Hot Water Heaters
- Thread starter retromania
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IIRC, you have buy a water heater designed for direct venting versus a traditional one. Or at least this was the case when my parents replaced theirs a while back. The direct vent unit is in their basement and vents right outside like a dryer(except the vent cap is metal). Depending on the efficiency rating of the furnace, they either vent with a traditional flu or can also vent with a plastic pipe. I believe anything 90 or above on efficiency can direct vent. Below that(I think 80 is the minimum rating allowed to be sold) the exhaust is still too hot and a flu is required. That seems to be the case with all new homes built here in TN these days. Not sure if thats code everywhere or not though.
IIRC, you have buy a water heater designed for direct venting versus a traditional one. Or at least this was the case when my parents replaced theirs a while back. The direct vent unit is in their basement and vents right outside like a dryer(except the vent cap is metal). Depending on the efficiency rating of the furnace, they either vent with a traditional flu or can also vent with a plastic pipe. I believe anything 90 or above on efficiency can direct vent. Below that(I think 80 is the minimum rating allowed to be sold) the exhaust is still too hot and a flu is required. That seems to be the case with all new homes built here in TN these days. Not sure if thats code everywhere or not though.
Boy I'm glad you showed more photos of the HOMART. On seeing that first one with the insulation all fluffed out, I thought there had been a rupture or some spectacular failure.
We had a Crane hot water heater in our house that was built in 1950. It was in the middle of the house in the furnance room. That thing was great supplied 3 baths room kitchen an utility (wringer washer then Maytag automatics. Was still going strong in 1978 when the furnace went out it had to be tken out to get the ol durnace out and new one in so dad decided to replace it. One thing I think that kept it going so long was that dad did the drain out of it twice a year. One thing he did teach me well to do.
All our fixtures were Crane in the bath rooms and kitchen sink. Have never seen another Crane hot water tank again.
My grand parents had one of the uninsulated water heaters in their attice and one night they heard this big swoosh and bang and the heater rook off like a roocket through the roof. No safery valve and it did not stop heating til the tank blew. The tank landed in the back yard. Water all in the house from broken pipes.
All our fixtures were Crane in the bath rooms and kitchen sink. Have never seen another Crane hot water tank again.
My grand parents had one of the uninsulated water heaters in their attice and one night they heard this big swoosh and bang and the heater rook off like a roocket through the roof. No safery valve and it did not stop heating til the tank blew. The tank landed in the back yard. Water all in the house from broken pipes.
twintubdexter
Well-known member
hot water heater vs water heater...
...true, the "hot" is redundant, but it's really only an error if the person reading or hearing it doesn't understand, "frigerator," "rot iron furniture," "chester drawers"...you still know what they mean.
As a former Plumbing buyer for a huge hardware chain here in California of which water heaters were a major contributor, I'd say if that little Homart lasted 52 years you certainly got your money's worth and then some. It must have been drinking mineral and sediment-free water for most of it's life.
As a kid we would "vacation" at a remote cabin in Northern California that belonged to a friend of my Dad who would go hunting while we were there. When I say "remote" I mean it, no electricity and no generator, just propane for the stove and the Servel. You had to park hundreds of feet away on a dirt road and walk to the cabin (I guess vacation wasn't the right word to use.) The water supply was gravity-fed from a tank kept filled by a spring. The water heater was on the outside and looked like the boiler on a ship. You built a fire in the front, closed the door and eventually you could do the dishes or take a shower. My Mom would let me fire the heater up which was about the only "fun" thing to do at this mountain prison and since I was a junior pyromaniac I'd have that thing going like a blast furnace. It would make this loud clacking noise and my Mom always feared it was going to blow up. You could cook pasta with the water coming out of the kitchen faucet...mucho caliente'.
...true, the "hot" is redundant, but it's really only an error if the person reading or hearing it doesn't understand, "frigerator," "rot iron furniture," "chester drawers"...you still know what they mean.
As a former Plumbing buyer for a huge hardware chain here in California of which water heaters were a major contributor, I'd say if that little Homart lasted 52 years you certainly got your money's worth and then some. It must have been drinking mineral and sediment-free water for most of it's life.
As a kid we would "vacation" at a remote cabin in Northern California that belonged to a friend of my Dad who would go hunting while we were there. When I say "remote" I mean it, no electricity and no generator, just propane for the stove and the Servel. You had to park hundreds of feet away on a dirt road and walk to the cabin (I guess vacation wasn't the right word to use.) The water supply was gravity-fed from a tank kept filled by a spring. The water heater was on the outside and looked like the boiler on a ship. You built a fire in the front, closed the door and eventually you could do the dishes or take a shower. My Mom would let me fire the heater up which was about the only "fun" thing to do at this mountain prison and since I was a junior pyromaniac I'd have that thing going like a blast furnace. It would make this loud clacking noise and my Mom always feared it was going to blow up. You could cook pasta with the water coming out of the kitchen faucet...mucho caliente'.
A440 wrote:
"Retired after 52 Years of use. Nothing wrong with it. Gas company said it was way too old and red tagged it."
*******************************
Oh that's great, now you'll be replacing it every 7 years or so from now on. Everything new is JUNK ! This sort of thing burns my a**.
Ken D.
"Retired after 52 Years of use. Nothing wrong with it. Gas company said it was way too old and red tagged it."
*******************************
Oh that's great, now you'll be replacing it every 7 years or so from now on. Everything new is JUNK ! This sort of thing burns my a**.
Ken D.
norgeway
Well-known member
I dont think,,,
Legally they can tell you to retire something because it is Too Old!! I would have to get a lawyer over that one!! oh yeah, I hate to tell you, but I have never heard anything BUT HOT WATER HEATER!!!LOL
Legally they can tell you to retire something because it is Too Old!! I would have to get a lawyer over that one!! oh yeah, I hate to tell you, but I have never heard anything BUT HOT WATER HEATER!!!LOL
retromania
Well-known member
Sandy,
You got me! And correct you are. It's not a HOT water heater. Just a water heater. LOLLLL. That's too funny!
You got me! And correct you are. It's not a HOT water heater. Just a water heater. LOLLLL. That's too funny!
retromania
Well-known member
Harry,
I heard that hot water heat is great for folks living in really cold climates. By the way. Has anyone ever heard of a Warm Morning heater? My mother who is 87 said they had a Warm Morning heater in their kitchen when she was a child. She said it had a tank above it that heated a small amount of hot water. She said just about enough to for a bath. The house did not have central heat. Each room had a fireplace. Wood burning and kerosene stoves in the kitchen. I made the mistake once of saying that I bet cakes from the wood burning stove didn't turn out very well. She put me in my place by saying some of the most beautiful cakes and breads came out of that wood stove.
I heard that hot water heat is great for folks living in really cold climates. By the way. Has anyone ever heard of a Warm Morning heater? My mother who is 87 said they had a Warm Morning heater in their kitchen when she was a child. She said it had a tank above it that heated a small amount of hot water. She said just about enough to for a bath. The house did not have central heat. Each room had a fireplace. Wood burning and kerosene stoves in the kitchen. I made the mistake once of saying that I bet cakes from the wood burning stove didn't turn out very well. She put me in my place by saying some of the most beautiful cakes and breads came out of that wood stove.
retromania
Well-known member
Oh and one of my favorites,
hose pipe for the garden hose!
hose pipe for the garden hose!
retromania
Well-known member
So foxchapel...
What was the rumble rumble in the water heater when someone started running hot water at the kitchen sink?
What was the rumble rumble in the water heater when someone started running hot water at the kitchen sink?
I have experienced all the different types of water heaters mentioned, from the gas burner to heat a coil to a coil heating water in a woodstove with a seperate tank and never hot water in the warm weather. They all work but we are always looking for the easiest and most cost efficient way to go. 18 years ago I redid my house with a tankless hot water boiler run by #2 oil when it was CHEAP but my oil cost has gone from.60/gallon to nearly 4 bucks a gallon. Since then I have got my BPI Energy Auditors certification and wished I knew then what I know now and had the cash to change things. Everyone has to access their own hot water needs, like more people, more bathrooms, more washers that use HOT water and the energy costs in their area. There are many options and everyone has to access their individual needs for where they live and look at all their options, but around here, an electric water heater will drain your wallet.
The term "hot water heater" was used by car makers in the Thirties because there were other gimcrack devices that used heat off the exhaust manifolds as well as the Stewart-Warner "South Wind" heater that burned gasoline to provide instant heat. So the term may have gotten into circulation back then.
Warm Morning was a very big stove and furnace maker. I remember my high school auditorium had a metal door over the coal chute that said Warm Morning.
Warm Morning was a very big stove and furnace maker. I remember my high school auditorium had a metal door over the coal chute that said Warm Morning.
westingman123
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2009
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Warm Morning
If I recall, they made wood stoves, gas space heaters, and coal stoves. I have a Warm Morning propane space heater at the farm, it will blast you out of that old house if you don't remember to turn it waaaaaay low.
If I recall, they made wood stoves, gas space heaters, and coal stoves. I have a Warm Morning propane space heater at the farm, it will blast you out of that old house if you don't remember to turn it waaaaaay low.
whirlaway
New member
Water Heaters!
I replaced mine last year it was 33 years old,my grandmother had a Sears Homart water heater she had installed in 41 and it was still in the house in the 80s,I have Hot water heat its wonderful and even and no cool breezes blowing across your neck and you can dry things on your cast iron radiators,LUv em! Id come home from climbing phone poles all day,with wet and cold feet! Put those boots on the one in the little bathroom off of the kitchen,and they would be warm and ready for the next morning.Its such a damp cold tonight,I waled by one of them,and it felt so good. Good Night!!
I replaced mine last year it was 33 years old,my grandmother had a Sears Homart water heater she had installed in 41 and it was still in the house in the 80s,I have Hot water heat its wonderful and even and no cool breezes blowing across your neck and you can dry things on your cast iron radiators,LUv em! Id come home from climbing phone poles all day,with wet and cold feet! Put those boots on the one in the little bathroom off of the kitchen,and they would be warm and ready for the next morning.Its such a damp cold tonight,I waled by one of them,and it felt so good. Good Night!!
whirlcool
Well-known member
And for those long lasting water heaters what kind and how often did you perform maintenance on them?
retromania
Well-known member
When I moved in I had a gas man come to the house and inspect my ancient gas furnace to make sure it was safe. It was called Torid Heat. Don't you just love that name?! In chrome lettering too. Be still my heart. Anything with chrome lettering!! LOL He said the furnace even though it was about 40 years old was safe and sound. Said there was not much to wear out in that furnace. Said it would probably rust out before it wore out. While there I asked him about my old Hotpoint water heater and he said they don't make 'em like they used to. He said that I needed to drain some of the water out of it evey now and then. So I did that a couple of times, but it wasn't murky or discolored so I never did it again and it has been running fine. That was about 15 years ago. Like I said in an earlier post, my sweet baby is 47 years old and still putting out! LOL
Remember that older water heaters were lined with copper back then. Even with little to no maintenance (yearly draining) and poor water quality conditions, they would last a good 20 years. Most water heaters today are all glass lined and don't stand up to the test of time as well as the old copper lined ones.
Anybody know when manufacturers began lining water heaters with glass and phased out copper? I'm guessing it was around the 70's.
Anybody know when manufacturers began lining water heaters with glass and phased out copper? I'm guessing it was around the 70's.
