What's the best hot water heater? (Page 2 of 2)
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Originally Posted By simplemitch: My water heater is 39 years old and that is NOT a typo. I know I'm likely on borrowed time but the devil on my shoulder says, "Who knows; it might just run forever. If you replace it now you'll be replacing it every few years". We have an Amana Fridge/freezer combo, that's been running for 30yrs, the last 15-20 yrs outside. The Samsungs or other stupid fridges inside have been swapped out every 5-10 yrs putting cameras and screens with internet access on fridges is tarded. and they don't get used all that often.  tankless propane heater on propane is golden. Tankless on electric sucks a bit more juice tanks with electric or NG AS good as well, just flush them/check annodes. Otherwise they dies a few months out of warranty. 
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Originally Posted By Sigifrith: Why would you want to heat water that is already hot? I'd just get a water heater. I've got a water heater in my kitchen we use for tea and such. Brits sometimes call it a kettle. It doesn't do much good for heating and supplying the hot water that comes through the taps. But, now, the purpose-built to heat a house's hot water supply hot water heater in my utility room? That one sure does. |
History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which Trump is always right.
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| Go find someone selling their house where a rich guy is going to come in bulldoze the place and buy there's. No new water heater is worth a shit because of energy efficiency just like cars trucks and SUVs. We can't be making the world better by junking things every 3-5 years. |
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Originally Posted By bradbn4: depends on gas or electric For Gas Bradford white, which requires professional installation for coverage. For electric there is a marathon - rheem - which ditches the big issue with classic metal tank design. MFG website I own the bradford white; anode rod on my really old heater would require a service to access the rod. I have a Bradford White and pull the anode rod every year to check it. It’s incorporated into the cold water inlet. |
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Titan Tankless I have had this one for close to 10 years. Two people can shower at the same time with no noticable effect, other than lower pressure. The wire was $120 or so, plus the 60a breaker, and fittings which I had already. I already have it's little brother ready to go in my workshop/backup. ETA: the electric bill didn't really change. The water heater used to be our "timer" for the shower, now it's the septic tank. |
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My 12 year warranty rheem unit just failed 6 months out of warranty. I flushed it twice. Spectacularly too...split right down the seam in the back. Fortunately itnleaked into the garage so no big deal Unfortunately I have 2 so I'll have to swap the other one before it craps out. Changing one is easy the hard part is stuffing it in through the small hole the builder called a door thats on the closet it sits in is a PITA. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Originally Posted By RogueSpear2023: Go find someone selling their house where a rich guy is going to come in bulldoze the place and buy there's. No new water heater is worth a shit because of energy efficiency just like cars trucks and SUVs. We can't be making the world better by junking things every 3-5 years. 
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We sell Bradford White. Some of our other stores sell AO Smith. Rheem is good too. Just make sure you get it from a plumbing house not HD/Lowes etc. I just installed a Bradford White RG150T6N-394. My last one lasted 8 years. |
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Originally Posted By KodiakZach: Rinnai tankless https://www.rinnai.us/residential/tankless-water-heaters My RXP199 has been nothing but a problem. Rinnai won't even talk to me about it because im not a plumber. Nevermind the fact I know more about something like that piece of equipment than any plumber would. I purchased it from a legit dealer and installed it myself. I dont want to pay a company money to come out and try and diagnose and throw parts at an intermittent issue. Im sure rinnai has enough experience to know exactly what is wrong with it but I digress. It's a good unit but dont expect them to be any help if you ever have an issue. |
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Originally Posted By davekd7ds: Consider installing a softener while you're at it. It's worth it. I live in a place that has some of the hardest water in the country (over 30 grains, and 15 grains is considered extremely hard) and I can soften it down to about 1-2 grains. Saves lots of plumbing, fixtures, and water heaters! 7-7.5 |
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Originally Posted By Ilikepieman: There are only two reasons to go with a tankless water heater over a tank. Never ending hot water and extra space. If you don’t need either, do not go tankless. I didnt need the extra space 20 years ago because there's plenty of room where its located. when I installed mine. However, at the time I had two teenage daughters to contend with. I didnt wanna run out of hot water. At the moment I have my 18 yo son living here. Hell idk if he even takes a shower. Lol 20 years later not sure if id install a new one at a new house. For a replacement of what I have now in this house. Yes no doubt. Cost is not that much difference. In a new house where its just me and my wife? Idk. Because that would be propane vs gas what we have now. It's a toss up. Ive actually been looking at the heat pump type. But I hate researching these things because like everything, shits all over the map. When the time comes I'll choose and forget about it. |
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HTP stainless if your gunna go with a traditional electric. Gas- tank less but that depends on local support. They are sorta a scam here as NOBODY stocks parts for them. So when a $40 sensor goes out, it's a 2 week lead time. So they just sell the customer a new one. |
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Originally Posted By Butternut: There's no way on earth I'm in before the "hot water heater" redundancy phrasing comments (I call em hot water heaters too)  The only times "water heater" is appropriate is on a new install or if you turned off the heat source for vacation. Any time after that it is still a hot water heater. |
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Originally Posted By Kilroytheknifesnob: Rheem Marathon electric water heaters seem innovative and should last a very long time. If your space works for it, maybe a heat pump water heater? I used to recommend them but I've seen a good amount fail at the tank connection and flood a basement. The tank is fiberglass but the connection is steel and will rust out.... not sure if the newer ones are built better. They are very well insulated units. |
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Originally Posted By CavVet: That surprises me too. I currently have a 40 gallon- no need to go bigger, the nest is clearing out. I would love to go thankless. The extra room would be fantastic. Just had a 50 gallon power vent installed for 4k. I wanted the tank just for a little hot water in power outages without a gen. But i could have easily talked myself into an on-demand. They offered both Bradford White and A.O. Smith. The Bradford White they removed was 26 years old and still working. |
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this guy has some great info about gas and electric tanks, as well as a plastic tank, electric version. The 3 Water Heaters I'd Buy in 2026 (No Sales Pitch) |
Always blame autocorrect.
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Originally Posted By Leisure_Shoot: this guy has some great info about gas and electric tanks, as well as a plastic tank, electric version.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt59c_IOrxUI bought the home depot model he recommends mainly because it was an identical replacement for the unit that went out. It does not have a leak sensor. I think he has his models mixed up. When I moved in,2014, we had the plumber grade bradford white, it was right at the 6 year warranty but plumbers wanted $2500+ to replace it with the same unit. HD had the Rheem for less than $800 at the time, it's not a hard job to replace a gas water heater. The recent one took about 2 hours. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Big fan of Braford White here. I had a 40-gallon Bradford White gas water heater (15-year warranty) installed in my new house 29 years ago, it's still going strong today without any repairs except draining it once a year to clear the bottom sediment. |
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Originally Posted By Bubbles: Tankless + install last year cost me less than just the replacement tank heater when my old tank heater started leaking last year. My electric bills also dropped a bit after it was installed. I will never go back to having a tank heater. My nextdoor neighbor installed one and the cost was around $4K for the heater and labor. That's a lot to re-coop from a conventional one. |
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Originally Posted By medicmandan: I've been looking at a tankless for our next. We have hard water. Is a softener a must? |
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Originally Posted By CavVet: That surprises me too. I currently have a 40 gallon- no need to go bigger, the nest is clearing out. I would love to go thankless. The extra room would be fantastic. Originally Posted By CavVet: Originally Posted By tahusker:That surprises me. We were doing some bathroom remodeling in the basement right next to the utility room, so I got a few bids on installing tankless since we were already tearing things up. All the bids I got were over $6k. And that was for what I was told was an easy install. No thanks. I don't have enough time left on this planet to make that math work. I can replace with conventional water heaters for far less the rest of the way. That surprises me too. I currently have a 40 gallon- no need to go bigger, the nest is clearing out. I would love to go thankless. The extra room would be fantastic. My tankless electric is pretty awesome. It was required due to the remodel and needed (old) water heater closet space for the space for a bathroom addition |
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Originally Posted By Pallas: Why would you want to heat hot water? It’s already hot. They should be cold water heaters. But, the actual term is “water heater.” Originally Posted By Pallas: Why would you want to heat hot water? It’s already hot. Originally Posted By Jeffg: That's what hot water heaters do numnuts. They should be cold water heaters. But, the actual term is “water heater.” I want my cold water to be...cold. And the hot side hot. Just like George Costanza taught us all those years ago.  1985 McDonald's McDLT Commercial with Jason Alexander |
History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which Trump is always right.
Modern life is one steep, perpetual tax on the mathematically impaired
Modern life is one steep, perpetual tax on the mathematically impaired
