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Seen this element kit at a local supply house.. wonder how much of a game changer that little trough makes for an element swap out?
New Electric Water Heater
- Thread starter billt460
- Start date
My electric water heater has been working since 2000. I removed the rod and put a couple of 2x4’s underneath, and that helped, I know its on borrowed time.
Anyway, I’m also the same age, and I take pride in doing as much as I can on my own. I’m a lot more cautious about starting anything that could lead to injury. Even a minor bump takes too long to recover from now. I really dislike hiring people—too often, they don’t seem to know what they’re doing in the first place.
Anyway, I’m also the same age, and I take pride in doing as much as I can on my own. I’m a lot more cautious about starting anything that could lead to injury. Even a minor bump takes too long to recover from now. I really dislike hiring people—too often, they don’t seem to know what they’re doing in the first place.
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I was glad I did it after it was all finished. Not only from a cost saving perspective. But the fact that I proved to myself that I still COULD do it. Sometimes the pain is worth the gain in more ways than one.My electric water heater has been working since 2000. I removed the rod and put a couple of 2x4’s underneath, and that helped, I know its on borrowed time.
Anyway, I’m also the same age, and I take pride in doing as much as I can on my own. I’m a lot more cautious about starting anything that could lead to injury. Even a minor bump takes too long to recover from now. I really dislike hiring people—too often, they don’t seem to know what they’re doing in the first place.
I was told by a rep. There are no differences with the actual internal tank. You pay for is the extra warranty, added insulation, larger anode rods (maybe two anode rods on the 12 year tanks) and maybe a brass drain valve.
I remember at one time Bradford White was offering a 10 year warranty on their heater. It was just an extra charge with a sticker that went on the 6 year heater saying it had a 10 year warranty. Not a thing different, just an insurance policy of sorts.
I'm pleasantly surprised by the longevity of the GE (Rheem) gas water heater (40 gal) I bought at Home Depot. I installed it in 2007. The water here is moderately hard (around 200ppm TDS) and slightly alkaline. I have flushed it pretty regularly, though, it's supposed to have a feature that prevents sediment from settling. I attempted to replace the anode rod (this one might have 2 because it had a 12 year warranty. I tried everything short of an impact gun (because I don't have one) yet the thing won't budge. Still, 18 years and still working as it should is pretty good. It's on a platform in the garage immediately in front of where I park so if it decides to start leaking I'll see it. My GF lives in a newer subdivision in Frisco. The houses there have tankless gas heaters. They obviously went low-end because it takes minutes to get hot water at the kitchen sink. True, you never run out of hot water (neither do I, though), but it takes freakin' forever to GET hot water.
The Sediment Buster is a handy tool to have.
That thing looks promising. But for the $40.00+ they're charging, you could easily make one up out of either brass, copper, or galvanized fittings.
They are cheaper on Amazon. I found mine for about $25 shipped. It's pretty amazing what it will break up from the bottom of the tank. I also installed the full port drain so everything comes out.
Here is the whole thing with water heater, "warranties". And appliance warranties in general... How much are you going to be inconvenienced to have them make good on it? Assuming they even do. If the thing starts leaking before the warranty is up, (like mine did), you're going to want it replaced right away. You want to avoid a potential flood.
Do you have to take this heavy, rusty, leaking mess somewhere, so they can determine if the warranty applies? Home Depot and Lowe's both have stickers that basically say, if you have problems beyond 24 hours after you buy it, don't bring it back to the store. Contact the manufacturer direct.
So then what? Does the manufacturer have to send a rep out? How long will that take? In the meantime you've got no hot water, along with a leak.
I went through all of this with a 3 month old Frigidaire refrigerator. It started making God awful noises..... Sometimes. And it would stop working. Just long enough for the food in the freezer to start melting. Then it would kick in again. They sent a guy out.
He couldn't fix it, and wasn't willing to authorize a replacement. I called Frigidaire, and ended up talking to some clown in India that no one could possibly understand. This went on back and forth for over a week. It all went nowhere.
I got so disgusted because I couldn't get anywhere, I just went and bought another one. (A different brand with no automatic ice dispenser).
This is why most appliance "warranties" aren't worth the paper they're printed on. I just use them, (along with price), as a guideline on quality and longevity.... Along with customer reviews.
You can also use something like this. But I think you're asking for trouble... Especially if you have an older water heater. That thing banging around in there could do more harm than good.