About a year ago I put in a new A.O Smith 50 gallon gas unit for about $450 and two hours of my time... It cost me about $18 a month for a 4 bathroom home, family of 6.
Hot Water Heater Price Shock
- Thread starter Zee09
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For certain things, the big box stores are still cheaper. They can get a shipment in of 20 water heaters and that will be cheaper than the cost of shipping 20 water heaters individually.
Appliances are like that too, never really found an online store that was cheaper than the local stores.
The one I installed 12/15 just began leaking (despite 2+7 year warranty). I'm not replacing it with another Rheem - that's for sure!
The replacement water heaters are all pretty much junk. Have you ever seen what happens when a water heater ruptures? I have, several times, and the damage can get in the tens of thousands of dollars. Whenever my wife and I leave for any amount of time I shut the water main off.
Where I am in the northeast a 40 up the chimney went from 435.00 to 625.00 months ago.
Folx who install there own do not need to feed the family or make overhead. Usually for a common install around here it costs from 1200.00 up as high as 2200.00 depending on how much advertising the company pays for. 3-4 hours install time from end to end depending on how clogged the drain valve is, how long it takes the wholesaler to pick the item and get it into your truck, how much crap that is in the way on the stairs and basement, traffic, and how busy the scrap yard is to rid of it. Add occasional clogged chimney, copper gas line issue sometimes and other time consuming issues. And most homeowners want a fixed price over the phone so one must factor all this in.
The home grounding system can influence the life of the anode. If the house grounding is poor micro currents can pass from the water line through the heater and out the gas line.
The glass lining just extends the life of the anode..its not really to keep the tank from rusting. Without the glass the anode would be gone very quickly.
Folx who install there own do not need to feed the family or make overhead. Usually for a common install around here it costs from 1200.00 up as high as 2200.00 depending on how much advertising the company pays for. 3-4 hours install time from end to end depending on how clogged the drain valve is, how long it takes the wholesaler to pick the item and get it into your truck, how much crap that is in the way on the stairs and basement, traffic, and how busy the scrap yard is to rid of it. Add occasional clogged chimney, copper gas line issue sometimes and other time consuming issues. And most homeowners want a fixed price over the phone so one must factor all this in.
The home grounding system can influence the life of the anode. If the house grounding is poor micro currents can pass from the water line through the heater and out the gas line.
The glass lining just extends the life of the anode..its not really to keep the tank from rusting. Without the glass the anode would be gone very quickly.
We have two NG water heaters , gas stove and gas central heat . During the warmer months our gas bill is next to nothing . Even during the winter it's still under $80 / month . Tankless water heaters sound good in theory , but for us the payback would be longer than the life of the unit .
Highboy
$100 Site Donor 2025
Just had a 50 gallon State water heater installed for $1200. Another local plumber was slow on getting back to me but wanted $1800 for a Bradford White 50 and $2500 for a 75 gallon. Out went a GE 75 gallon with a 6/2006 build date.
For anyone who wants to replace an electric water heater and wants a little peace of mind(warranty-wise, at least), I think Rheem makes a water heater with a plastic tank. Lifetime warranty on the tank and uses no anode rod. Several other companies also put their name on it. Price for it is now almost comparable to a regular electric water heater, especially with the recent price hikes.
Around the northeast there are many taco tankless units that went back to the 1910's...attatched to an old coal fired steam unit....disconnected as soon as tank styles came about.
The hotter ya can keep the water the longer the tank will last. I have some customers...old folx..that still have a heater from the 50's in operation. The water is kept at 160f. At those temps the air has been driven off so little corrosion.
Had a 50 gallon electric AO Smith from a local plumbing supply store installed for $1,022.00 this past week. I hired an older plumber from the area instead of using the big companies as he has a great reputation for being honest and making sure people are happy with everything.
He gets his units from the plumbing supply store instead of the big box stores like Lowes, he says they're better units. I don't know if that's true or not, but I don't pretend to be a plumber and have real world knowledge of such things.
The cost of the same unit at Lowes was $519.00 and I figure with him buying it at the supply store, putting in new stainless steel connectors, a new quarter turn shut off valve to replace the old round one, and his time, it was a pretty good price. Plus I like the idea of supporting the small guys when I can.
He left saying, "If there's any problem with this unit at all, you call me no matter what time it is. As for my work, I don't figure that I'll hear from you on that side of things, I can guarantee that's good."
He gets his units from the plumbing supply store instead of the big box stores like Lowes, he says they're better units. I don't know if that's true or not, but I don't pretend to be a plumber and have real world knowledge of such things.
The cost of the same unit at Lowes was $519.00 and I figure with him buying it at the supply store, putting in new stainless steel connectors, a new quarter turn shut off valve to replace the old round one, and his time, it was a pretty good price. Plus I like the idea of supporting the small guys when I can.
He left saying, "If there's any problem with this unit at all, you call me no matter what time it is. As for my work, I don't figure that I'll hear from you on that side of things, I can guarantee that's good."
Did he dispose of the old unit? Does your home have a basement or is it on a slab?
Around here to get rid of something ya just put it at the curb, attach a price tag saying it works great and it will get stolen...
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I have noticed a huuuuuge number of parents pushing their kids to the trades the last 30 years.
Lots of plumbers out there because of this, labor should be cheap.
Lots of plumbers out there because of this, labor should be cheap.
Plumbing is the #1 in demand high paying job that you can go into entry level with no experience. HVAC is #2. Electrican #3 electrician pays the highest though I saw this in a news article just a few days ago. It was talking about how many people go into debt to obtain a useless college degree that won’t get you a decent job. Those same people go into the trades.
here is a very similar article not the same exact one I was thinking of
https://www.wistv.com/2021/09/15/states-with-highest-paying-home-service-jobs/?outputType=apps
here is a very similar article not the same exact one I was thinking of
https://www.wistv.com/2021/09/15/states-with-highest-paying-home-service-jobs/?outputType=apps
OK I was aboe to find that news article from last week on best jobs with no prior experience
https://theinterviewguys.com/no-experience-needed-2020/
https://theinterviewguys.com/no-experience-needed-2020/
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
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Around here I recommended several plumbers to people only to find out they are so swamped they are not taking on new customers.
Ripping $200 to $300 an hour.
My hot water heater went out about a year after we bought a house in Cypress TX.....that was like summer of 08.....a 52 gallon gas HWH was 680 installed on a Sat.....a GE with 10 year warranty
He did take the old unit and my home is on a slab. The water heater is in a very convenient location, just inside the garage within a closet built just for the heater.
If you look at a few Pex videos, there are several types. The crimps that take a simple ring with an inexpensive crimper work fine and don’t leak, when installed correctly. A crimper, a few attachments and some rings and you are as good of a plumber as those guys making veteran plumber’s wages. With those items in your possession, it’s somewhat simple to do most plumbing repairs, especially water heater replacements.
Up north a family member had a big house. They had two 40 gallon water heaters, that setup worked fine. Both in the basement.
