When you replace a water heater, do you have to get the same size or can you go smaller? Our condo has a 72 friggin gallon gas tank. I guess the previous owners looooved them some hot wata! Anyway, I purchased a 40 gallon tank at lowes. Is this ok to use? The specs for a 40 gal tank say it's ok for a family of 3-4. Our condo is 2bd 2ba which I think a 40 gal will work fine. Thoughts?

 

Family of 3 we had a 50 gal electric and it was fine in a 3BR 2 ba house.
You should be fine with a 40 gal gas, as they recover pretty quickly.

A 72 gal, holy crap what kind of gas bill were you running keeping that thing hot?

 

Changing size should not be a problem at all...


:ibrealizesshareshotwaterheaterwithneighbour:

 

Check to see if you township requires a permit to change the tank. Mine does. When I went to sell my townhouse I had to get a permit for a tank I had put in a couple years before.

 

Should be fine. We have always had a 50 gallon water heater in our homes, and never had a problem.

Even here we have a 50 gallon. We've had up to 3 people showering at the same time, with another showing right after, and we had plenty of hot water... so you should be golden.

 

yep, cost me $47 bucks. I didn't even know until I got home and a Lowes rep told me my township required it.

 

thanks for the input guys. Plumber will be here in an hour and I'll have a new, efficent water heater.

 

How long do long does a water heater last, on average? I checked ours and it was put in April 2000, so I want to know how much longer I have.

 

10 - 15 years. There are some steps you can take to extend the life of it.

 

Can you elaborate a little more please on these steps?

 

our old water heater was from 92. From what I've read, they can last 20-30 yrs if properly maintained. Ours died from corrosion and sprung a leak. BTW, fukin plumbers took me for $65 on the straps to hold the heater down in case of an earthquake. They said they were replacing with thicker straps because they have to replace everything to code. I come back and check their work an hour later and it looks like the same straps I had on there before. I was pissed of course and couldn't do anything about it since they were done. Complained to Lowes about having shady contractor rippin me off. There was nothing wrong with the old straps. They could have been reused. Matter of fact, I think they were replaced only less than 2 yrs ago.

 

Bump.

Is it best to replace the H2O heater before it dies, or after the garage gets a good soaking from it? My house was 7years old when I bought it,and have been here for 2 years. The WH was a "7 year" model. I don't get really hit water like I did when I moved in, but I get hot water. Should I just get it "serviced" and if so, what do they do to "service" it?

 

Hell Mine ruptured 2 months ago, and at that point it was not very old (5) at all. I think when they service it, they clean the burners and check for corrosion. Depending on the size of your house you may want to consider a tankless system as a replacement. Also check state/energy provider incentives for buying more efficient equipment, with my provincial programs I was able to save about 50% replacement costs.

 

I will have to check on the incentives... Hadn't thought about that...

 

usually someone has to come out a photograph the old equipment, then the new, or at least that's how mine worked.

 

1) We're supposed to drain out the water heater once a year from the bottom drain to get the dirt/mud/sediment out of the bottom of the heater.
2) There is an anode rod/metal rod inside the water heater which wears out and must be replaced after several years.
3) The pressure relief valve is to be tested (and replaced if defective).

 

watch from about 1 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q

 

I just replaced ours last year, it was 25 years old and still working. I wanted something faster recovery and more energy efficient.

 

Now I have another thing to fear in my own home....

 

Went tankless - pretty cool. Saves a ton of space and never run out of hot water.

 

They are awesome, I am just not sure I am going to be in this house long enough to recoup the cost...

Do you have a single for the house, or one in each bathroom +kitchen?

 

The tankless is for two bathrooms. There are also two other water heaters for the rest of the house.

 

My grandma's water heater was built in 1986. It's even got the fake wood grain on it! However, the thing looks like it's in mint condition. My dad (who is in the trade) says it's a ticking time bomb basically.

My parents replaced their water heater a few years ago. The original water heater (dated 1996) got eaten up by hard water.

I think it all depends where your water heater is stored and the quality of your water. Older homes here in CA have the water heater indoors (my grandma's is in a closet), newer homes have the water heater either outside in an enclosure or in the garage. I would think that the more protected the heater is from the elements (temperature changes, extreme colds and hots, bad weather, etc.) the longer it'd last

 

Tankless are very nice but they can be hard to recapture the added cost (for those looking to save) due to the added cost and install/retrofit

 

Anyone get any subsidies for tankless?