Hot Water Heater

[Thirteen]

Seeking recommendations: the house we are purchasing has an 18 (!) year old water heater.
What brand should we look for? Does brand matter? Thanks!


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[spotty_dog]

When we give up on ours (getting close to the same age, and water heaters in this area have only a 10-12 year expected lifespan due to very hard water) I think we will call the technician/repair guy we use and get his advice. He pointed out last time he worked on ours that we have a bit of an odd arrangement that not all water heaters will fit into, and I think he said tankless would not be a good option for us because of that.

[Deebs]

First, think about whether you want tankless or not. I have no clue, but when we do replace, I'm really wanting to change type, which will change the trajectory of my research.


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[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We replaced ours last year. We wanted to go tankless but ultimately did not for two reasons - it takes up to 3-4 years to realize the savings and we were only going to be here another two years AND it would have required more gas than the current line we have requiring an expensive gas line adjustment.

We went with the same brand they took out. It was 21 years old and we also were told average life was 10-12 years.

[SoonerTexan]

Yes I wouldn't necessarily replace, but make sure the overflow safety setup is good to go. There should be a pan and a senspr


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[JaneDoe]

We just went through this. We always said that when our water heater quits, we're going tankless. Well it quit last month and we now have a new and bigger water heater.

Our plumber emphatically recommended against the tankless. He is certified to install and maintain them so he has done quite a few. He said for all but four or five of the tankless systems he installed the owners called him back to replace with standard water heaters. He said they are expensive to install and they not as energy efficient as proclaimed. He said that tankless systems need to be strategically placed (like near a master shower for example) to work optimally. For that reason, it is much easier to install them in new construction rather than an existing home. Often times when installing them in an existing home, there will be additional work necessary like roof work for venting, siding, etc. He added that tankless systems can only heat the water by around 70 degrees. In our area, the average water temperature is 48 degrees, so the most a tankless system can heat the water to is around 120 degrees. For many people, that is not hot enough.

After hearing his strong thoughts and reviewing consumer reviews about thankless we went with a standard water heater.

[Thirteen]

The current one is a 50 gallon electric, and from what I'm reading online, not really suitable for our EFR (?) in the mornings.
We already have 4 people, and will probably have more guests now that we are relocating to a hotter tourism area -- it recommended 70-80 gal tanks for 5+ individuals.

I like the idea of not having to buy up front.


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[SoonerTexan]

Maybe just use it for a few months and see how the temp situation is going?


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[spotty_dog]

Ours is a 40 gallon, and DH likes to turn it up to blazing hot if he wants a hot bath, but otherwise we have never had issues with hot water even when we have had several guests -- admittedly our guests don't always shower simultaneously, nor do they do much laundry at our place, so YMMV. I also noticed that the Energy Guide sticker on the side of ours is using figures from 1994, so it might be a little older than the 15 years I'd assumed. Oops! (Oh, and it was installed without a drip pan or anything else so we are SOL if it has major issues…knock wood.) It was mentioned on our inspection as a possible issue, but seven years later it's still here and we just resort to flushing it out a couple of times per year to keep it operating as expected.

[SuzySunshine]

We replaced ours when we were in residency. I knew what size we had, I went to Menards talked to a very helpful person in their department, they also recommended an installer who picked it up, brought it to our house and installed it. It worked great.

In this house we have two. We don't plan to replace them anytime soon BUT we did replace a lot of the plumbing from it during our current remodel. There were multiple transitions between galvanized and copper pipping so it led to LOTS of corrosion of the pipes. The plumber replaced it all to PEX and the amount and speed of hot water to our bathrooms and kitchen has been INSANE! Its awesome.

Hopefully that helps.

[scarlett09]

Cassy, good to know re: the age and keep it until it breaks. I also appreciate JaneDoe's info about the tankless.

Our hot water heater is more than 30 years old. 1983 might even be a conservative estimate. Nobody has been able to figure out how old it is 😂

It works fine for 3 people, and we don't have issues doing dishes and showering simultaneously or getting hot enough water. And if it floods, I might lose my washer and dryer, but that wouldn't be the end of the world. 😉


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[Thirteen]

😘 Thanks, Cassy!


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[Vanquisher]

Yeah, keep unless you have to replace. If you end up being there forever, consider tankless. I love our tankless.

[Pollyanna]

Ours is a 50 gallon tank with a recirculating pump. We rarely run out of hot water. The only time we have is when all 8 of us shower within the same hour or two. I think you'll be fine with a 40 or 50 gallon tank.

[Thirteen]

How often do you "flush" it? 2x year? How do you check it for efficiency? (You can tell we've never lived anywhere that long...) [MENTION=1135]Cassy[/MENTION]


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