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Posted: 4/20/2017 7:48:50 AM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You're luck you don't live in Florida. We have to install hybrid water heaters here if the tank capacity is over 50 gallons. So for the smallest hybrid heater is $1300 my cost. Add in mark up and labor it would be around $2700. That doesn't include fittings and pipe, expansion tanks or a pan. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 7:50:49 AM EDT
[#2]
OP did it himself. This is why America is unemployed.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 7:53:44 AM EDT
[#3]
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Holy jeeze! I better get them off my car then! I'll have no brakes! Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Pro tip! those braided stainless hoses will rot and leak.  |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:04:39 AM EDT
[#4]
You mean to tell me that this guy had the balls to add profit to a job that he was quoting?! What an a-hole! These knuckle dragging/bottom feeding workers need to know their place!
The trades suck. You expose yourself to tons of hazardous elements, beat the shit out of your body, and at the end of the day, you only have what you're lucky enough to be able to hang on to after all of the expenses are paid (insurances, taxes, fees, etc.), which isn't much. Same reason I hated being an 01. "Can I get a free box of ammo if I buy this M&P9"... when I have $60 on the gun, people think you're making half of the guns worth. Gotta wonder why these same people don't bitch at management for deals off on their groceries at the grocery store. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:07:53 AM EDT
[#5]
How much does it cost to go tankless?
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:12:30 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
OP did it himself. This is why America is unemployed.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:16:27 AM EDT
[#7]
We have a ~35 gallon and a 55 gallon. I replaced the 35 and completely overhauled the 55 in the last two years. Total cost was about $400 and I basically have two brand new units now.
Learn to turn a wrench and save yourself some bucks. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:22:03 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So what are you going to buy with the remaining $1281 
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:28:24 AM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Wife didn't want me lifting water heaters so she said call someone to do it. OK, I'll play. Guy was going on about all the special options I can get on this miracle of technology, LED read out, remote WiFi access, A contraption on top that has something to do with water pressure, special stainless doomajiggies that replace my plain old not very high tech copper pipe. (You don't want your neighbors to think you use COPPER pipe do you? ) leak alarms, and a couple of things I've forgotten. About the ONLY thing it did not do is give blow jobs.
I just want a basic electric 55-gallon water heater. I do not need to see LED lights to know it's working, I can turn on the tap for that. Are folks really so anal that they need constant remote monitoring of their water heater? I asked for the cheapest option. He cheerfully played with his phone, $1710. 
Home Depot has the same water heater (Rheem) for $429. I thanked the very nice salesman, went and bought the thing then installed it myself. I'll just TELL the wife the plumber did it. Not counting drive time and the time I spent screwing around in the garden section it took about an hour. Altogether, if you give the guy $100 an hour for labor, and count in the very special pipe etc, he was going to make around 1K profit. Of course you took the $1k for a new gun, right? |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:29:01 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just cut the pipes and replace it with a braided stainless steel hose with threads on one end that connect to the water heater and a sharkbite fitting on the other end. No soldering required, takes all of ten seconds to install. Something like this, you'll need two of them. The only hard part of installing a water heater is getting rid of the old one |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:30:10 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
350.00 is not outrageous IMO. One trip to diagnose the problem, order the parts, add markup to parts, another trip to install. I have a two hour minimum (180.00) on 99% of my service calls. Anything less is just not worth it. Real close to home, elderly, military I will discount. I think your the contractor / repair person this thread was directed at when you charge 180 minimum which in reality is shafting the helpless or lazy. But either way you'd never get a call from most here. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:32:32 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You're lucky you don't live in Florida. We have to install hybrid water heaters here if the tank capacity is over 50 gallons. So for the smallest hybrid heater is $1300 my cost. Add in mark up and labor it would be around $2700. That doesn't include fittings and pipe, expansion tanks or a pan.
Did the OP give .gov their cut? |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:33:16 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Why would you heat hot water |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:35:43 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Did you install all of the stuff Austin requires to be up to code? Expansion tank, drain line, gas cut off, gas vents (2 of them) etc.? Oh yeah, you are not supposed to install a gas hookup yourself either - there is a permit or some BS according to the guy who quoted me the same outrageous price as you were told. When you sell your house all of that shit has to be there or you won't pass the code inspection. Yay Austin. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:36:35 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So what are you going to buy with the remaining $1281
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:38:09 AM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Good job OP. I assume you also installed the correct expansion tank, charged properly to your water pressure? |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:41:04 AM EDT
[#17]
Shark bites are what you seek
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:41:49 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Anything cool in the garden section? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Wife didn't want me lifting water heaters so she said call someone to do it. OK, I'll play. Guy was going on about all the special options I can get on this miracle of technology, LED read out, remote WiFi access, A contraption on top that has something to do with water pressure, special stainless doomajiggies that replace my plain old not very high tech copper pipe. (You don't want your neighbors to think you use COPPER pipe do you? ) leak alarms, and a couple of things I've forgotten. About the ONLY thing it did not do is give blow jobs.
I just want a basic electric 55-gallon water heater. I do not need to see LED lights to know it's working, I can turn on the tap for that. Are folks really so anal that they need constant remote monitoring of their water heater? I asked for the cheapest option. He cheerfully played with his phone, $1710.
Home Depot has the same water heater (Rheem) for $429. I thanked the very nice salesman, went and bought the thing then installed it myself. I'll just TELL the wife the plumber did it. Not counting drive time and the time I spent screwing around in the garden section it took about an hour. Altogether, if you give the guy $100 an hour for labor, and count in the very special pipe etc, he was going to make around 1K profit. Anything cool in the garden section?
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:42:05 AM EDT
[#19]
Keep those water heaters in good shape with periodic flushing and anode replacements.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:42:55 AM EDT
[#20]
Question for you water heater experts: does it really matter if a gas water heater is installed with the in/out lines reversed?
My water heater was installed ~10 years ago. It seems to be working okay, but the lines are reversed. Looks like it would have been a pain for the installer to swap the lines. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:45:42 AM EDT
[#21]
For just another $500.00 I'll drive from Pennsylvania and put it in for you.
Then you'l really have something special
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:48:39 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
How much does it cost to go tankless? As for what to do with he rest of the cash, It's going towards the outboard replacement fund.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 8:55:56 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Question for you water heater experts: does it really matter if a gas water heater is installed with the in/out lines reversed? My water heater was installed ~10 years ago. It seems to be working okay, but the lines are reversed. Looks like it would have been a pain for the installer to swap the lines. If you reverse it, the output is going to suck the cooler water from the bottom. If the tank's been sitting a while, and everything is the same temp, you won't notice much of anything until enough new, cold water comes in the top, sinks to the bottom and starts getting sucked out the dip tube. Sure, it'll mix with the hot water that's already there, but it's not efficient. The unit is working opposite the natural flow of the hot/cold water in the tank. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:22:51 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've only replaced the heating elements in a hot water heater. I would like to replace the one I have. Run-of-the-mill 50 gallon electric hot water heater, but the welding of the cold and hot water pipes has me worried since I've never done that. This is probably going to sound super dumb but do you guys use a propane torch or a welding machine to do the copper pipe welding? |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:31:46 AM EDT
[#25]
WiFi water heaters with the corresponding App are totally bitchin.
ETA......that was supposed to be a joke. Do they really have WiFi water heaters ? . Well fuck me.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:32:00 AM EDT
[#26]
I had to two plumbers show up at my house and gave me a quote. Both were over $2200.00, I told them both TYVM, GTFO. Install a sink pump and tie it into a previous ran sink drain and run 11' of new supply... All rough plumbing, no walls, insulation with easy access to everything..not even installing sink connections, they just wanted to leave nubs.
I did the work myself. One guy showed up with a beat up red pick up with a magnet crooked sign and pants that haven't been washed since the Carter administration...we had to delouse the home behind him. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:35:43 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Did you install all of the stuff Austin requires to be up to code? Expansion tank, drain line, gas cut off, gas vents (2 of them) etc.? Oh yeah, you are not supposed to install a gas hookup yourself either - there is a permit or some BS according to the guy who quoted me the same outrageous price as you were told. When you sell your house all of that shit has to be there or you won't pass the code inspection. Yay Austin. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:36:25 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The only hard part of installing a water heater is getting rid of the old one |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:38:45 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
WiFi water heaters with the corresponding App are totally bitchin. ETA......that was supposed to be a joke. Do they really have WiFi water heaters ? . Well fuck me.
You can even buy the kit to retrofit your current water heater. Your water heater is now part of Skynet |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:50:25 AM EDT
[#30]
Damn. I just bought one at the local farm supply store for $350 and a guy charged $125 to install it last month.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:55:18 AM EDT
[#31]
Love all the guys hear trying to tear him down for doing it himself and not following code. Then he completely lays the smack down and tells them its electric. Boom. Good work OP.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:56:49 AM EDT
[#32]
An electric water heater is incredibly easy to install. You might need a buddy and a few beers to help haul the old one out and get the new one in, but there's nothing to it. You cut the pipes, run new braided stainless Sharkbite hoses (one with a ball valve, one without), rewire the new one, and plumb the new T&P in. The expansion tank, if you have one, operates separately, so it isn't necessary to replace it at the same time. Personally, if you have a functioning sump or floor drain, I would use something like a Watts 530C to avoid the expansion tank entirely. Pressure relief valves can go anywhere on the cold water supply.
A qualified professional can do this job in no more than an hour. Even billing for two hours to account for parts and labor a $400 water heater installed should realistically be, what, $600 installed? |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 9:57:55 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Question for you water heater experts: does it really matter if a gas water heater is installed with the in/out lines reversed? My water heater was installed ~10 years ago. It seems to be working okay, but the lines are reversed. Looks like it would have been a pain for the installer to swap the lines. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:04:35 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When I replaced my water heater I left the old one sitting in front of the garage for a days and came home from work and it was gone,nobody saw who took it. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
The only hard part of installing a water heater is getting rid of the old one
 Attached File Attached File Attached FileEdit - You can see water coming out of the water heater; my son wanted to shoot it with it full, so we ran the hose back there and filled it up, then he shot it with my Bushmaster. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:12:53 AM EDT
[#35]
Good job OP.
Did the same thing, picked up a new water heater and installed it myself. 1.5 hours including building out a new gas manifold and piping so I can plug in a second one in the future and just plug in a new gas extension line. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:16:43 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Really Kolat, a lot of what Dipper said is truth. There is nothing wrong with DIY and saving money. Plumbers, mechanics, and electricians do live off the uneducated and unwilling. Granted, there are some jobs that require a pro, but most jobs can be done by someone willing to try. It ain't all rocket surgery. Quote HistoryQuoted:
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Plumbers , mechanics, contractors, etc. make their living off ignorant people and lazy people who don't want to get their hands dirty. I have a friend that was charged about $800.00 to replace an old bathroom sink fixture. The new fixture was like $150.00 and an hours labor. I am glad that my Dad taught me so much and for what I have learned through the years. Some people have to make a shit ton of money just to deal with everyday stuff. Between fixing/repairing the families vehicles ( six of them ), fixing/replacing things around the house ( just fixed my sons clothes dryer and saved $300.00) , building my own shit, etc. I save and save my family thousands a year. Probably one of the most ignorant posts I've read on here and we have a lot of window lickers. There is nothing wrong with DIY and saving money. Plumbers, mechanics, and electricians do live off the uneducated and unwilling. Granted, there are some jobs that require a pro, but most jobs can be done by someone willing to try. It ain't all rocket surgery.  What one man can do, another can do. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:18:24 AM EDT
[#37]
I just paid $1640 to have a new 54 gallon gas water heater installed. Cost included labor, heater, tax, permit, new copper pipes, expansion tank required by code, and hauling away the junk.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:23:45 AM EDT
[#38]
I can't imagine paying for a job like that.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:26:59 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
He must be the cousin of the HV/AC guy who wanted to sell me a $500 thermostat. Lol |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:27:00 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
In before all the never buy a water heater at a box store guys |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:28:28 AM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I put mine out in the yard, shoot it until it's all shot up, then take it to the junkyard to sell as scrap. Same with washing machines, water tanks, car hoods left at accident scenes, etc.
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/51036/ShawnCat-003-191360.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/51036/08-27-07-006-191362.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/51036/7-8-2011-ARF-032-191363.JPG Edit - You can see water coming out of the water heater; my son wanted to shoot it with it full, so we ran the hose back there and filled it up, then he shot it with my Bushmaster. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:30:02 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Aw c'mon...a big box store WH is good practice for next year when O_P has to install ANOTHER new water heater, this time hopefully bought from a professional plumber's supply store. Never mind that your professional plumber is a registered Rheem dealer and gets his units at a lower price than I can then quotes me $110 dollars MORE than the home depot price, including tax. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:30:43 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Aw c'mon...a big box store WH is good practice for next year when O_P has to install ANOTHER new water heater, this time hopefully bought from a professional plumber's supply store. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:31:12 AM EDT
[#44]
I just installed a new one at my shop, super easy. I think plumbers are trying to price themselves out of business.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 10:49:45 AM EDT
[#45]
I paid around $2300 to have our gas water heater replaced shortly after buying our current house. The original 50 gal unit was quite old, was located in a part of the attic that you can't get to without going squatting thru a 2ft tall door, and the vent at the top was installed completely wrong, basically halfway venting back into the attic. The emergency T&P vent pipe or whatever it's called was also installed out of code. I didn't want to screw with all that labor myself, and climbing on the roof to fix the vent (stuff I have no experience with), so I just paid the guy to do it. It was well worth it.
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Posted: 4/20/2017 11:02:00 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I am not a doctor but your son appears to have facial skin affliction. Consider having a doctor check it out. 
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Posted: 4/20/2017 11:06:23 AM EDT
[#47]
Quoted:
Wife didn't want me lifting water heaters so she said call someone to do it. OK, I'll play. Guy was going on about all the special options I can get on this miracle of technology, LED read out, remote WiFi access, A contraption on top that has something to do with water pressure, special stainless doomajiggies that replace my plain old not very high tech copper pipe. (You don't want your neighbors to think you use COPPER pipe do you? ) leak alarms, and a couple of things I've forgotten. About the ONLY thing it did not do is give blow jobs.
I just want a basic electric 55-gallon water heater. I do not need to see LED lights to know it's working, I can turn on the tap for that. Are folks really so anal that they need constant remote monitoring of their water heater? I asked for the cheapest option. He cheerfully played with his phone, $1710.
Home Depot has the same water heater (Rheem) for $429. I thanked the very nice salesman, went and bought the thing then installed it myself. I'll just TELL the wife the plumber did it. Not counting drive time and the time I spent screwing around in the garden section it took about an hour. Altogether, if you give the guy $100 an hour for labor, and count in the very special pipe etc, he was going to make around 1K profit. I guarantee you what he was quoting you was a heat pump based water heater system... because what you describe is exactly just that. And living in TX you made a big mistake not listening to him. Why? Because you have crazy rebates on them, you get free AC in your garage (assuming this is where the WH is), and you have a much lower power bill, and a much longer life system. To give you an idea, your state offers a $750 rebate on those, plus your electric company most likely offers a similarly priced rebate. You basically wasted money... and guess what? You'll be doing this all over again in 10 or less years.... but at least you'll feel like that you showed the man
Sure he was charging a lot for the install, but the rebates would have fixed that issue. The cheaper unit that you quoted was basically just a normal WH and probably has zero rebates.... so the install price is high because essentially it's still the same amount of work.... and in order to get those rebates, you need a professional in most cases doing the install. |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 11:09:47 AM EDT
[#48]
I can't imagine my wife telling me how to replace a water tank
Her not knowing a single thing about it would be the first problem being told what to do is the second problem you can nice, polite, gentlemanly, caring, friendly to your wife and not have her boss you around you don't even have to raise your voice people treat you the way you let them treat you |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 11:10:14 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So what are you going to buy with the remaining $1281 |
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Posted: 4/20/2017 11:12:56 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Aw c'mon...a big box store WH is good practice for next year when O_P has to install ANOTHER new water heater, this time hopefully bought from a professional plumber's supply store. He got it at Home Depot too. The only thing different was it was a cheaper model than I got for twice the money. |
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