My 40 gal. gas fired hot water heater is 12 years old and I think it’s time to replace.
Does any one have a good reliable brand to recommend?
I know I have a Bradford White and it lasted these 12 years, but is this the best?
Can any one make a a recommendation??
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Replies
Probably a number of name-brand sources...many the same as 12 years ago!
BUT.... your big shock will be the price tag! Double...plus!
All the manufacturer's sleep together so pricing is close...differences depend on the mark-up at retail/wholesale.
If you got 12 years out of a B/W.....don't be afraid to repeat! Although 20 would have been better! Lots of variables effect longevity.
...............Iron Helix
Our 52 gallon State electric is nearly 31 years old.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Edited 7/10/2007 7:31 pm by DanH
You can blame the government for part of that increase.They think that anybody should be able to take a bath using gas next the water heater and not blow up..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
The manufacturers went to the governments of the US and Canada and asked for the regs to be enacted.
Liability was a BIG issue.
Thanks guys for all the info. I appreciate it very much
Keep in mind that scale build-up reduces efficiency - 1/2" scale increases energy costs 70% (Family of 4, todays gas price's, 1 year ~$250!)
In my area I'm told 1/10" a year is normal scale buildup.
For the past several years, water heaters have been required to have anti-flash-back devices so if volatile gas reach the flame, the flame won't spread to te source nd possibly explode.
(We lost a guy in Toledo last year to such an explosion)
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
- Psalms 109:30-31
rjw,
You're right scale buildup is a local issue.. My 20 year old water heater had zero build up.
In fact I found zero, no build up in any of my plumbing as I took it apart.. since it was in such nice shape I simply reused much of it..
RJW,
I beg to differ with your scale and costs numbers. Since 80% of the heat enters the water from the flue and not the bottom of the heater, there is no way that .50" of scale in the bottom will increase the energy costs as much as you stated. In reality, energy costs will go up with age but not dramatically.
While the new heater will look like the old, there are a number of significant differences...all mandated by the government...that have raised the costs. the new units are significantly more energy efficient, they use environmentally friendly foam insulation and they are flammable vapor ignition resistant. All of these features coupled with large prices increases for steel have caused the large price increase of the water heaters.
Bill
>>I beg to differ with your scale and costs numbers.Well, that was a figure at one of the manufacturer's sites.>>Since 80% of the heat enters the water from the flue and not the bottom of the heater,I hadn't run across that figure before.As a general rule, it has been my experience that the older the unit, the higher the flue gas temps at the top of the flue (having tested several hundred.)I've always attributed that to scale buildup, but maybe not?
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
- Psalms 109:30-31
Consumer Reports rated water heaters sometime last year, I think. Their conclusion was that all the brands did equally well, that the best indicator of quality was price. In other words, in any manufacturer's line, going up to higher priced units did in fact by quality. The brand itself did not really matter.
> Does any one have a good reliable brand to recommend?
The problem with that is, by the time a brand becomes reliable, you only know that the stuff they built 15 years or so back was pretty good. You will never know if their current product is reliable.
I just bought a GE. They bought out Rheem, so I believe mine will last.
If you intend to stay in the house at least 8 years, you also might consider the tankless variety. Bosch makes an excellent one that runs about $1,000. There's a sizable tax credit on them to cut the cost down, and the operating cost is a lot cheaper than the regular ones.
"I just bought a GE. They bought out Rheem,"What makes you say that. Rheem is privately held accordign to their PR and GE does not claim them..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Thanks for the insight , George.
Is Rannui familar to you?
I see them advertised pretty much in the tankless realm
One small correction GE did not by Rheem. In fact, Rheem makes the GE heaters for Home Depot.
Bill