Looks like I should replace the water heater which I would estimate is a
40 or 50 gallon unit. Do not want tankless. Any brand recommendations? Water is "city" water in Florida.Put in a marathon electric unit in Maryland a few years ago and so far it is fine on well water.
50 gallon unit. Do not want tankless. Any brand
fine on well water.
Lochinvar
-email.me...
a 40 or 50 gallon unit. =A0Do not want tankless. =A0Any brand
it is fine on well water.
I have a State that I bought at Home Depot maybe 10 years ago. Just an average one, nothing fancy. About 6 years old, the thermocouple went bad. It was under warranty. I called them up and they sent me a new one, had it here in two days. No charge at all. Very happy with the service and would buy one again. Been working fine ever since.
Often overlooked is the Sears Power Miser models ( made by AO Smith) I just installed a 50 gallon unit in my house in January. Works like a champ. I'm also happy that if Hurricane Irene knocks out power here in NY, at least I'll still have hot water because its a stand alone with a pilot, no power exhaust venting.
Good point about the power vents. Since I don't want to keep a backup generator, I'm always leery about gas appliances that need electric power.
Hard to recommend water heaters. By the time anybody knows when they fail, the model isn't sold anymore. I put a 40-gal in last year when the old 40-gal started leaking. Don't know how old that one was. Richmond/Rheem 6G40-36F1. Cost about $280. Measured the old tank and found one close in size. First place I looked. Menards. Tied it to the car top. Just used 2 couplings and 2 close nipples to match it to the old water lines, and didn't have to modify the gas line. Personally, I'd go with the cheapest that's the closest fit. Avoid anything branded Acme or Ajax. I don't think you'll ever get your money back spending on super high efficiency or long warranty period. Could be wrong. The one I bought says "6-year." I'll be surprised if it doesn't last at least twice that.
--Vic
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I was told when I was looking for one a couple of years ago the only difference between the 6 year warranty and the 10 year one was the warranty. Otherwise they were the same tank.
"JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@a27g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...
I bet the price was different too!
The 12yr GE at HD have thicker foam installation over the 6 & 9yr gas models.
The extra foam may well be worth the extra price. But the foam doesn't make the WH last longer.
Gas WHs are dirt simple: just a tank lined with glass on the inside with a tube down the middle to carry the heated air and combustion products from the flame at the bottom. Eventually too many cracks happen in the glass and the tank starts to leak as the water corrodes the tank.
Likely a significant portion of the purchase price is for "insurance" against a tank failure for which the manufacturer might be liable.
The implication of differing warranties is that the makers cut some corners when they made the cheaper tanks. That's a dangerous game from a liability standpoint and I doubt that they deliberately play it.
I have a theory GO BIG, since a larger gallon tank likely thermal cycles less, which should add to tank life, besides you can get multiple showers etc and not run out of hot water.
a bad approach is setting a tank to MAX TEMP, since the hotter temperature likely shortens overall tank life
you can buy those supper high efficeny tanks can cost 1500 bucks they are tank type but probably not worth the money
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.