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Water heater questions

Reply to
clare
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You're as amusing as the Mormon.

Reply to
bob_villa

We have Comcast, so we'd never get anywhere close to 4 galllons/hour. It would take forever to fill even a one quart bottle, let alone a bathtub. Plus it would go down all the time and it would cost an arm and a leg.

Reply to
Jennifer Murphy

More so. And less likely to knock on your door with weird stories about gold plates, magic translating stones, magic submarines, magic underwear, and promises of becoming god one way for only 10% of everything you earn.

Reply to
Jennifer Murphy

I don't expect you to appreciate humor. You're as stupid as a post.

Thanks, I guess.

Reply to
micky

Jennifer,

Glad things are working out, and you do have a good sense of humor as well. That goes a long way in understanding many of the posters here on AHR.

Reply to
hrhofmann

No one could be as stupidly absurd as your post.

Reply to
bob_villa

Sorry to hear all that. Maybe a satellite connection woudl work. Just a thought.

Reply to
micky

Ive had the same electric water heater for about 20 years. I have a well, with some iron in the water, but basically good water. I drain that tank once a year, sometimes twice. Never had any trouble with it at all.

On the other hand, a nearby town with city water, has a severe problem with calcium. The tanks literally fill with calcium in 5 years or less. I've helped several guys in town replace these heaters. They are so full of calcium that you cant get a drop of water out the drain valves.

I bought a trailer house from in town, which I bought just for storage, so I wont connect water to it. It had a 30 gal. electric water heater, which was only 2 years old. I removed it to fix a bad spot in the floor under it, and took it outside Just for the heck of it, I dragged it down by the barn, removed all the pipes and flipped it upside down. Then I hooked a garden hose to the drain spigot on the bottom (which was now on top), and let water run thru it. I ended up with a full 5 gallon pail of calcium chunks on the ground, and a little more. I flushed it for over 2 hours and the water finally came out clean.

Ive never hooked it up, but I think it should work. (It was working when I got that trailer house). If I need to replace my water heater, I would not hesitate to use this one. At worst, the lower element may be bad from all the crud in the tank, but that's easy to fix.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

You DONT need a dielectric device if your pipes are PEX or CPVC (plastic). But if your pipes are metal (especially copper), you SHOULD use them. If you have plastic pipes and an electric water heater, be sure to ground the tank to your breaker box ground. Gas heaters dont need the electrical ground. Plus the gas pipe is metal anyhow and that should ground it, even if it's not really needed.

BTW: Someone asked about those straps for keeping the tanks from tipping in an earthquake prone area. I dont live in such an area, but I'd surely use one if I did. Also, trailer houses need straps. I know a guy who moves trailer houses and he had a tank tip over while he was transporting a house. It made a big mess. Ever since then, he always checks for straps and installs them if there are none, and he drains the tanks too. New trailers always have them, but most often when someone replaces a tank, they dont re-use them.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

Just curious what they use in Wash state? Where I live they are not required, but the trailer homes have them and they are just a one or 1.5 inch wide piece of galv. tin. When that trailer house mover has to replace them, he uses that 1" galv. pipe hanging strap that has holes every 3/4 inch or so.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

The drain valve ALWAYS leaks after the first annual sediment flush as a chu nk of sediment will inevitably get stuck in the washer/seat interface. I r eplace boiler drain type valves (especially the cheezy plastic ones that se em to come on many new water heaters) as a matter of course with a ball val ve. Usual setup would be a 3/4" NPT nipple to a 3/4" FPT ball valve and fi nally a 3/4" NPT to GHT fitting. I also put a brass GHT cap over the end s o that if someone kicks the lever of the ball valve when not intending to d rain the tank there's not a geyser of hot water shooting across the basemen t floor.

I also try to always have at least one or two GHT caps in my junk box becau se a quick fix for a leaking drain valve is to just cap it off until it can be repaired "properly" (or if it's on borrowed time, just left that way in definitely.)

nate

Reply to
N8N

I had our 40 gallon gas water heater replaced recently. It is a Rheem or Ruud, but I'm told they're essentially the same.

Originally I considered doing it myself but was hesitent due to there being gas lines involved. After watching what the installer had to do to make it fit properly I'm glad I let the professional take care of it. I think the total cost was around $900, but it was a next day job. I know that's steep, but I've dealt with these people before and they are always professional and come out the same day. It was worth it to me.

Reply to
badgolferman

That doesn't necessarily sound steep to me, depending on what WH was used. I'd say it's probably typical.

Reply to
trader_4

RUUD PROG40S, P2-40SF

Reply to
badgolferman

Do you have any idea to whom you are responding?

Reply to
Jennifer Murphy

I have never drained the tank. I asked the plumber about that. He said there is no need to drain them. I didn't ask if he meant just in this area or anywhere.

The plumber put a cap on it.

Reply to
Jennifer Murphy

Thanks

That and just considering the source...

Reply to
Jennifer Murphy

The strap I used was sold specifically as a water heater strap at one of the Home Centers, like this one.

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It is basically just a 1-1/2" galvanized strip of metal that wraps around the tank and bolts to the wall (I used lag bolts and large washers).

It comes in two halves that overlap in front of the water heater. There is a bolt on the front that you adjust to tighten the strap securely around the water heater. It's only $20, cheap insurance to secure the tank, and it's reusable when the time comes to replace the water heater.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

You likely wouldn't have known that he was cheating you, since you were already mentally primed for a replacement. Thus, he would have suffered no bad press had he replaced it.

I would have this guy on speed dial (is that expression dated?)

Reply to
Mike Hartigan

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