New water heater install

Honestly I think it's on purpose. In a price-driven market, there's no good reason for a company to make a more durable unit. They want it to outlast the six-year warranty. Beyond that the sooner it fails, the better. They sell more of them that way.

Some of us would rather pay extra for a high quality unit, but we're in the minority. Hard to blame the manufacturers for giving the marketplace what it demands. In this case; cheap water heaters.

 

Yeah, as much as I hate those things, there's not much to go wrong. It's not like soldered connections never leak.

 

Isn't A O Smith one of the better water heaters?

 

That's what I was told when given a choice between A O Smith and Rheem. Also, from what I'm told, just like Moen and other brand name faucets, there's a difference between what you get at Lowes/HD vs a true plumbing supply store.

 

I used to think so, but we've seen plenty of failures on them as well.

 

I've heard the same. Good better best. Lowes/HD typically goes with builder grade which is the lower end of price and quality.

 

My wh is so old Abe Lincoln installed it. It keeps the water hot, so I got that going for me.

 

I did a Rheem. It was 5 pm and had a basement full of water. So sharkbites it was. I have really acidic water, and it is rotting the copper out of my house slowly. With a acid neutralizer tank and salt tank, its close to 7.0 ph now. And the copper pipe is being replaced by pex.

 

FIFY

 

Lol, Ok, I didn't mean that basic but i'll take it. Also since water leakage was the issue to replace this thing. Been thinking of building a dyke of some sort to get the water to go INTO the drain instead of away. There are TWO drains within 5 feet of this water heater and not one of them is low enough to get the water to go into them, water ran away from them instead. I know you can buy a pan and route that to the drain, but has anyone seen or done something just to close off the whole area, im talkin including the water softener and most of the main plumbing in this room. Even something like plastic shoe moulding sealed to the floor would do it, its just a utility room so I don't care about looks so much just functionality.

 

I just replaced one that was over 16yrs old. The newer ones are 2x as big(more insulation) , so I had to change its location because it wouldn't work in the old location. I also needed to fix in a hurry as the old one was leaking. The old one did not have any valves just up stream so I added those. AO Smith is what I got, plumbing friend said they make most of the other brands anyway, Rheem is the largest mfgr now I think. Not that much difference really unless you want touchscreens or other silly stuff. Plan on draining taking a while, its super heavy if you don't. The sand built up in mine was a real bitch to get mostly out and took hours because the hose kept clogging. My pipes were a mix of TPVC and copper, replaced with PEX. Pex is really easy but sorta pricey. Those sharkbites are nice (and pricey too), fits on the ID so works on all types of pipe. Good luck , I was quoted 1600$ to have a pro do it and did it myself for less than 800$ all in. Fuck thats a whole race weekend + tho..... BTW a house is damn near worthless without a water heater. If I had more time I would have considered tankless, may go that way next time.

 

Been reading all of these posts, and overwhelming myself with other internet research.

I'm fixing up a house built in 1965. I plan on keeping it quite a while. I bought about a year ago. After finishing (mostly) electrical, I'm running almost all new PEX lines and replacing all faucets, toilets and water heater. I believe it's original. Going to a power vent, as it's now the only thing using the metal chimney. I've decided to stay with a basic 50 gal. tank model, with the KISS principal in mind, since I won't occupy it full-time. I'll upgrade 10-15 years from now to a higher efficiency unit, once they're perhaps more reliable and proven. Too much other work and projects to do, to mess with any other option now.

Home Depot unit is $1,000.00. Local (and only) plumbing supply house in town is $1,300.00. I'll pay the $300. extra. Likely worth doing for all if the other plumbing fixtures, right?

 

^ If you have the lead time get it shipped from someplace like AJ Madison.

Mine's a 40g forced-vent unit, high-efficiency. Never ran out of hot water in a house with 4 women, dishwasher, laundry.

 

Forced vent is still hot gas / metal flue exhaust, right? I looked at similar units. Simple and inexpensive units. I don't want something that may need a special tool to program the burner though.

 

Shark bites and pex. Quick and easy.

 

Yes. Mine was literally plug into the outlet I'd installed next to it, press and hold two buttons to set temp, and go. Haven't touched it in nearly five years now.

 

Quick question. my house is is 20 years old and we are on the original water heater. I have 4 people in the house 2 female teen agers a wife and me. laundry, dishwasher and showers everyday. Should I be proactive and buy a replacement water heater and have it on standby or just wait till it shits the bed? Home depot is a 1/2 mile from me and also my buddy owns a plumbing supply house and he can have one delivered to me quickly same day. I have plenty of room to store it so thats not an issue.

 

Lowes now selling A O Smith. Home Depot Rheem. It's now becoming my understanding that the big box sellers have a slightly inferior spec. unit, compared to those sold at plumber supply houses.