Electric water heater brand preference
- Thread starter AZjeff
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You are supposed to descale it periodically. It is designed for easy descaling. I have not done it yet so I'd better get crackin'....
I went with Noritz because they are American made, in Southern Cal somewhere. I asked the head of maintenance at work what he thought about them and he told me Noritz is all they use; they had many throughout the buildings. I guess they installed them as "point of use" in the bathrooms, kitchens, etc.
You can buy cheaper, but probably not better. Just understand they cost a lot more to install.
In the end, I love the tankless, but there are a few problems. Our house is small, so water does not have to travel too far. But the 1st use in a bathroom takes time and wastes water. 2nd, they are expensive, all in, vs a traditional tank water heater.
I included mine in my long term house plan, to minimize recurring costs and have everything done, as best as I could, in case something happened to me. I wanted to have Sue set up.
Check it out and see if it is for you. I have a retired plumber who works for peanuts, so I saved on installation.
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My house had never had a water heater before since it was built in '65, just through the boiler, which was ungodly expensive (and didn't have a tempering valve...). I installed an AO Smith 40 gallon electric from Lowe's back last April. No complaints so far...
Jeff, Just make sure Sue contacts me first so that I can buy the Corvette.....LOL.
That ghetto ride is a money pit... Little kids like the L36 427 noise, though. so there's that.
That's ok if it is. The only thing that I have worked on more than Corvettes, are Corvairs.....or maybe some British Leyland makes (think MG, Triumphs, Jags)
Corvairs? OMG. Ever see a 2nd gen with a small block in the back seat? I hear someone made a conversion kit or something?
By the way, the only way I could ever get a decent brake pedal was with a Motive Bleeder and maxing out the idle mixture manifold vacuum.
Yes the V8 Corvair kit was made by Crown. Worked on several of them. Huge issue is....wait for it........understeer. That and cracked rear backlights because of body torque twisting. Yes, I have a sweet spot in my heart for the stock rear engine variety taught to me when I was 15 by a guy here in STL that worked on them. He also was an expert in the Lucas Electric positive ground systems used on the British Leyland cars. The great thing about him and his shop is they he never lacked for business. Many of those car model / brand owners beat a path to his door any time they needed repairs.
Nice thread hijack guys😒
I installed a new 6 year Rheem in 2016 but before I installed it I changed the anode rod to a much larger rod (about 2.25 times the size of the factory rod) so it should be good for at least 12 years before the anode needs replacing. So far there have been zero problems with the Rheem. The life of the tank in a water heater is dependent on keeping the anode changed therefore the water eats away at the anode instead of the tank. When I bought my Rheem I was told that the only difference in a 6/9/12 year warranty heater is the size of the anode so I bought the cheaper heater then paid ~$20 for the upgraded anode and replaced it myself. The anode out of my tank didn't go to waste since my mom's water heater is more compact. I just cut the anode to the size that it would fit in her water heater.
Ive installed quite a few of the Rheem water heaters. Actually have one in my own house as well.
A tank with a coil plumbed as a zone into your boiler would have been the better way to go. Unlimited hot water.My house had never had a water heater before since it was built in '65, just through the boiler, which was ungodly expensive (and didn't have a tempering valve...). I installed an AO Smith 40 gallon electric from Lowe's back last April. No complaints so far...
Or a heat pump hybrid water heater.
Maybe, but this boiler is only a couple years from retirement and adding another "zone" to this old beast would be cost prohibitive, plus the cost of a storage tank. Not to mention running cost of the oil furnace throughout all the year. I was able to cut piping and plumb in the electric heater myself for $1,000 all in. Obviously I did all the labor.
They've been running gas lines out to country areas like mine, so hopefully before my boiler craps out they run it through here.
Heat pump.
Ironically my AC unit is on its last legs so yea that's an option and just use the oil as an extreme cold weather back-up. Opened up the cover of the AC unit to see if there was a filter in there to change as well. Seen all the rust so I just closed it up like I seen nothing
Buy an old house they said, it'll be fun they said... Nope...
When we move to Delaware and everyone has an A/C we were advised to get a service contract because of your A/C breaks on July 4th with a service contract it will get fixed that day. Without one you will be in a list.
The service contract is about $300 a year, includes 2x a year cleaning and system checkup. For example they check each capacitor so hopefully they will catch one going bad before it fails. That's an example, several components are checked. I get a discount on parts and labor. Still have several more years for the Trane 10 year parts warranty.
The service contract is about $300 a year, includes 2x a year cleaning and system checkup. For example they check each capacitor so hopefully they will catch one going bad before it fails. That's an example, several components are checked. I get a discount on parts and labor. Still have several more years for the Trane 10 year parts warranty.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
We had a house in NW Pa of the same vintage with the original boiler too. The hot water loop had already been disabled and a water heater installed. We had everything checked by a plumber, he said the boiler was a beast and working perfectly but they weren't very efficient in the 60s. We bought the house in 93 and the boiler was still going strong in 05 when we sold it, only replaced the pump.
and change the anode rods about every 5 years or so......
I paid extra for the dual anode rod on my rheem gas heater...
That means not buying a Bradford White or other brand that has the anode integrated into the outlet nipple. My Bradford White developed a leak at 10 years, which the plumber determined was the lower element. I asked about replacing the anode. He said that there is a 50/50 chance of snapping the nipple off, necessitating the replacement of the tank. They won't touch them an consider them one and done.
Ed
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