What should a water heater replacement cost?

[RatLabGuy]

wow, now you guys have me worried bout mine. Mine is also a gas and I am not exactly sure how old mine is...might need to check into that...how can you tell if it needs replacing? It heats fast and doesn't leak that I know of...

If you mean the rod - go pull it out and look at it. Basically the rod's job is to rust so the tank won't. Compare how it looks to pics online.

Tank water heaters are pretty freakin' simple. Pretty much the only thing that can go wrong is something failing on the burner, like the ignition switch, or they rust out and leak.

 

[drkelly]

In my 25 yrs of PM&E design I've never seen a payback, nor benefit in using them.

The benefit is as I mentioned before. Being able to fill a BIG ASS soaking tub with hot water while someone else also takes a shower, or takes a shower immediately following the filling of the tub. Ask @ManglerYJ . There was another thread about them some months back. He had to install an second hot water heater in his house in order to have enough hot water to be able to fill his wife's soaking tub.

 

[CasterTroy]

The recovery will be directly proportional to your storage temperature. If you're storing at 110 or less, you're going to run out MUCH sooner. Sometimes, the key to more hot water is simply storing at a higher temperature. This is not recommended if you have small children, or liberal house guests. But personally, my water is stored at a temperature that can peel a tomato with ease. My wife bathes in the garden tub every night, sometimes before, sometimes AFTER my 2 HS age girls shower, and we've never run out of hot water (40 gal State GWH)

Recovery is also influenced by the age of the GWH. They scale at the bottom (source of heat) so the older they are the thicker the scale, the less efficient they become.

 

[Chuckman]

Matthew, just hook it up. Its ZERO issues if you had one there in the first place. Ive done all 3 of mine in one evening, and that included going to get the stupid thing. Just get a new yellow gas line hose and clean everything, check with soap (Check for no bubbles) and roll. Easy peezy. Gas line pressure is only something stupid low like 3psi anyway. Youre smart enough to figger it out. Its more dangerous to have an old car in your garage venting out gasoline fumes than messing with this thing. Just don't forget to run a garden hose OUTSIDE TO THE YARD to drain out the rusty crud or it will hella stain the driveway.

 

[RatLabGuy]

The recovery will be directly proportional to your storage temperature. If you're storing at 110 or less, you're going to run out MUCH sooner. Sometimes, the key to more hot water is simply storing at a higher temperature. This is not recommended if you have small children, or liberal house guests. But personally, my water is stored at a temperature that can peel a tomato with ease. My wife bathes in the garden tub every night, sometimes before, sometimes AFTER my 2 HS age girls shower, and we've never run out of hot water (40 gal State GWH)

Recovery is also influenced by the age of the GWH. They scale at the bottom (source of heat) so the older they are the thicker the scale, the less efficient they become.

Downside is unless you have that thing really well insulated and in a warm location, you're paying more in energy costs to keep that sucker hotter.
That said, we keep ours a bit on the hot side too (and coated in an insulating blanket in a heated basement). Not scalding, but hotter than the nancy safety recommendations. Yes, we have small childdren. You know what? They know not to push the handle all the way over to the left. They learn quickly.

 

[CasterTroy]

Gas line pressure is only something stupid low like 3psi anyway.

That's NOT stupid low. In fact, that's higher than the line pressure I usually deliver to a high school boiler room with (4) 2,000MBH boilers.

Downside is unless you have that thing really well insulated

I know a guy ;-)

They know not to push the handle all the way over to the left. They learn quickly.

That's what I'm talkin about! "Betcha won't do THAT twice WILL ya!"

 

[VortecJeep]

Matthew, just hook it up. Its ZERO issues if you had one there in the first place. Ive done all 3 of mine in one evening, and that included going to get the stupid thing. Just get a new yellow gas line hose and clean everything, check with soap (Check for no bubbles) and roll. Easy peezy. Gas line pressure is only something stupid low like 3psi anyway. Youre smart enough to figger it out. Its more dangerous to have an old car in your garage venting out gasoline fumes than messing with this thing. Just don't forget to run a garden hose OUTSIDE TO THE YARD to drain out the rusty crud or it will hella stain the driveway.

I did hook it all up a week ago, even the gas. Easy. Best $2k I've ever saved!