Residential Water Heater Took a Dump ...

[LoneRanger]

Plumber call made, waiting for arrival. Technically not the actual heater, a Rheem 50 gallon gas fired. Either the pressure regulator on the incoming supply, or the Watts PL-5 expansion tank. Hot water has been slowly reducing over past few weeks, and this morning down to a dribble and when opening the garden tub's hot side (no spigot screen) a bunch of black flakes come out with the water looking a lot like could be parts of either the pressure reg valve or the bladder in the expansion tank... varies from small specks up to 1/2" flakes. Both the expansion tank and the pressure reg valve are three yrs old, heater is 12 yrs. Municipal water, typically somewhat hard w/ moderate scale build-up. Pressure relief valve is also leaking water onto garage floor. Guess this is going to co$t ...

 

[CT8]

Pay the $$$and go on Hot water is worth every cent it costs. Do it right and complete the first time.

 

[WyrTwister]

Were it me , I would DIY it . BNest of luck , :-)

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: CT8

Pay the $$$and go on Hot water is worth every cent it costs. Do it right and complete the first time.

Agreed. Took several tries to find a plumber who should be able to stop by today. Expecting to be told wh needs replaced. Usually figure 15-20 yrs on a heater but oh well.

 

[JTK]

Have you ever tried to "flush" the water heater? I know it's a pretty worthless effort in factory format, with the plastic needle valves they put on new WHs. I went through this about a year ago with mine and wound up replacing the factory drain valve with a brass hose bib. If I get the ambition to do this again, I'd use a 3/4" ball valve. This would be the best way to really flush the tank.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Can you solder? Pretty basic stuff - compared to a Subaru Or do you have plastic? Reminds me I should check precharge in the XTROL tank - When the air gets low they will pyook and the relief will go open and wet the floor. Still should be under 500 bucks all told if you go with a 40. 50 is too big, maybe.

 

[97prizm]

Don't buy a Home Depot water heater. Whatever beand they use, has reverse threads and are really expensive to fix. This was told to me by a plumber who suggested a new water heater.

 

[thastinger]

Just did mine in July. It is a gas 50 in my attic, got 22 years out of the old one. I changed it out myself but they are more expensive now than I seemed to remember. Think I had bout 625 in the whole deal by the time I was done.

 

[WyrTwister]

I installed a HD electric 40 gallon WH 2 - 3 years ago . The 2 water fittings were 3/4" " normal " / right hand pipe thread . Screwed in 3/4" copper male connectors . Use pipe dope or Teflon tape , or both . Think the OP said gas , I suspect the gas is standard right hand National Pipe Thread , also . As is the T&P valve . Best of luck , :-) Wyr God bless

 

[CincyDavid]

Spent about $800 to get a 50 gal gas AO Smith Professional installed a couple of months ago...and that night a 19 year old CVPC fitting where the water line taps into the main line through the house split, flooding my finished basement. The plumbing company claimed it was just a coincidence, CPVC gets brittle with age and the whole house is allegedly a ticking time bomb. Called my insurance company, they are subrogating against the plumbing company...the whole claim is close to $10K. What a pain in the neck. We're building a new house, should be done in May. They use CPVC for new construction. I asked about copper, the builder said they have no way to secure the house to keep thieves from stealing the copper every night, and even if they could successfully do it, they said the cost would be astronomical.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: CincyDavid

We're building a new house, should be done in May. They use CPVC for new construction. I asked about copper, the builder said they have no way to secure the house to keep thieves from stealing the copper every night, and even if they could successfully do it, they said the cost would be astronomical.

Excuses. They just don't want to use copper, probably because their "plumber" doesn't know how to solder.

 

[WyrTwister]

Ask about PEX . Local plumbing code may or may not allow it . I DIY'ed a new water line from the water meter in the alley to the house with 1" Pex . I use the fittings with the copper crimp ring . I have the crimp tool , for 1" to 1/2 ' or 3/8" , has crimped exactly 2 times . Rest of the piping is copper . Pretty sure they make PEX for hot water . Think the way it us usually done , white ( what I used ) for the incoming water main line , blur for cold water & red for hot water . Best of luck , :-)

 

[NormanBuntz]

I'm waiting for a quote from my plumber to replace my 15 year old A.O. Smith 80 gallon water heater. I'm doing a preemptive change so it doesn't blow on me at a bad time. I'd like to go with a heat pump model, but my utility room is too small for the proper air circulation. Will be going with either a 75, 80 or 100 gallon commercial electric model. It grinds my gears that the water heater manufacturers shorten the warranty on all commercial units compared to residential ones.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: CincyDavid

We're building a new house, should be done in May. They use CPVC for new construction.

NO NO NO NO NO NO !!!!!!! Use PEX! Say no to PVC or CPVC!

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

Can you solder? Pretty basic stuff - compared to a Subaru Or do you have plastic? Reminds me I should check precharge in the XTROL tank - When the air gets low they will pyook and the relief will go open and wet the floor. Still should be under 500 bucks all told if you go with a 40. 50 is too big, maybe.

You don't even need to solder. I just have my handyman do them now. You can just use shark bite fittings. They just press right on. The key is to get the same sized water heater so you don't have to adjust the venting. or play with the pipe length, then it's just a straight swap. You cut the hot and cold pipes and just reconnect them with the shark bite fittings. As for Home Depot, they used to be GE water heaters, but now I think they're Rheem. But even the GE ones were rebranded heaters so it didn't really matter. They're easy for a replacement though, you just bring the old one in and they swap it for a new one. Plumbers don't like them because they have to justify the markup that they charge on their water heaters. Where Homedepot cuts corners is the drain valve, usually plastic instead of metal. Not a big issue for me because in the past when I tried to drain the tank, nothing really came out so I don't bother anymore. Since I started replacing the anode rod, haven't had to replace a hot water heater in a while, I used to average about one or two a year.

 

[LoneRanger]

Plumber finishing up now. Replaced w/ an AO Smith 50 gal gas fired. It's gray and labeled "Commercial Grade." Plumber said this labeling was done by AO Smith to delineate between their models sold and installed by professional plumbers vs. what is retailed in Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc. I asked if AO Smith still builds them in USA and he said yes. Oh well, either way I get to keep taking hot showers so it's all good.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

Don't buy a Home Depot water heater. Whatever beand they use, has reverse threads and are really expensive to fix. This was told to me by a plumber who suggested a new water heater.

[censored]. They sell Rheem and they are standard. Nothing different about them.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: tmorris1

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

Don't buy a Home Depot water heater. Whatever beand they use, has reverse threads and are really expensive to fix. This was told to me by a plumber who suggested a new water heater.

[censored]. They sell Rheem and they are standard. Nothing different about them. He was just trying to justify the reason he was charging much more.

 

[JustinH]

Lowes sells AOsmith water heaters now. If you look around on the web you can buy a 10 percent off coupon to save yourself some coin.

 

[JTK]

Dunno if they're the same, but last I checked AO Smith and US Craftmaster was the same company. US Craftmaster makes most residential "brands". I've never noticed a difference in construction or longevity between a plumber supplied unit and one I picked up from the local home/hardware center. I know around me, if the water heater and supplies is $450 retail, you're going to pay a plumber about $800-900 all-in.