in earthquake country they must be flex...and strapped in.

Do put a ball valve, not gate...they always leak later when you go to use them...on the infeed line before the flex...that way you can remove later...flush etc.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

My 2 gas Bradford Whites are on their 16th year. No issues. Just a pain to change the anode rods since those are built into the hot water outlet. You have to disconnect the outlet pipe to take them out.

Don’t forget the dielectric coupling.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I’ve replaced 2 electric water heaters at the lake. We had a professional replace our 30+ year old Natural Gas unit at our home due to a required permit. When doing some research, I felt the Rheem Stainless Steel was the best for us. As for Sharkbite or similar the answer is use them. The guys mentioned a Stainless Steel 1/4 turn is worth the effort.
Good Luck

 

[Jeepster04]

Just replaced my 40Gal 1995 NG U.S Craftmaster with a new 50Gal NG U.S Craftmaster. After looking down the intake and outlet the anode rod appeared to be in like new condition. Our water comes from a local lake and is perfect.

Our local codes want hard line soldered in with a NG water heater. Soldering it in wasnt bad at all aside from the 1/4 turn valve. First time Ive soldered one of those in and I guess my torch isnt the correct torch. It took forever to take solder and I honestly dont feel 100% good about it but its held for over a month now.

Make sure you use a bladder tank if you dont have one and put a pan under the water heater.

Pretty sure you cannot get over 50gal unless it has the heat pump.

Check with local codes. Most retailers in this area turn you in to make sure you get a permit/inspection but I found a local business that doesn't do that.

 

[yeldogt]

Radix why will this never be replaced? Not a smartass question just would love to find a water heater I didnt have to worry about.

It doesnt say stainless inner tank and if so I would imagine it could rust through also.

What's the skinny on this model?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

they have a lifetime warranty -- plastic one piece tank

 

[spudley]

At a lake cottage with very good (soft) well water, I have a 21 year old 6 year warranty, 40 gal NG Rheem with soldered solid copper pipes and valves both sides.
Didn't use dielectric fittings as I anticipated changing out this unit well before any corrosion would take place. So far so good but planning on having a replacement WH standing by this summer.
At home (very hard water) I had a AOSmith last over 25 years.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Another vote for Bradford White. It's the brand we recommend when the customer asks what brand we would install in our own homes. When the customer asks for nothing more than a good price, they get the "other" brands. The company just replaced about 5 of the "other" brands last week. None of them were much more than about 7 years old.

Tommy

 

[brooktre]

I replaced my electric with a hybrid (GE GeoSpring). I am very happy with the unit and I definitely save $ on my electric. When I bought mine, there were several rebates and a tax credit which more than offset its higher cost. It also had a 10 yr. warranty. I compared the old unit energy label to the hybrid model and conservatively figuring, it will have paid for itself in less than 3 yrs.
One concern would be the location of the unit because it is a heat pump. Ours is installed in our garage which is below the living room. We don’t have central air and it can get warm inside the house. During the summer I set the water heater for heat pump only mode and it cools the garage which helps keep the living room above cooler. In the winter I set it to hybrid mode so it uses the heating elements and heat pump together. The garage is a little cooler in the winters than before, but since the boiler is also there it isn’t a problem. So depending on where your water heater is located, it may or may not be the best choice.

 

[Radix2]

Radix why will this never be replaced? Not a smartass question just would love to find a water heater I didnt have to worry about.

It doesnt say stainless inner tank and if so I would imagine it could rust through also.

What's the skinny on this model?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

As said above, the tank is plastic, so no corrosion possible, the fittings are all brass as well. No anodes either for those in areas where they cause problems. If needed, the elements are easily replaced. Very simple solution, but pricy up front.

 

[Radix2]

For the basic steel units, the life can be greatly extended by simply monitoring and replacing the sacrificial anodes when it corrodes away. The difference between the short and long warranty versions from some manufacturers may be nothing more than the size of the included anode.

I think most any unit will easily go past 10-15 years if you keep the anode alive, unless you have some really aggressive water.

 

[larry4406]

...Don’t forget the dielectric coupling...

School me on these please.

I thought these are only needed if one has a mix of copper and galvanized piping. I thought if all copper then they are not needed and also not needed if using copper risers and then transitioning to CPVC?

 

[dogdog]

Bradford White?

We had the WH take a **** the weekend before on our rental house and the wall pipes needed some plumbing work done. I was busy, so we farmed it out. The plumber recommended and installed a BW. Seems like a nice unit.

I have a Home Depot Rheem at my house and also seems like a good unit.

Don't go Bradford White... they are terrible for parts if you ever needed to get replacement parts... I found that out when they bough the GE line of hybrid electric water heaters, trying to get parts for the replacement is harder than pulling teeth... They actually had something on their website that states they won't sell parts to individual or sort... so... it's a turn off for DIYers.

I liked AO Smith, and Rheem stuff... had AO smith gas water heater in my house for 8+ years now, it's been great..... but also AO smith is popular in my area...just like Weils Mclain or Burnham for heating, .. So for the OP, I would find out what is popular in your area, at least you get parts easier in case of emergency...

I think Rheem also makes Hybrid electrics ones also... definitely stay away from American Standard, at least from my experience, it sucked.

 

[dogdog]

I replaced my electric with a hybrid (GE GeoSpring). I am very happy with the unit and I definitely save $ on my electric. When I bought mine, there were several rebates and a tax credit which more than offset its higher cost. It also had a 10 yr. warranty. I compared the old unit energy label to the hybrid model and conservatively figuring, it will have paid for itself in less than 3 yrs.
One concern would be the location of the unit because it is a heat pump. Ours is installed in our garage which is below the living room. We don’t have central air and it can get warm inside the house. During the summer I set the water heater for heat pump only mode and it cools the garage which helps keep the living room above cooler. In the winter I set it to hybrid mode so it uses the heating elements and heat pump together. The garage is a little cooler in the winters than before, but since the boiler is also there it isn’t a problem. So depending on where your water heater is located, it may or may not be the best choice.

pSsstt they (GE) sold that line of water heater products to Bradford Whites... only that water heater line of the product....

 

[yeldogt]

Don't go Bradford White... they are terrible for parts if you ever needed to get replacement parts... I found that out when they bough the GE line of hybrid electric water heaters, trying to get parts for the replacement is harder than pulling teeth... They actually had something on their website that states they won't sell parts to individual or sort... so... it's a turn off for DIYers.

I liked AO Smith, and Rheem stuff... had AO smith gas water heater in my house for 8+ years now, it's been great..... but also AO smith is popular in my area...just like Weils Mclain or Burnham for heating, .. So for the OP, I would find out what is popular in your area, at least you get parts easier in case of emergency...

I think Rheem also makes Hybrid electrics ones also... definitely stay away from American Standard, at least from my experience, it sucked.

Bradford White sells to professionals -- find a local supply house. At one time it was difficult to purchase at them -- now, not so much. Rheem makes the GE WH products .. except the Geospring. GE assembled the Geospring components in a factory down south .. they lost millions and sold it off a couple years ago after maybe 5 years of selling them.

You can easily get the parts for BW at a supply house -- although a sold off product line can be problematic. GE had a lot of problems with them.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Installation, location and maintenance really have a lot to do with lifespan, but there are still other things to consider.
AO Smith'a QC has gone way down hill since they moved manufacturing to Mexico and they have had problems with plugged flame arrestors. They need to be operated in very clean environments. Rheem had a really big FVIR lockout recall.
BW also uses a magnesium anode rather than zinc like the other manufacturers, which is safer in terms of leaching and also longer lasting.

Tommy

 

[ddawg16]

Is there a reason you can't go gas?

Is this for your own home? Plan to stay there awhile?

If so....and gas is not an option, why not a hybrid water heater? They cost more up front, but use half the power....if not less. Basically, they are heat pumps. They pull the heat out of the air to heat the water.