Which Natural Gas Water Heater to Get?

[LoneRanger]

So a new water heater will be the last update for the house we bought. Currently has a 15 yr old AO Smith. The furnace and a/c were poorly maintained by prev owners, and the water heater is no different. It's not getting the job done very well and I suspect they never siphoned off a few gallons regularly to help manage scale build-up.

We have a new furnace and air cond combo going in next week, Amana 16 seer / 96% setup not the best out there but not bad and hard to beat their warranty, plus with HVAC the installation quality is more important than the equipment and this contractor has a good rep.

We knew these things going into the offer on the house and so this is budgeted for.

 

[Donald]

Most (or many) people go for tankless water heaters these days when replacing ones with a tank. So thats a consideration. But it would probably need a larger gas line than the one currently going to the tank.

I would certainly try and do basic maint on the existing tank. Most get replaced when the tank leaks. At least drain it and see how that goes. Shut off the gas and cold water and drain it completely (open up the kitchen sink hot water). Then give it a few 20 second blasts of cold water, waiting between each blast until it stops draining water from the hose. Do that until what comes out is clean water.

AO Smith is a very good brand and it may last another 5 years or so.

 

[irad]

Replacing the anode can add years to a tank. On my ao smith I used this
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Rheem-SP11526C-900-x-44-3-8-Magnesium-R-Tech-Anode-Rod

 

[JeffKeryk]

I did a tankless. Love it. Noritz, made in CA.
The only problem is, it takes longer for hot water to reach the faucet.
In CA, water use is an issue because we are high desert.
Otherwise we love it.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I'm a firm believer in preventive maintenance.

I took the Anode Rod out of my water heater.
It looked good (98% still there)
Three years later, the tank started leaking (not because of removing Anode Rod).

I mentioned to an employee at one of the big box stores that I took the A.R. out (after 12 years) and it still looked good.
He said, "see, you didn't have to take it out after all"
I said, "well how would I have known ?"
He said, well, yea"

The most difficult part of replacing the Anode Rod is getting it out.
I had to buy an Electric Impact Gun and Impact Socket.
I don't know why the Manufacturer puts them in sooo tight.

The next Water Heater, I put in a Ball Valve in place of the cheaper one.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The one thing I find entertaining with tankless water heaters is; everyone that hates them has never had one. They have a distant relative or a coworker's distant relative who didn't like theirs. Everyone that has them seems to love them.

 

[StevieC]

I've been happy with my Bradford White Power Vent Defender series. 6 years and I just pulled the anode-rod for replacement and the tanks was super clean inside. (I drained it for sediment and looked at it with my Boroscope camera).

 

[dtownfb]

We replaced our gas hot water heater 11 years ago. (The previous one lasted 30+ years.) Our HVAC company replaced it with a Bradford White. Based on what I have seen in other homes, that's the common brand that contractors use in this area. We've had no issues.

 

[Schmoe]

Most people, regardless, don't even bother draining the hot water tank from time to time. I know I don't. What I would do, go ahead and drain it and see what all comes out of it. You may be surprised. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[bradepb]

My buddy is a master plumber for 30+ years now and he recently replaced my Bradford White he installed in 1992 with a new Bradford White Defender FWIW
He did say mine from 1992 lasted longer than expected. I did no maintenance on it at all.

 

[LazyDog]

The vast majority of water heater are made by only 2-3 companies in the US. Just like the VCR's from China just one company lots of brands.

The liner in toda's tank is probably made in China with a quality that can not compare to the old days made in the US. If you want a normal tank, get one with stainless steel liner or high end tanks have glass liner.

Water quality also determines how long will your tank last. Tanks less heater will require more maintenance. Last summer had to reverse flush one that had lost of sediments. I also install a large prefilter to keep the sediments from clogging the chamber.

What I do is buy one on sale, no difference between the 6 or 9 years just price difference.

 

[Job]

No vote on tankless and I have had one for ten years. For these reasons, one they are complex and involve electronics, two when the power goes out have a generator to the unit or like ice cold water, three they require more flushing. maintenance in hard water areas. I will go back to tank, which is more a set it and forget it type of thing. I like the efficiency and never run out of hot water but we are not people who like to use a lot of water anyway so never run out with a tank type. It was a novelty and fun for awhile. Wasn't fun when had power outages and needed to shower.

 

[CT8]

I was planning on a tank less water heater when one Saturday after noon the water heater that was 10 years old started leaking I went to the tank less water heater store that sold the most reliable brand and it was closed. I went to Home depot bought a water heater and in less than an hour had the new water heater installed.

 

[CT8]

Can't delete

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

We have a Rinnai tankless at the cabin and love it. We recently installed a tankless at the house. In kalifornia we have extremely high energy costs as well as the low nox requirements for the conventional tanked water heater. This adds complexity and cost for the tanked unit. My neighbor paid ~$1500 to replace his 50 gallon tanked unit. I do have to flush both units this year.

 

[Andrew1972]

Water heaters life is a little bit of maintenance but mostly life is driven by water chemistry. 15 years old is quite a long life for our local water.

 

[Donald]

There are tankless models geared to replace a tank in how they are setup. Should reduce the installation cost.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by Farnsworth
No vote on tankless and I have had one for ten years. For these reasons, one they are complex and involve electronics, two when the power goes out have a generator to the unit or like ice cold water, three they require more flushing. maintenance in hard water areas. I will go back to tank, which is more a set it and forget it type of thing. I like the efficiency and never run out of hot water but we are not people who like to use a lot of water anyway so never run out with a tank type. It was a novelty and fun for awhile. Wasn't fun when had power outages and needed to shower.

I didn't know about the flushing and maintenance, along with it not working when there is a power failure. Thanks for that. I was considering going tankless on my next hot water heater. But now I doubt it. There is just my wife and I, and we never run out of hot water. So I'm not sure that I would save anything by going tankless.

 

[Brons2]

I have a high end water softener system, should help with tanked water heater life. I would replace it with Tankless if it ever goes out, but would not replace it just for the sake of replacing it. You'll never make back the gas you saved on it vs. the purchase and installation costs.

I had tankless in a prior house and preferred it. I had a Noritz outdoor model because I reclaimed the indoor space the old tank took up to enlarge a utility room enough to put a bathroom in. The outdoor model was great except when it was below 25 or so, which is not frequent in the Austin area, maybe 1-3 times a year. Some years zero times. Of course the paranoid might say it contained a lot of copper, and it does, but mine was never stolen and I lived in a high property crime area at the time.

 

[PandaBear]

Rinnai is good stuff, switching from tank to tankless is mainly an installation complexity (fit, exhaust size, availability, economy of scale in the distribution, price gouging of plumber, etc).

How much gas are you saving that will justify the extra? My idle gas usage when on vacation is about 1/2 therm a day, so that will likely be around 10c a day, $37 a year, $370 for 10 years. Will you save that much and will tankless be that much more price wise?

I recently installed a Rheem Platinum (or whatever they call) from Home Depot, 12 year warranty. The plumber charge me $500 to install and we buy and bring home the heater, dumping, etc. Heat very fast compare to the old one (between 14 to 24 year old, it came with the house).