Time for a new hot water heater. I'm thinking of buying one at the Home Depot. GE label, made by Rheem. I guess there are really only three manufacturers and the rest are relabeled. What do you think?

 

Why does your hot water need a heater?

 

Tee hee.

Bill - have you checked into those natural gas/propane units that heat the water as needed? I'm probably going to look into that option when my time comes.

 

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=669016

 

Yeah - I thought we'd talked about this before. But the mind...

 

We recently had a home show here in Louisville. I checked out the "heat as you need" units. The electric units are totally useless and the only gas units that actually work require a industrial type meter on your home in order to provide enough gas to heat your water. The contractor told me that it would probably take 20 years to recoup your money for the additional expense and he doubts that the unit would even last that long. Stick with the tank!

 

Don't waste your time and money. My fiancee has one (gas) in her house and it doesn't work worth a damn. Her neighbors all say pretty much the same thing about theirs too.

 

 

I went with an A O Smith

 

According to the individual I talked to at the home show, the new conventional water heater's are much better than what they were even 5 years ago. He said that 10 years was about the life of the old units, now you can expect 15 year or more because of the new construction. The new heaters have much more insulation than the old units.

My home is 8 years, so I expect to be replacing mine in the next two years.