New Electric Water Heater

Cropduster172 said:
Bradford -White has a good reputation for longevity but are only available to licensed plumbers as I understand it
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No, someone lied to you. Bradford White as of the last 10 years, has sucked, to put it mildly. All heaters used to have a thicker wall but this has not been the case for 25 years or so.
Cropduster172 said:
hot water smelled like rotten eggs
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there is a speacial anode rod, called "smelly anode rod", just ask your local supply house.
 
Bradford White is, (was), a good brand. I gauge the level of quality I purchase, by how difficult the install is. If I had a water heater that was in a difficult spot, say inside the house, and a problem to drain, remove, and install, I would go for the best quality obtainable.

I did this when I lived in Illinois, in a 2 story with a basement. Which is where the water heater was. I was lucky in that it drained really well. Then my wife and I struggled getting the old one out of the basement, and the new one in. (I was much younger back then).

I bought a A.O. Smith from a local plumbing supply house in town. But this was back when A.O. Smith was considered one of the better makes. Unfortunately today they're nowhere near the brand they used to be.

Regardless of how long this one lasts, it was my last water heater job. I'm being forced to accept that my age is getting in the way of many of these DIY projects, that I used to do without even giving it so much as a thought.
 
burbguy82 said:
No, someone lied to you. Bradford White as of the last 10 years, has sucked, to put it mildly. All heaters used to have a thicker wall but this has not been the case for 25 years or so.

there is a speacial anode rod, called "smelly anode rod", just ask your local supply house.
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I got both from Amazon. Work instantly and last 4-5 years or so.

https://a.co/d/gatX7LZ
 
When the Whirlpool badged AO Smith in our beach house goes, I'll give the HD Rheem a shot. When the 50 gallon gas Bradford -White in our primary home goes, I'm calling the HVC plumber company.
 
Hats off to you. You got 'er did so you are not too old for it.

imho hot water heater is like a brake job, bang for buck, big savings, with DIY.

I don't know how to do it as I don't know how to solder pipes, I've only used Shark Bites. One day when I can ditch the day job, it's one of the things I will learn how to do. I think our "12 year" hot water heater is now 9.....Rheem

p.s. In my town, the hot water heater required a permit and an inspector came to look at it. I got a new HVAC installed in 2020, no inspector, gas furnace. Go figure.

oh btw with that job, the hot water heater is orphaned, so they installed a ss chimney liner for it. Furnace just has intakes and exhaust that go through the foundation (94% furnace)...
 
billt460 said:
Last week I noticed my 4-1/2 year old A.O. Smith water heater started leaking. (There was dried rusty water stains in the bottom of the pan). So yesterday morning I set off for Home Depot, and bought a new Rheem with a 9 year guarantee.

Right off the bat the old A.O. Smith wouldn't drain. There was so much rust and sediment at the bottom, it just clogged the hose. I tried turning the water on, in an attempt to help force it out, but no luck.

So I had to take the thing out full of water. I can't put into words how much I enjoyed doing that. I managed to get it out of the garage, and on to the driveway. Then it was a royal pain getting it to the curb.

I'm guessing it was right around 320 pounds of water, (40 gallons), plus the heater itself. So let's call it 400 pounds. When I got it to the end of the driveway, I just let it fall over, then it drained pretty well out of the top fittings. My trash service allows 6 "special pickups" a year. They're coming next Tuesday.

So I have a hillbilly house to look at until then. Nothing like a old water heater sitting in the front yard. The rest of it didn't go too bad. I bought new connection hoses, and a new drain pan. All I have left to do is run the drain for the high pressure relief valve into the sink drain. And fit the drain pan outlet to accept a garden hose.

I got home with the new heater at 7:00 AM, and I was done, and putting tools away by 10:30. Today I hurt too much to do anything. At 72 I'm getting too old for this kind of crap. But I'm too cheap to pay a plumber. I figure with what I saved, I'll buy a new gun.
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One 1/2 drill bit and 1/2 hour would of given back that one year of life you lost.

And if a drain is not near, or it is not in a utility room that can get the floor soaked, get a drill bit to match the outside diameter of those clear flexible plastic hoses at Menard's/HD plumbing dept and get either a garden hose barb setup you made up at the brass fitting section there, of get a couple or more of double male brass/plastic barbs and 3 to 4 sets of said clear plastic hose if you don't have a garden hose. Also 3m electric tape if you need to increase the diameter of hose you jamb into the hole in the bottom of the water heater. Of coarse test your drill bit diameter to hose outside diameter on something drillable to get the diameter up to an interference slide in fit if you don't want water the leak. Have the tape handy to add diameter on the fly if needed.

Next is a hammer or wrench and take the lower faucet off, stab the sludge with something and let it drain if you have a drain near.
 
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Thermo1223 said:
https://a.co/d/emMfOOP

Just using this as a reference but any full port valve will do. The new brass valve is not a full port. Flush it every 6 months and get a powered anode rod installed and it will last 20+ years.
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(y)

On my last WH install I replaced the factory anode rod with a powered unit before I even installed the water heater. With a Milwaukee impact it came right out.
 
My rheam hpwp died due to installer error (came with house rusted out at the connections) Still lasted 7+ years.
MY replacement AO smith HPWP that I installed is going strong.. expect at least 10 years.

When it goes I'll get the latest and greatest HPWP or direct vent natural gas.
I prefer the HPWP because I don't spend money dehumidifing my basement for 7months out of the year.
Dehumidifiers dont have the cheapest cost to run or replacement cost either.
basically works out to nearly free hot water.

And with electricity climbing (generation cost $$$ just doubled this month) from 5.39/kwh to 10.x
HPWP still feels like a bargain for my circumstances.
 
billt460 said:
I've never been a fan of "servicing" water heaters by flushing or replacing anode rods. For one thing they're a royal pain to remove. You can tweak your plumbing and generate leaks by using a breaker bar. And an impact gun vibrates everything to the point that alone can cause leaks.

Most of today's water heaters are like modern televisions. They are for the most part disposable. By them, use them, replace them. I'm lucky in that my water heater is in the garage. I have very easy access to get them in and out. So it's easier to just replace the thing.

Flushing for the most part only removes a small portion of the sediment, because you have no way to agitate all the crap that is laying at the bottom of the tank. Many plumbers advise against it as well. It's just not worth the aggravation and expense.

I like this guy. He's got a lot of experience and he gets right to the point.

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I flush mine at least once a year and I get tons of stuff out. I think every water heater these days uses a swirl tube for incoming cold water so after a couple of drain & fills I imagine it gets close to all of it. Mine is 14 now and still ticking.
 
BrendanC said:
10 cents a KWH? that’s a good deal on power lol.
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Let me explain that more:
generation cost.. not total cost.. you should know that there is about 20 billing schemes for electricity regionally.

Mine goes (generation/supply) + distro + tons of ghetto fees for kickbacks etc.

previously my generation was 5.3cents per kwh which is fairly cheap but the delivered price was aprox 17cents. varying 1cent either way with an average usage of between 600-1000kwh

so a doubling of generation fee is about a 33% increase in bill. Which should be aprox 23c/kwh as there are some more bs fees getting tacked on.. due to data centers.

Lets just add XX GW of demand from electric cars and data centers.. electricity will stay the same price eh.
 
Rand said:
Let me explain that more:
generation cost.. not total cost.. you should know that there is about 20 billing schemes for electricity regionally.

Mine goes (generation/supply) + distro + tons of ghetto fees for kickbacks etc.

previously my generation was 5.3cents per kwh which is fairly cheap but the delivered price was aprox 17cents. varying 1cent either way with an average usage of between 600-1000kwh

so a doubling of generation fee is about a 33% increase in bill. Which should be aprox 23c/kwh as there are some more bs fees getting tacked on.. due to data centers.

Lets just add XX GW of demand from electric cars and data centers.. electricity will stay the same price eh.
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ouch!! my delivered to the house cost is 12.3 cents/KWH currently
 
billt460 said:
Yeah, today they're made from thinner, cheaper materials. And the brand names have sold out to overseas corporations.

A lot like all that "Bell & Howell" crap they sell on TV. I basically go by the guarantee. The longer the better. If this one lasts 9 years I 'll be happy..... Hell, if I last another 9 years I will be even happier.
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It mostly depends on local water chemistry and what you are willing to spend. They make quality water heaters if you are willing to spend on them. They likely are not off the shelf Home Depot unfortunately.
 
All in all, residential electric water heaters are nearly identical. Ao, Rheem, BW, they all have their lemons. BW, IMO has more defects per 100 lets say, than others.

I like rheem, becuase they are grey and look cool.

Lochinvar is a good brand.
 
Newbee here, my water heater is on second floor... Any suggestion how to keep it working as long as possible, or how to move it out with the least pain?
 
Daughter’s electric water heater lasted 8 years and created a lot of white scale deposits from the hard water. I’d flush it every 6 months. Our gas water heater makes no scale or deposits at all and still working well at 7 years. Same water. My theory is the mineral scale would build up and fall off the elements because of the high heat compared to the heat exchanger in the gas heater. You surely have hard water there Bill. Open that drain every 6 months.
 
The last gas water heater I changed out was not leaking. But I was getting a lot of tiny white calcium particles, that were getting trapped in my sink aerators. And there just didn't seem to be much hot water in general.

So I changed it out because I really didn't know what else it could be. It made a HUGE difference. The hot water flowed much faster, and it seemed like there was all but limitless hot water. (I had to adjust the position of the shower "hot / cold" far more to the right).

The old unit did drain, albeit very slowly. It still weighed a ton when I moved it. That thing had to be packed with calcium. (This isn't mine. But it's amazing what can build up inside these things).

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