We have two (40 gallon) hot water heaters in the crawl space at each end of the house. (The house must have been built around them because I don’t see how to get a new unit into the space.) We are on well water and have a softener.
After 12 years, I’m afraid that these are near the failure point. (1) Do I replace them BEFORE they fail? (2)What experience is there with in-line heaters, gas or electric.?
Jerry
Replies
Are you going to do this yourself or hire it out? Are you considering a pre-emptive strike on one or both? Do they serve different parts of the house? Are they electric or gas? If one failed, would it be trivial to repipe so that one heater fed both systems. Are you considering going to a larger single heater, or switching from one fuel to another? I ask this because I started with a duplex-single conversion with 2 older water heaters. One did fail, and the remaining heater was quickly piped into both areas. But this was a situation where both heaters were side by side, and I plan to replace the electric unit with gas this summer. If you plan to stay with the same capacity and type of heater, it might make sense to go ahead and buy one so you have it on hand in case of failure. That would keep you from having to buy what the plumber has on his truck at 3AM. Similarly, a scheduled swap in the middle of the afternoon is preferable to one done at 3AM in the middle of the winter. And with a scheduled swap, you could put the new unit in a better spot.
That's what I was gonna say.....buy what ya want and all the parts you'll need to install...and have it all there waiting for the day they die.
What ya cloud do......is crank up the A/C real high, and turn off all the lights and cover all the windows.....then they'll die right there on the spot....
Because they'll think it's cold as hell out outside and in the middle of the nite!
That's the timing of the appliance graveyard. Maybe throw some ice cubes on the floor so they think it's the middle of an ice storm....they like that too.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
While it's a good question, electric or gas, the point is, if it aint broke, don't fix it. Water heaters can easily last 20 years, although some do not. There are positives and negatives. Do you have a smell in the hot water like sulpher ? Is there enough hot water where you want it..... The flash type water heaters you talk about have been used in Europe for many, many years. Most are gas fired because of the cost of electricity as well as the availability in bad weather. Before you go this way, send me an email or post a response and we will work it out.
Happy Holidays, Ken
Water heaters life depends heavily on the local water.
Ask around and see what'd the norm for your area.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Thanks for the prompt responses and good questions.
Busk - I can't decide if you are a pessimist or a realist. The only thing you didn't mention is a set of colored lights so the heaters will think it's Christmas and all the family is home with a batch of grandkids with dirty pants. (Sorry I brought that up!)
Not practical to hook the two units together. Too far apart.
Heaters around here (Ann Arbor, MI) "last 10-12 years with city water", we're on a well.
I'll have the work done professionally. Years back I might have tackled the job, not now.
One unit I can get in a replacement tank. The other would require moving the well pressure tank to get enough "entrance" room.
Current units are electric, but, I now have gas and can vent, a relatively short distance, horizontally. I'd prefer gas because of cost.
Do gas flash heaters have enough flow for a good shower?
Happy Holidays,
Jerry
Mine is 26 years old. Still works fine but ...
If you are concerned with it pooping out try draining a bit out of the bottom and see what kind of crud comes out. If it is just mineral scale they might still be ok, if it is rust flakes and chunks of porcelain then the tank is on it way out.
If you have electric you'll pay for the change in a couple of years without any problem by changing to gas.
As for flash heaters... Do a search in the forum. There have been 6 in my time here > 1yr. Each one has a statement refering to previous threads. It isn't a panacea, they have big plus factors and a few minuses. Amongst them are continuous flow, temperature increase capabilities at flow(impt for a well), longevity, calcification, and turn on at low flow rates. Personally it is a technology who's time is a couple of years out by my estimation. But maybe you have conditions perfect for it.