Recommend a gas water heater
- Thread starter camaross
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Old Steamer
Well-known member
Your post doesn't say if there is an issue with your current waer heater so I'll take it there is as you are looking for a replacement.
Does it need a power vent or is it a natural draft vent?
Because of my water heater's location, I have to use a power vent. I'm on well water and my original Rheem lasted 16 years. When it began leaking in 2008, I replaced it with another Rheem power vent water heater.
Does it need a power vent or is it a natural draft vent?
Because of my water heater's location, I have to use a power vent. I'm on well water and my original Rheem lasted 16 years. When it began leaking in 2008, I replaced it with another Rheem power vent water heater.
Thank you for the reply. The current one works fine. Is it necessary to replace it before it breaks, considering that it is towards the end of its life span.
Here is a picture of a warning from my gas company. I can not read it.
Here is a picture of a warning from my gas company. I can not read it.
98ssuck
Well-known member
It isn't required to replace it before it fails but it is a good idea, for all you know it could be leaking already. If it were my house I would install a Viessmann vitodens 100 boiler and a combi plus on demand unit. Or if you like a tank pair the boiler with a vitocell 300 stainless tank.If your looking for a traditional HWT most European tanks will be plastic or stainless and have a lifetime warranty. How many bathrooms do you have?
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Thanks for the information. My house has 4 bed rooms.
So what you suggested are solar powered ones?
So what you suggested are solar powered ones?
csp
Well-known member
No those aren't solar. They are boilers as in what's used for hot water heat for the entire home, whether infloor or baseboard. It's not really applicable for a water heater replacement as their.
Rheem is a good brand of water heater, though you're probably not going to find them in a home improvement store. You'll have to get one from a supply house and most likely they won't sell retail.
More info on what you have is really needed to give an adequate answer, as well as your budget.
Rheem is a good brand of water heater, though you're probably not going to find them in a home improvement store. You'll have to get one from a supply house and most likely they won't sell retail.
More info on what you have is really needed to give an adequate answer, as well as your budget.
James-W
Well-known member
About 8 years ago our gas water heater was leaking and I bought a Richmond 40 gallon high efficiency power vent unit from Menards and installed it myself. It wasn't a big deal, just took a little time to get it done. Were you planning on doing it yourself?
brihvac
Well-known member
I have always used Bradford White
So what's the story on "Warning" note from gas company??
Does that say . . . No Warranty . . . or what??
Number 1 reason that hot water heaters fail is sediment build up around heating elements. As a kid, had to haul hot water to chicken house every morning during winter. 5 gallon bucket about 2/3rds full was quite a load for junior-high kid but hey, gotta do your chores !!
That 40 gal natural gas HWH lasted around 20 years IIRC and also kept laundry and showers going for family with 7 kids !!
I'd say start drawing out several gallons of water from bottom spigot of HWH to flush out any sediment every week. Then use it until it starts leaking / or won't heat. Being down there every week pulling out water will keep you "In touch" with it's condition.
As others have said, replacing HWH is money saving DIY job for homeowner. Hardest part is hauling down new tank, and dragging out the old tank. Prices here for Bradford White 40 gal NG is low $300's like $330 or so from wholesale supply house.
Does that say . . . No Warranty . . . or what??
Number 1 reason that hot water heaters fail is sediment build up around heating elements. As a kid, had to haul hot water to chicken house every morning during winter. 5 gallon bucket about 2/3rds full was quite a load for junior-high kid but hey, gotta do your chores !!
That 40 gal natural gas HWH lasted around 20 years IIRC and also kept laundry and showers going for family with 7 kids !!
I'd say start drawing out several gallons of water from bottom spigot of HWH to flush out any sediment every week. Then use it until it starts leaking / or won't heat. Being down there every week pulling out water will keep you "In touch" with it's condition.
As others have said, replacing HWH is money saving DIY job for homeowner. Hardest part is hauling down new tank, and dragging out the old tank. Prices here for Bradford White 40 gal NG is low $300's like $330 or so from wholesale supply house.
Thank you for sharing the info.
The note is just not legible to me.
I am thinking to do it myself.
The note is just not legible to me.
I am thinking to do it myself.
Yes, I am planning to do it myself. The only thing is that I've never done copper welding before.
csp
Well-known member
It's not welding, it's soldering.
Given the nature of your questions I would have to say that you really should consider letting a pro do the job. Or at least do some actual research on the installation that goes beyond this thread.
Given the nature of your questions I would have to say that you really should consider letting a pro do the job. Or at least do some actual research on the installation that goes beyond this thread.
Can you go tankless? I installed a Rinnai RC80i water heater earlier this year and have been pleased with it. I paid $809. It runs on natural gas and is very small/efficient. I was able to move my old tank out and relocate the tankless unit under the house. Direct vent with intake in the middle so it only requires one pipe through the wall.
It takes 15 seconds longer for hot water and we never run out. I got a controller from ebay for $40 that allows me to control the temp upstairs. I have it set to 110 degrees and can take showers with 100% hot water without worrying about fluctuations if someone turns on cold or hot water somewhere else in the house. (no mixing valve in use)
$300 tax credit this year....
EDIT: I just read some of the posts above. My last 2 water heaters have failed because the tanks started leaking. In one, it started leaking around hte elements. Where the top element screwed in, it started forming rust which started leaking... My most recent tank water heater started leaking and I never established where the leak was coming from. This was a 5 year old AO Smith....probably under warranty, but I didn't want to go through the trouble of contacting them as I wasn't the original owner of the unit. It was easier for me to take 5 hours of my time and get that leaky thing out of the house.
It takes 15 seconds longer for hot water and we never run out. I got a controller from ebay for $40 that allows me to control the temp upstairs. I have it set to 110 degrees and can take showers with 100% hot water without worrying about fluctuations if someone turns on cold or hot water somewhere else in the house. (no mixing valve in use)
$300 tax credit this year....
EDIT: I just read some of the posts above. My last 2 water heaters have failed because the tanks started leaking. In one, it started leaking around hte elements. Where the top element screwed in, it started forming rust which started leaking... My most recent tank water heater started leaking and I never established where the leak was coming from. This was a 5 year old AO Smith....probably under warranty, but I didn't want to go through the trouble of contacting them as I wasn't the original owner of the unit. It was easier for me to take 5 hours of my time and get that leaky thing out of the house.
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jvitez
Well-known member
I don't think there's much difference between different water heater models. There are only a few big companies that put many different labels on the same heaters.
Several factors affect water heater life:
1. Hard water. It causes build up of hardness minerals which leads to sediment formation. The sediment then insulates the bottom of the tank from the heat of the burner, so the burner runs longer, you get poor performance, and eventually the steel of the burner chamber corrodes enough to leak from being overheated and burned through.
2. Water softener. If hard water is bad, isn't soft water good? For your fixtures and soap use yes, but not for a "glass" lined (really porcelain) steel tank. Dissimilar metals cause something called galvanic corrosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion
To mitigate this, water heaters have a sacrificial "anode rod" installed. This is either magnesium of aluminum which is lower on the galvanic table than steel, so the galvanic current slowly removes the material from the anode rod preventing galvanic corrosion. However, once the anode rod has been consumed, galvanic corrosion AKA rust, starts to occur. Soft water causes faster consumption of anode rods because of the high sodium content of softened water. Again, everything is fine until the anode rod is consumed, then rust starts.
One good thing about water softeners is that they do reduce sediment build up by eliminating hardness minerals.
3. Undersizing. The OP doesn't say where he lives. If in a cold climate with cold incoming water temps in winter, using a large volume of hot water is a short period of time (also called a dump load) can cause the water temp inside the tank to cool off enough to allow condensation of form inside the gas flue. NG and propane both product much water vapour when burned. This condensing water vapour can drip onto the burner and rust it out even if no galvanic corrosion occurs. If after a large dump load in the winter you stand by your gas fired water heater and hear a regular sizzling sound like bacon frying, you're condensing water onto your burner. You need a larger tank size.
How do you keep a tank lasting a long time? Drain a gallon of water out of it a few times a year, every month if you have hard water. Remove the anode rod every 3 years and replace it if you see more than 1/3-1/2 bare steel. An anode rod is cheap. You can get many years past the warranty period with this maintenance schedule.
Several factors affect water heater life:
1. Hard water. It causes build up of hardness minerals which leads to sediment formation. The sediment then insulates the bottom of the tank from the heat of the burner, so the burner runs longer, you get poor performance, and eventually the steel of the burner chamber corrodes enough to leak from being overheated and burned through.
2. Water softener. If hard water is bad, isn't soft water good? For your fixtures and soap use yes, but not for a "glass" lined (really porcelain) steel tank. Dissimilar metals cause something called galvanic corrosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion
To mitigate this, water heaters have a sacrificial "anode rod" installed. This is either magnesium of aluminum which is lower on the galvanic table than steel, so the galvanic current slowly removes the material from the anode rod preventing galvanic corrosion. However, once the anode rod has been consumed, galvanic corrosion AKA rust, starts to occur. Soft water causes faster consumption of anode rods because of the high sodium content of softened water. Again, everything is fine until the anode rod is consumed, then rust starts.
One good thing about water softeners is that they do reduce sediment build up by eliminating hardness minerals.
3. Undersizing. The OP doesn't say where he lives. If in a cold climate with cold incoming water temps in winter, using a large volume of hot water is a short period of time (also called a dump load) can cause the water temp inside the tank to cool off enough to allow condensation of form inside the gas flue. NG and propane both product much water vapour when burned. This condensing water vapour can drip onto the burner and rust it out even if no galvanic corrosion occurs. If after a large dump load in the winter you stand by your gas fired water heater and hear a regular sizzling sound like bacon frying, you're condensing water onto your burner. You need a larger tank size.
How do you keep a tank lasting a long time? Drain a gallon of water out of it a few times a year, every month if you have hard water. Remove the anode rod every 3 years and replace it if you see more than 1/3-1/2 bare steel. An anode rod is cheap. You can get many years past the warranty period with this maintenance schedule.
Falcon67
Well-known member
>I don't think there's much difference between different water heater models.
This. The one in our old house lasted 20 years. I don't expect anything new short of the $1000 heat pump models to last anywhere near that long. Ours is electric, and I just bought the 6 year warranty unit from HD. Drain the sediment a few times a year and maybe change the anode rod and I'll bet it makes it past the warranty. If I get 10 years, I'd toss and replace. They are expendable, so no sense - IMHO - of getting crazy about 'em. Gas can get by with a smaller unit because of better recovery but for a 4 BR with any kids I'd go 50 gallon. If they are girls, then for sure 50 gal. Women like warm water LOL.
This. The one in our old house lasted 20 years. I don't expect anything new short of the $1000 heat pump models to last anywhere near that long. Ours is electric, and I just bought the 6 year warranty unit from HD. Drain the sediment a few times a year and maybe change the anode rod and I'll bet it makes it past the warranty. If I get 10 years, I'd toss and replace. They are expendable, so no sense - IMHO - of getting crazy about 'em. Gas can get by with a smaller unit because of better recovery but for a 4 BR with any kids I'd go 50 gallon. If they are girls, then for sure 50 gal. Women like warm water LOL.