Gas Water Heater

[Pointer]

Getting quotes for a gas water heater tank in FL and asking if there are any preferred makers/models? Anyone have first hand experience??

Thanks in advance.

[Doug]

I can't remember the other brand recommended around where I live in Houston but the other brand recommended around here was "State" and that's what I got about one year ago. I'm happy with my twin 40 gal gas water heaters. Somewhere I read that different parts of the country have different recommendations so what might be good around me may not be what's recommended around where you are????

[DanG]

Might be a good time to consider tankless. Our head plumber is adamant about Noritz - non proprietary PVC venting. Our vendor here says he's not ever sold any replacement parts for one.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I always wondered tankless could fill a Jacuzzi tub?

[George]

The breeching can be really spendy so that is a big point. I looked at tankless and the proprietary breeching I would need was double the cost of the heater.

[Steve Barker]

in about a week. if you like lukewarm.

[gregz]

A tank might not fill a jacuzzi, no problem for tankless.

Just had Rheem installed by plumber recommendation, tank type.

Greg

[DD_BobK]

Yes but how satisfactorily would be a function of cold water temp, water heater output and tub size.

If your tub takes 50 gallons & the heater can produce 4 gpm of adequately hot water, you'll be good to go in ~12 minutes. Iower capacity, 3 gpm.... 16 minutes higher capacity, 9 gpm 6 minutes

here's a pretty decent, unbiased website about tankless

here's another one about specfic heaters & use cases

I thought about a tankless but the numbers didn't make sense for my application...... $1200 for the unit cold water at 45F derating for elevation bigger propane line questions about longevity DIY installation costs vs contractor installation increased hot water usage

cheers Bob

[DanG]

You have a much better chance with a good tankless. Some of the early electric attempts at tankless were really sad junk. Perhaps you should research Noritz.

[bob haller]

electric tankless are a loser, requiring 200 amp service just for heating water.plus 200 amps or whatever to run your home

I have a 75 gallon 75,000 BTU GE gas model that provides endless hot water.

it includes a brass drain valve, the plastic ones are junk

[George]

Maybe someone forgot to turn it on? A gas tankless is more than up to the task of filling a jacuzzi.

[bob haller]

depends on lots of issues........

whats the incoming water temperature? with incoming water at 40 degrees the rise amount must be high enough to get the water to a comfy temerature.

few tankless can have enough BTU to raise incoming from 40 degrees to say 120 or so

ANY OTHER water being drawn ? you can overwhem a tankless by drawing too much hot water at the same time.

think filling a tub while someone is showering:( Burr cold hot water.

may be zero hot water in low flow applications like shaving, the heater may not trip on

Besides all that theres the high cost of install, big gas lines. May be issues with exhaust, chimney, may depend on power line to operate no electric no hot shower, tankless are complex and may need heat exchanger cleaning espically in hard water areas. so add cost for trained pro service.

standard tanks are cheap, tend to work well dependably till they leak.. and typically cost less than a decent candy bar a week when you divide purchase price by life expectancy

[JIMMIE]

My State is 20 years old. The only problem was the plastic drain started leaking, easy fix. That was 10 years ago. If I had to replace it today I would get another but replace the drain valve with a metal one during installation.

Jimmie

[trader4]

If he considers tankless it would be good if he could report back what he finds and what he decides. I can see why a plumber would like tankless, since the install labor as well as the product cost is going to be a lot more than the install for just replacing a conventional.

They can be great for certain applications. IMO, the cost effectiveness just isn't there for the typical residential replacement of a storage type unit.

[Stormin Mormon]

I replaced my WH, a couple years ago. I think that a full flow brass ball valve drain would have been excellent idea. I did not, and will likely regret my neglect.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

My State is 20 years old. The only problem was the plastic drain started leaking, easy fix. That was 10 years ago. If I had to replace it today I would get another but replace the drain valve with a metal one during installation.

Jimmie

[Peter]

My 23 year old CraftMaster 80 gallon natural gas hot water heater finally bit the dust last month and I needed to replace it. Couldn't find a local dealer in my area, so that wasn't a choice for me. I don't know if they are as well made today as then, but I never any repairs required for it.

Since I would not be doing it myself, I looked at the total package cost

- the heater, installation, and removal of the old unit. My local plumber uses only Bradford White. On the web, I learned that those are sold only to the trade, not to private consumers. However, they seem to have excellent reviews. The plumber's charge was only about $75 more than what it would have cost me to have an equivalent item installed by one of the major big box chains, so I went with my local plumber. Too soon to know if I made a mistake or not. So far, so good.

[Pointer]

Tankless is out of the question for this application.

The two recommendations I see are State and Bradford White. Hope they are good in FL.

Appreciate the recommendation regarding a brass drain valve which appears important.

Thanks

[bob haller]

actually your better off at install replacing whatever valve there is with a ball type, for best draining

[clare]

I doubt it - and my advice to anyone considering a tankless is "DO YOUR HOMEWORK" and don't believe all the hype.

If your water is REAL SOFT, i.e virtually no TDS it might make sense. Depending on your usage.

[clare]

My current unit is a conventional Mexican built GE labelled unit from Home Despot. My last one (installed about 18 years earlier) was a GSW made in Fergus Ontario. If this one lasts as long as the last one I won't likely be here to see it changed.