Hot water heater for the house?

[FastEddy]

Its time to replace the HWH that came with my house when it was built. The heater has a 6 year warrantee and is now 11 years old. I’m seeing some dripping coming from it and want to replace it before it becomes an issue.

What do I look for?
We have a 50 gallon unit now and haven’t run out of hot water that I can remember so the size is fine. When I look at available units I see that they are listed by size and warrantee periods. The units with longer warrantees seem to have an additional corrosion rod in them but I can't seen to find any other differences. They all seem to have the same BTU, energy and insulation ratings and cost from 400-500.00

I’m looking at GE and Maytag (Sears) natural gas units.
Are these good units or should I be looking at another brand?
What should it cost for a standard easy garage install? (Swap Units)
I would like to buy once and not have to worry about it for a long-long time.

Help???

 

[Revo Rancher]

Ed, mine went out a couple of years ago but I went over the HD and bought the 9 year warranty GE. I picked the same gallons, but looked for a faster recycle rate, which partially is higher BTU's. It qualified for an energy rebate as it was more efficient than my old unit even though the BTU's were higher. I paid about 360.00 back then, installed it myself.

However, friend of the family just installed the Rinnai (sp) system. Heats whole house all the time for on demand hot water, uses less energy, and takes up 1/2 the space. Also, no longer have to worry about flammable fumes near apilot light. I may go that route next time.

On edit, here are some interesting links:

http://www.sustainable-energy.vic.gov.au/seinfo/your-home/hot water/choosing.asp
http://www.gothotwater.com/

 

[jetmechG550]

On demands are nice but pricey. Here's a trick question, if it's hot water, why do you need to heat it? Sorry builders joke. Are you running gas or is it electric? How's your water? Around here if your not running a water softner your best off going with one that is more corrosion resistant.

 

[HeartBreak]

My folks recently put in a tankless heater. It cost around $1600 installed (thru an air conditioning company). It usually takes about 2-5 seconds for the flame to kick on, but the water is always as hot as ya need it, and stays hot for as long as ya need it.

Plus, there's no standing pilot to go out and make the house go BOOM, and it saves you however much a pilot light consumes.

Oh, and it sounds like a jet engine when it's running - really killer.

 

[Nubster]

I will go tankless when the time comes as well. I have seen the units for as low as around $500 so they aren't really that much more than the tank systems.

 

[jetmechG550]

I will go tankless when the time comes as well. I have seen the units for as low as around $500 so they aren't really that much more than the tank systems.

Watch the gallons per minute, you don't want to take a hot-warm-cold-warm-cold shower! The cheap units usually have a low capacity.

 

[ImBroken]

This is the Brand/Model that I use install the most.. Very nice unit, High recovery rate...
http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/Products/gas_water_heaters.html

 

[FastEddy]

I did a lot of research today and am leaning to a tankless system. The space I have is conducive for a clean and reasonable install. They have some basic requirements that can be costly if they need to be changed. The two most expensive requirements are a 3/4 inch gas line and ventilation. I have a 3/4 inch gas line already and my space is against an outside wall for the vent.

Units (Good Ones) are running from $900-$1300.00 and somewhere around 300-1000.00 for the install. I have 2 companies coming out this week for quotes.

If it gets to costly Ill do the $899.00 (Installed) 9 year unit from Sears. 0% interest for 12 months. I love free money.

 

[HeartBreak]

Oh, I failed to mention, with the tankless, it takes up less space, so you gain a little storage area. It needs proper clearances, tho. If I remember right, it's at least a foot or two each way, and the exhaust has to be as straight-upwards as possible. It also needs its own dedicated 30amp circuit.

edit; if I could figure out how, I'd post a .wav of the thing in action - it really does sound like a jet engine.

edit2: When you're shopping for the unit, make sure you get an extremely high BTU unit. The unit my folks have is on the order of 25,000-192,000 BTU, with the PSI at between 15 and 150 (according to the label). The brand on it is a "Noritz".

 

[Plaidfish]

I love hot showers and can't stand when I run out...my condo just had the tankless system installed before I sold it...next house will definately have one installed....I don't know about hte gas ones but the electric one needed a separate 50amp circuit for sure and that was the biggest headeache to do.....especially w/o pulling the permit first.......

 

[Monkey Wrench]

OK, I have to ask because I'm in a similar situation as Ed. How do you know, for sure, that your HWH is starting to fizzle on you? Recently, it seems like two or three minutes into a shower I start having to turn more hot water on and after about five minutes I have the cold water just about completely off! I've drained and flushed the tank several times, even yanked the water softner because I thought it was messing with the cold water supply. Sear came out, took a look and said it was firing correctly and recovering well.

Now, this happens no matter when or what else is running (i.e. washer, dishwasher, etc.) or if it's the first shower in the morning or the last kid's bath at night. It's a gas water heater and I have the stat turned as high as it'll go (safely).

So, is it time to replace? It's been in the house since 1996 and I am the second owner, so I figure it's about time.

Also, if you happen to know, if the gas line is already in, will I need to pull a permit to have it installed?

 

[FastEddy]

Here in CA you need a permit to replace your HWH. Its due to the building code changes to make them safer. Here they need to be 18" off the floor, need to be properly ventilated and have a earthquake strap. The permit is $35.00.

If the heater is replaced by a "Certified" contractor, no inspection is needed but you are subject to a random spot inspection for up to 1 year. Once the contractor is finished they give you a form that you bring down to or mail to the building department with your $35.00 and its a done deal.

I was pricing HWH at Home Depot and they require a permit from my city before they can sell me one. (SUCK)

MW,
It sounds like you need a new heater.....
How old is the one you have? The average life of a heater is 6-10 years.

 

[ImBroken]

OK, I have to ask because I'm in a similar situation as Ed. How do you know, for sure, that your HWH is starting to fizzle on you? Recently, it seems like two or three minutes into a shower I start having to turn more hot water on and after about five minutes I have the cold water just about completely off! I've drained and flushed the tank several times, even yanked the water softner because I thought it was messing with the cold water supply. Sear came out, took a look and said it was firing correctly and recovering well.

Now, this happens no matter when or what else is running (i.e. washer, dishwasher, etc.) or if it's the first shower in the morning or the last kid's bath at night. It's a gas water heater and I have the stat turned as high as it'll go (safely).

So, is it time to replace? It's been in the house since 1996 and I am the second owner, so I figure it's about time.

Also, if you happen to know, if the gas line is already in, will I need to pull a permit to have it installed?

Being in the HVAC feild, I see this very often. I dont know the age of your tank, or it's condition, but it may still be good.
When this problem arises, the first thing we look at, is the cold water dip tube. This tube forces the cold supply water to the bottom of the tank. From experience, I can tell you that some of these dip tubes are made of a plastic material, and can prematurely deteriorate. Without the long dip tube, the cold water will feed at the top/middle, and diminish your hot water supply. I would have someone, or yourself check the dip tube...

 

[Revo Rancher]

Here in CA you need a permit to replace your HWH. Its due to the building code changes to make them safer. Here they need to be 18" off the floor, need to be properly ventilated and have a earthquake strap. The permit is $35.00.

If the heater is replaced by a "Certified" contractor, no inspection is needed but you are subject to a random spot inspection for up to 1 year. Once the contractor is finished they give you a form that you bring down to or mail to the building department with your $35.00 and its a done deal.

I was pricing HWH at Home Depot and they require a permit from my city before they can sell me one. (SUCK)

Wow, must be a different set of priorities in So. Cal. I bought mine, installed it, and no mention of a permit. Strange.

Only thing they required was that I bought earthquake straps if I did not already have them. I had them.

 

[FastEddy]

Wow, must be a different set of priorities in So. Cal. I bought mine, installed it, and no mention of a permit. Strange.

Its a city thing here.
They told me I needed an ID and if I lived in my city I would have to have a permit.

Kind of messed up if you ask me....

 

[Revo Rancher]

Bi----Zarrrrre!!!

Oh well. Let us know what yuo end with because my next domicile I plan to be a custom.

 

[Plaidfish]

Revo would you like your next domicile to be fully automated too????
I got a buttload of custom programmable controllers I can do sick stuff with.....

 

[Revo Rancher]

Funny PLiad. Not a bad idea, though. If we get fancy enough maybe one of those TV shows will pay for it!

Ed, seriously, let us know what you install.

 

[Plaidfish]

Oh I could get WAY fancy......I made a fishtank setup for someone here...I simulated sunrise and sunset using 4 lights....auto feeder and chemical feeders based on Ph balance/time of year and Outdoor air Temperature......also had auto dump from the bio filter and treated water ready to be introduced automatically from the treatment tank......
I'm doing a small job here for a Coral Gables house that's 25,000sq/ft......the guy's gate entry starts the sequences to get his house the way he wants it to be at different times of the day before he gets out of his car.....pretty cool stuff but I get stuck doing mostly commercial and gov facilities stuff......

 

[Monkey Wrench]

ImBroken, the tank was here when we bought the house and the house was built in 1996, so I'm assuming the tank was installed new.

Here are some pictures of the tank, if it helps:

Being you are an expert in this field, is replacing the dip tube something I might be able to do on my own, provided I'm capable? I'm not sure what all is involved with replacing a cold water dip tube.

It'd be ideal if I could squeeze another 12-18 months out of this thing, if possible.

Thanks!