Posted on 02/22/2015 8:59:13 AM PST by Mean Daddy
If it’s been a while since you took stock of the age and vitality of your water heater, now would be a good time to do so.
Mechanical rooms and homeowners’ appliance budgets are about to get more cramped after April 16, when the latest round of federal standards stipulating increased energy efficiency of residential water heaters takes effect.
The standards stem from a 1987 Department of Energy law called the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act.
Water heater manufacturers are responding with energy-saving additions like advanced electronics, more insulation and heat pumps, which means new units promise to get taller, wider and more complicated than their less-efficient predecessors.
(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...
Famous last words.
My BIL is a plumber....he keeps about 20 on hand for all occasions. I’ve had one heater bust (rust) after about 10 years. The one thing I did when I replaced it was to make sure a drain pan was put in. Otherwise, if you don’t have the WH in a place where 55 gallons can dump out and dry, you got a big drying up problem.
Mine is in my concrete floor basement not far from the boat door, so I don’t much care about a spill.
Get a magnesium sacrificial anode. The aluminum ones they ship most of them with cause Alzheimers.
Go tankless! Having a tank full of hot water taking up space is high button shoes technology. Only heat water when you need it, and nothing in your home to start leaking while you are away. The Japanese have lead the world in this technology.
tankless = prohibitively expense.
Our new washer is so full of electonics that it often wont work correctly unless we unplug it to reboot it. I suspect a similar problem will befall these modern water heaters. Not something I look forward to with my water heater on a cold winters morning.
Does anyone here have a tankless they can comment on?
I’ve heard they are expensive, most places don’t carry parts and the heat isn’t of the quality of a traditional tank heater.
Can they really handle a household of five with laundry, dishes, showers, etc?
Thinking about getting those ‘ON-DEMAND’ type heaters gas or electric................
Anybody have one that they can provide some insight on their experiences?
Are they really cheaper in the long run?
What is the payback period?
Do they get hot or just warm?................
I got a tankless a couple of years ago - cost approx $2000 with install.....love it!
If you have a dishwasher, you can connect the cold water line instead of the hot water line if it has a built in water heater in it...............
Just the dog..............
I agree. Tankless is way better. Never run out of hot water.
It's not a "Department of Energy Law", it's a statute, passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Reagan.
Now, it's a travesty, and, like most environmental laws, probably unconstitutional, but it will once again draw out EPA haters and DOE haters, when the fault (as usual) lies with Congress.
Good to know! Replacing mine (20+ years old, but I drain it regularly) was on the Things To Do list this year. Last year was new attic insulation.
It’s always SOMETHING with, ‘This Old Dump!’ :)
The water in Florida tends to be quite hard because of all the limestone.
Flush your heater annually to limit the scale build up.
I went tankless- $300 tax credit and $200 gas company incentive. On the other side of the equation, new code require a 5 gallon overflow pressure reserve tank for storage tanks. This will add $500 to the cost of tan installation.
But the best part, six people in a house never running out of hot water!! Priceless
My neighbor (family of 4) has one and he loves it...
Took a little bit of work to modify the existing water and gas lines to do the install...but if you’re handy it’s not above the average do it yourselfer...
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-tankless-water-heater-176538
I may have to consider going tankless as mine is going on 5-6 years old and it was an emergency replacement...during the winter of course.
For an a savings of $1 per month how much more will the government force us to pay for water heaters? Like the government mandated low flow toilets that take 3 flushes the savings is a joke.
when done what was the bill?
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