Water Heaters: Your Comments, Please

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frigilux

frigilux

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Friends of mine are on vacation (I'm housing their two kittens, as shown at the Stray Animals thread) and I'm keeping an eye on their house.

I checked it last night, and their 5-year old electric Maytag water heater is leaking some very rusty water. It's near a floor drain in their laundry room, so no big clean-up or anything.

There are, however, quite a few little granules and flecks of rust on the floor leading to the drain.

Isn't five years kind of brief for the life expectancy of an electric water heater? It gets softened water, too.

I shut off power and water to the heater, and the decrease in pressure seems to have slowed the leak. And they'll be home tomorrow evening, so they can take it from there.

Anyone have similar experiences with a Maytag water heater? Any suggestions for a more reliable brand?
 
We have always had Bradford White Waterheaters, last year we bought a Whirlpool, which is the 3rd water heater since we built our home in 1993, so that averages out to about the same.
Grandma last year got a Maytag water heater to replace her Kenmore, that was the 9th water heater in 39 years in her home.
Of course our home has well water that has a high lime content,which is now being softened and helps some.
Grandma's home had a well also high in lime until 5 years ago, but the public water is only a slight improvement in softness.
 
My parents are only on their 2nd heater in 42yrs. The 1st was an AO Smith, and the current one is an Ace Hardware brand. They are both natural gas. We replaced a 45yr old GE electric heater with a Ruud natural gas-fired one with a power vent. The current natural gas heater in my grandparents house is only the 2nd one in 52yrs. All of the above mentioned units are 40 gallon capacity.
 
We've had a few Bryant water heaters and an AO Smith heater in a few of the homes we have lived in. They seem to be good as they each were at least 15 years old when we had them, and had no problems with them at all.

This house had a Bradford White unit that lasted 10 years. I wanted to put in a Bryant, but I couldn't find any plumbing shop that carried them. Of course they could "get them", but it would take "a week or so" for it to come in. So we ended up with a Bradford White again that is 5 years old and has recently started to make noises.
 
Soft water is aggressive on pipes and water heaters. It might be better for the homeowner to repipe the water heater so that it takes unsoftened water, leaving the softened stuff for the cold taps.

Also, the sacrificial anode in the water heater should probably be checked every two years in that home. If the water is too soft or acidic it will rapidly eat away the anode, then leaving the water to attack the tank's lining.

However, I would also check to see where the water is coming from. There's a chance it's coming from the drain valve or the pressure release valve. In either case they could be replaced for far less cost than a new heater, in the event that the lining of the heater itself isn't going bad.
 
Thanks for all the input, guys!

The water is SO hard here I can't imagine not having soft water in the water heater. I think taking showers, and the cleaning ability of the dishwasher would suffer the most. It would help eliminate sudsy rinses in the front-loader (they have a new Frigidaire Affinity), but again, it might mess with cleaning ability.

Sounds like AO Smith is a good brand, but I don't know if its available, locally. My gas water heater is in the garage, and when mine was replaced last year, the plumbing company suggested an Estate with a sealed burner area. They said it would greatly reduce the chance of an explosion if the car, lawn mower or snow blower should leak gasoline/fumes. Unfortunately, it has the worst energy usage score of any water heater in the same size according to the energy sticker on it. But it seems to work well.

The water is definitely not coming from the safety release valve or the drain spigot. It's coming from beneath the heater.

As always, it's great to have you guys to turn to for advice. I appreciate it, and will pass the information on to my friends.
 
Have you considered a tankless water heater. They cost more but are really cool Takes less space,no tank. Heats water as you need it and does not run out. You save money by not having to keep the tank of water hot all of the time. Have one in my brothers house and really like it. Very trouble free.

Jim

http://www.rinnai.us/tankless-water-heaters/
 
With a little care my heaters have lasted decades. I'm 14 years into my second Kenmore TOL gas unit. Last one lasted for 23 years. I drain it yearly, changed the anode rod and that's about it. I did replace the valve on this one last year, got it on ebay for $25.

I could not handle an on demand unit. One the house is too big and the runs are long, 75' to the longest, so a lot of water runs before it gets hot. That and the fact that the temp rise on the tankless units do not meet my wants. I want HOT water, 140-150 range and those units top out at 120 or so. Plus they are expensive for high volume units, and my gas water heater does not cost that much to operate now.
 
those units top out at 120 or so

On our tankless water heater we have a choice of 140 or 160 degrees. It does NOT top out at 120 degrees. I selected 160 since I too like HOT water. Our tankless water heater is in a large 3800 sf house. We wait no longer for hot water than we would with a regular water heater. There is no difference. The cold water that is in the hot water pipe still has to travel out first,tank or tankless. On the tankless you don't have to wait for the water to heat up. It kicks on and starts sending hot water right away. Savings.... It's one of those things that pays for itself over time. Do the math and see if it is right for you.
 
On the Subject of Tankless Heaters....

What is the estimated cost of installing a tankless system? My current gas tank heater is somewhat over 6 years old, and it came with a 6-year guarantee. Just planning ahead.

Also, what I don't understand about tankless heaters is how the water can be immediately heated. It just seems to me that the laws of physics still apply, and energy can't be transferred that quickly. Unless it uses microwave energy.
 
What is the estimated cost of installing a tankless system?

Good question. In my case it came with the repossessed house my brother purchased. We did not have it installed. It seems they can be easily installed where an exisisting water heater is now. Laws of physics..... I'm not sure how it works,it just works. Turn on the shower or sink and you get hot water just like you would with your water heater. The bathroom I used was near the tankless water heater. I could hear it kick on when I turned on the hot water and hear it click off when the water was shut off. I would still run the hot water at the sink before starting the dishwasher as I normally would with a normal water heater. Again,took no longer. I do think we will be seeing more and more tankless water heaters in the future. They can also be a nice selling point when it comes time to sell the house.
 
Tankless water heaters use a large burner or element to heat the water as it runs through a pipe. The burner is much larger than the equivalent one in a tank type heater, while the pipe only contains a small volume of water. So, the water is heated to a high temperature very rapidly, but it's not actually instant. The high-capacity burners and elements are why a tankless heater often requires a larger size gas pipe all the way to the meter, or a heavier wire in the case of an electric, than a regular tank type heater. If needed, these expenses must be factored into the installation costs.

Tankless water heaters aren't magic. A good one can do a good job if sized correctly, just like a tank type heater. Old poorly insulated tank type heaters could waste a lot of energy, but newer ones are pretty good so I wouldn't expect much savings from converting to a tankless. In either case, if the heater is a long way from the kitchen or a bathroom it's a good idea to install a circulating pump with a timer so you don't waste water by waiting for hot water to come out of the tap. A pump increases energy use a bit through heat loss in the pipes, which is why the timer is important, but it saves water.

Noritz and Takagi make excellent tankless heaters. Rheem is supposed to be pretty good as well.
 
When ours needed replacing, we got the same advice from everyone in know who we consulted:

Replace like for like. Consider tankless for a new build or major remodel, replacing every inch of gas line and water pipe to the meters.
 
The other thing to consider when your looking at a tankless water heater is how cold your water is. During the winter here in Mass the water gets downright frigid to about 35 or so degrees. In the summer it runs about 60 degrees at the tap. We thought of putting a tankless unit in at one time and at the time the heaters brochure said it could raise the water temp 70 degrees from a cold inlet temp of 60 so thats only 130 degrees. Imagine a cold water inlet temp of 35 and raising it 70 then thats a measly 105 degrees at the tap.
Now I am sure the new ones of today are much better than when we looked at the a few years ago.
 
Incidentally, the GE water heaters at Home Despot are rebadged Rheems. According to Forbes magazine, HD did a customer survey asking what people thought was the best quality water heater, and GE got the most votes despite the fact that they hadn't made water heaters in years. So they arranged to license the GE name for the Rheem water heaters they were already selling. ;)
 
May I coin a new abbreviation? *LOL*

.IMRO (In my ridiculous opinion)-

I believe most of the glass-lineD storage-type hot water heaters are (nearly) The same. Anyone recall those novel Sears brand units that were "indestructible". I don't recall if they had a polymer-based interior (read: plastique)or if it was SS. At any rate they appeared to be indestructible. The gas ones needed a 110v electic source to operate the controls and a small exhaust-flue blower. I'm guessing they disappeared rather quickly from being offered in that they would appear to have had a VERY long service-life.

Eugenios: (EV-YEH-NI-OS "of noble birth")

Here is a linkie that is of absolutely no use to you. But for those with a gas hot water heater, here is an interesting concept.

I found it while looking for Bock centrifugal extractors.

http://www.bockwaterheaters.com/
 
Copper was used in water heaters before the current glass-lined ones became available. Copper-lined water heaters typically served a minimum of 20 years of service. They would probably cost a fortune to build in today's market though.
 
wow

I have an oil fired hot water heater. I replaced my 27 year old Carlin 2 years ago with a Bock 32-E. That Carlin was a damn champ. 30 gallons with a 200 degree thermostat. One night, without even a blink I had 2 washers going, the dishwasher, and 3 consecutive showers. I had friends over showering due to a power outage in their area and that water heater never missed a beat. When I replaced it with the Bock, I was skeptical but this one is even better than the Carlin. 120,000 BTU. 130 gallons an hour at 90 degree rise. This one is so damn efficient it uses half a tank of oil a YEAR... Some of my friends have tried to convince me to go tankless, my response?? Go to hell LOL.

Geoff
 
Tankless gas

We sell lots of the Bosch gas tankless models @ $799 here at Scoshi's.Everybody here prefers them because the $/KWH here in Honoka'a,Hawaii is $.55!!!!!!!!!!! Because there is no natural gas here,everybody,especialy those off the grid that have either wind or solar power and need it mostly for appliances and air conditioning.Those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford the expense of all electric homes also prefer the solar panels to take care of most of their major electrical needs and get two 5 gallon propane tanks to run their tankless gas water heaters OR get a solar panel and use recycled rainwater to save even more on their water usage.

I went on a delivery to Volcano and the land there is all hard,dried,wavey lava(pumice)fields that go dirt cheap--around $25,000/10 acre strip!!you have to level the ground and there are no electrical lines and no water.The house owned and built by a singer/musician/song writer,Bo,has a solar panel,a retention tank(5000 gal.),solar panels(4)on the roof,a wind turbine,4 25 gal propane tanks,skilights on the roof,and all gas appliances except their L.G.washer.Bo is awesome and has done lots of business with us.He had an electric refrigerator(Magic Chef) and replaced it with a Servel gas model we sold him.He invited us over to go see the volcano there.At night,it glowes for miles a bright orange and the steam/smoke billows out non-stop during the day.There are homes there that are breath taking and self sufficiant.No electric or gas bills to pay other than propane refills.A 22 gal.tank filled is about $75 and lasts ove a month or two.One of the houses we saw there looked exactly like the one in the movie"Alice in Wonderland"!
 
Replaced at least 3-4 AO Smiths. THey only lasted 3-5 years. Terrible units. Had a State brand, that only lasted 3 years. Have a Rheem now. So far, so good.

Do not get AO Smith. Everyone in my area says they are garbage.
 
UPDATE: My friends' Maytag had an 8-year warranty on the tank. Since Maytag is no longer making water heaters, it was replaced with a Reliant. They had four years remaining on the Maytag's warranty, and that's being applied to the Reliant.
 

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