Lets talk water heaters.My house still has its original 40 gallon, its 22 years old.Ive replaced its rod, and I flush it twice a year.I still cant get all the sediment out of it.Should I replace it with a modern, more efficient model, and get 72 gallon?I live with my fiance, no plans for kids, 3 bedroom/4 full bath house.Right now we completely run out of hot water trying to fill a standard size bathtub to take a bath in.Are electric tanks a good alternative to gas?I am considering buying a tankless water heater for unlimited hot water.What are its downfalls? besides taking longer to get water and having to clean it annually?
>>2972707>My house still has its original 40 gallon, its 22 years old.I've never had one last longer than 12 years.>Right now we completely run out of hot water trying to fill a standard size bathtub to take a bath in.enjoy you sphincter water.>Are electric tanks a good alternative to gas?>I am considering buying a tankless water heater for unlimited hot water.>What are its downfalls? besides taking longer to get water and having to clean it annually?you will need something like 60 or 80 amp wiring for one unless you have gas.
>>2972707tankless on gas are pure kino. you can get a halo ion from a plumbing supply store for like ~200$ that you put inline to it and you'll never really need to flush it. they have a whole house unit that is like twice the price.electric tankless you often need a panel upgrade, and even if not need to put in electrical service upgrades. they're also very expensive to run off electric rates, but you get unlimited hot water. unless you try to use one of the rheem point of use heaters, you'll regret it. a shower/tub needs like 3gpm to be reliably heated.electric tanks are fairly efficient, running cost on average is ~40$/mobigger the better imo. all the new ones fail because of cheap anode rods, i highly suggest investing in an electric anode rod. they're sold at home depot and lowes online for ~$150. it'll take your heater way beyond expected life.if you have natural gas though I'd stick with it, hard to beat it's cost effectiveness.the rheem marathon is also a good product if you can get one that isn't a dud, they are the majority of the time.
>>2972753I forgot to also mention the essency water heater, also available from plumbing suppy houses.it's a 50G tank with coils like a tankless, it heats and holds the tank water to induce heating on water as it passes through the coils. it advertises 'effective 80G' of hot water.flushing is like a tankless, has a 20 year tank warranty which kicks every other companies ass.it also has aestheticwhich reminds me of the LG inverter heater, similar to the essency with aesthetic.moral of the story, standard 6 year warranty water heaters are just disposable junk at this point and it's shameful
>>2972720They won't anymore, but they used to. I'm in a 53 year old house.>water heater #1: 20 years>water heater #2: 24 years>water heater #3: 8 yearsDon't know about all brands, but I needed something in a fucking hurry and bought a Rheem - and found out that big-box stores don't sell real Rheems and only pros can buy them - what I got was a POS Rheem made in mexico by Pacos Taco-bending and water heater manufacturing Co.
>>2972707the water heater in my parents' house is over 20 years old, and has never been flushed or had the rode changed. miraculous that it's lasted so long but I have noticed I run out of hot water if I shower too long whenever I'm visiting.I'll probably push them to go tankless since their house is older and has gas service.
I just purchased a home with a 20 year old water heater. Hot water smelled like rotten eggs so prior to moving in, decided I would change the tank. The old one had probably 10 gallons worth of scale/cum/glass in the bottom. Got an equivalent size, same fuel (gas) water heater at Menards. Replaced the drain with a ball valve that is threaded for a garden hose for easy draining and maintenance. The old tank was virtually undrainable because of the scale clogging the drain. The ball valve will remove that problem. Also replaced the anode rod with an electric. No smell, forever, and should have less corrosion. Expect this tank to last me until the late 2040s.
>>2972707I bought a cheap Eccotemp tankless natural gas, even cheaper because I bought it opened/scratched & dented directly from them. Worked great the first 2 years, then it started giving the same error code about bad ventilation. I fixed it recently, the contacts on the thermostat rusted and was sending inaccurate temps to the control board.Intake air and water temps determine the upperlimit on how much and how hot water it can deliver. I have to shower with lower pressure/flow when the weather is really cold because it'll throw out the same ventilation error code.Condensing tankless water heaters use exhaust gases to preheat the intake water, so they're less sensitive to cold weather. But it causes the water vapor in the exhaust to condense, hence the name. So you have to add extra plumbing for them to drain the condensate.>Are electric tanks a good alternative to gas?No. Even if you upgrade your electrical panel, it can still cause your lights to flicker and damage electronics whenever it's turned on.>having to clean it annuallyDepends on your water quality and how much hot water your household uses.
>>2972811this is how you do it.
Good info here on the electric anode rod.Is anyone here knowledgeable on the water heater mixing valve? pic relatedit attaches right to the heater. you set your heater to a high temperature like 140-160F and then use the mixing valve to cool down the water to a comfortable 118F.Supposedly, its better for the water heater to be kept at a higher temperature. And modern heaters are more insulated.The main benefit is more hot water from the same tank.>>2972811can I get info on your drain setup?I want to try a sediment buster on my tank
>>2972753
we have an 80 gallon heat pump water heater from Rheem. it made it through "snowmageddon" with no issues. it is in heat-pump only mode & provided us with the "normal" amount of hot water it always does. it draws 400-800w when running. daytime setpoint is 50° overnight we have it set to drop to 43°.it has not been totally flawless: twice it threw codes and switched to resistance element because I forgot to clean the filter... that's on me. cleaned, reinstalled, problem solved. it did have an evap coil thermistor that failed after 2 years of service. the part was covered under warranty, no cost to me. it took me 10 min to install.I am overall very satisfied with it. it has saved us hundreds of dollars over 2.5 years of operation. it will cover 100% of purchase cost after 6 years of service.
>>2972885I have mixing valve and heatpump water heater set to 140. Works great and easy upgrades everyone should do.
>>2972707can you turn the heat up so you use less hot water?
Bro get rid of it we don't even work on a 10y old hwh, just replace it.And yes big box Rheems are shit so find a supply house who will sell to you and gwt a commercial rheem, ao smith, or bradford
I had an electric tankless when I lived in a condo high rise without gas service. My panel had space but I had to upgrade with wiring to the unit, which was almost as expensive as the heater itself. For tankless, gas or electric, it's a game of temperature delta and flow quantity. In the winter when the water coming in is colder, you'll be unable to have as many hot water uses happening simultaneously as you do in the summer. Depending on the unit size, during the summer you might both be able to take showers in different parts of the house with the dishwasher running. During the winter, you might only be able to do one of those at a time. Otherwise you get lukewarm or even cold water.For my condo it was a good solution as it freed up a large amount of closet space and it was just me living there, so the only time water temperature was ever a problem was in the coldest days of winter. I wouldn't go with an electric tankless unit in a house, especially with multiple people living there.
>>2972885https://www.ebay.com/itm/233192780553I purchased this one, just look for ball valve drain hot water heater. If you currently cannot drain your tank because your valve plugs with debris, I can't offer much advice.
>>2973066Anyone else have on of the heat pump hot water heaters?Are the Rheem marathon units any good? They say they have a lifetime warranty. Or should I just get a regular one and upgrade to the electric anode?
>>2973258just leave the water on when you open the drain, usually that'll blow out the problematic debrisif not, you have sheets of sediment and (lost cause) you can stick a screwdriver through the drain with a bucket a bit to break it up. but... (lost cause)
>>2973270a regular one with electric anode is probably best value. even if the heater still fails, you can transfer the electric anode.the marathons are actually (the only[rheem]) good as a productthe problem is literally day 1, the way they do the glass liner on the hull is super fragile and like 50% break on on install and leak immediately.i advocate for basic tank heater with electric anode or spending 2x more for an essency or lg heat pump.
>>2973284thanks for the info anon, appreciate you.
>>2972707tankless.
>>2973258Cool. Thanks a bunch. I don't have sediment blocking, but there is still a bunch left over. I tried shoving an air hose in there and opening the water valve to stir shit up and dump it.I did thia about 5 hours straight and I was still getting black crumbs coming out of the tank.
>>2973258btw can you tell me what i need this here to make that ball valve work?
>>2973736just unscrew it and screw in the new one, they're both 3/4 male threads into the heater
>>2973736what's with the corrosion on that t&p release drain?
>>2973081Not OP but not really without consequences. For Gas heaters it will wear out the burner faster.
>>2972753>>2972755My water heater is ancient and I have a well.I like the concept getting a whole house tankless, but opinions seem to be against this.What's your thoughts on getting 3 smaller dedicated thankless units: 1 Kitchen2 Main bathroom3 Laundry/half bath
>>2973765not sure>>2973764ok, hopefully. i'll buy that valve and install it the next time i flush the heater. i have a hardware store nearby should i need anything.
>>2973861point of use, 120V heater will not be able to support a shower head. that's about the only issue. I think they cap out around 1.55GPM.There are some decent low flow shower heads you can get though.if you have access to the pipes and can do the plumbing easily, it's not a terrible idea. They are super cheap. That's now 3 things to replace every couple years (if you have hard water) instead of one tankless to flush yearly though. Realistically it's no different that just installing one of them on main line, unless you're planning to run those locations simulationously. It'll just take a little longer for the water to start being hot, clearing the line to point of use.
Mine is going out, so I've been slowly piecing together a build to spread out the costs. Going to buy an electric anode rod next, and a brass drain valve. For the heater I'll probably just buy an AO Smith or Rheem
>>2973875Great insight. Thanks. I like the idea of unlimited hot water when needed, that takes less space. And I want to move the water heater from it's present location. Just think that well water and flow rates may be issues.
>>2973880what am i looking at?
>>2973972The expansion tank setup
>>2973880The expansion tank will last as long as the heater, I don't know why you would use an expensive adapter to install it. Just hard pipe that shit in.
>>2973975I just thought it was neat :-)
>>2973976well ok then
Can an ambitious DIYer change out a hot water tank himself, or should I leave it to the pros?
>>2973985It falls well within the DIY realm
>>2973985it's generally very easy. you just need to make sure you have the tools to connect to the pipe the heater ties into. ideally you use copper, cpvc is tolerable, if it's anything else you need to transition after 12" of proper pipe; and always include a shut off on the cold side for servicing.some counties require a permit, up to you if you give a shit(i don't).sure chatgpt can give you an easy guide
>>2973973What does that do?
>>2973990it's a secondary safety device in case the t&p release fails, they've become required for code compliance in many areas. it's a bladder tank that absorbs pressure buildups.interestingly they don't need to be installed at the water heater location, they can be anywhere on the cold lines of the house and can also be supplemented with a pressure relief valve on exterior incoming water line.honestly just government justifying itself
>>2973995You've got it backwards, the tp is the last line fail safe, the tank absorbs routine thermal cycling. Didn't matter until everyone got check valves to prevent backflow to the main but now it does.
Is Rheem actually that bad? Feels like Rheem is all they sell around here, I want one of the fancy heat pump ones but it will be tough to get anything but Rheem.
I got a 2 story house, well water, whole house filter, 50psi pressure tank, water softener and iron filter.my water pressure slowly tappers off and then picks up again.my pressure tank is holding 50psi fine, ive flushed it many times, it fills up very fast via the well pump. whole house filter is half dirty, i flipped it.im not sure why my water pressure tapers off like that.how can i improve water pressure in my home?i want ot go tankless but trying to take two showers at the same time kills off the water pressure too muchim also looking for a new water heater. are all modern heaters made to last their warranty +1 day?
>>2974102you have to go to a plumbing supply store like fergusson. just look on google maps, there's many.yes it is the worst.>>2974125>im also looking for a new water heater. are all modern heaters made to last their warranty +1 dayyes we've covered the options to deal with this>how can i improve water pressure in my home?>tank is holding 50 psi fine>my water pressure slowly tappers off and then picks up again.that's how well pressure systems work, the pump fills the system to 50PSI, then doesn't turn back on till the PSI drops to 30 and only to bring it back up to 50you can upgrade to a 40-60 pressure switch easily and cheaply.trying to run two showers at once is generally underwhelming for everybody unless the house is plumbed well unusually well>>2974058you right. i was thinking chronologically
>>2974143>upgrade to a 40-60 pressure switch>tfw your podunk one horse towns water system is 15-18 psi on good days
