Water heaters

[2sac]

Mine sprung a leak. Who makes the better quality unit? GE, Richmond, Kenmore, or Whirlpool? Just getting a basic natural draft 6 year unit. Those are my choices from the big box stores.

[Joehvac25]

We have non of them around here. Ruud or Bradford white are the ones I use or used.

[blitz]

get some high temp silicone and some furnace cement and you're golden.... lol. y don't you get one from your supplier? they might be cheaper than orange or blue box.

[jeep6275]

i know that richmond is the same as rheem/ruud. menards had a richmond and my distributor was 15% cheaper....

[pilotlight]

Stay the hell away from whirlpool. Trust me on this.

I have seen ones that are 3 weeks old have holes in the tank. I have seen electric ones DOA out the box

[craig1]

If you're gonna get one from a Big Box, buy the Richmond from Menards. By far the best quality of them all. Also Menards has an 11% off everything sale going on now

[jtrammel]

Plumbing supply house should be cheaper.

[Strkout499]

I like Rheem...why are you shopping at the big box stores?

[Freightshaker]

Stops leaks
Might buy you some time

[cboe]

I learned something about water heaters. If you change out the ANOD rod once in a while you can get a lot of years out of your water heater.

[pctech]

qustion is how many more then the warrenty will cover?
and alot of home owners ect dont know how to remove it let alone change it

[Space Racer]

Mine sprung a leak. Who makes the better quality unit? GE, Richmond, Kenmore, or Whirlpool? Just getting a basic natural draft 6 year unit. Those are my choices from the big box stores.

To the best of my knowledge, none of those companies makes their own water
heaters. They buy them from other manufacturers and put their own labels on
them. And they don't always stick to one manufacturer.

See this list of manufacturers:
http://dir.yahoo.com/business_and_ec...manufacturers/

If you stick to basic tank heaters, they're all pretty much the same. State Industries had a process for coating the inside of the tank after the seams were welded, but I don't know if they still do that. State also makes heaters with patented "Self-Cleaning" inlet tubes that circulate the water around the bottom of the tank and keep sediment to a minimum, but they are considerably more expensive.

http://www.statewaterheaters.com/lit...SRGSS02608.pdf

You can buy generic retrofit curved inlet tubes (dip tubes), but they are simply turned at the bottom to point the water horizontally. They don't go around the bottom of the heater like the State tube, but they are definitely worth installing.

A.O. Smith acquired State Industries about a decade ago. I don't know how their product lines have changed since then, but I think State has maintained its individuality and integrity.

To make your heater last, install it with dielectric nipples or unions (if you have copper pipe), install a thermal expansion tank or valve (not just a T&P valve), replace the anode rod once in a while, keep the temperature low, and drain some sediment from the bottom every now and then. These improvements will easily make your heater last twenty to thirty years or more.

Expansion tanks are better than expansion valves because the tanks conserve water. Valves are cheaper (at first) and take less space, but they require drains.

http://www.watts.com/pages/learnabou...lExpansion.asp

Watts also makes a thermal expansion toilet fill valve, but I don't think it works on low flush toilets. Use this only as a last resort.

http://www.watts.com/pages/_products...s.asp?pid=7237

When copper pipes are connected to steel tanks, they create a dielectric effect, which makes the tank rust.

Hot water causes more sediment to precipitate out from the water and settle on the bottom of the tank than cooler water. If you need extra hot water, turn it up before each job and then turn it back down. Sediment takes up space in the heater, reduces the amount of available hot water, necessitates turning up the temperature in order to produce the same amount of warm water, and stresses the tank.

Thermal expansion causes the tank to expand every time the water is heated. This will shorten the life of your heater by several years.

Anode rods decay more easily than steel tanks. As long as there is an anode rod in your tank, it will disintegrate before your tank does. Anode rods are easy to replace, but they are screwed in tight, so you will need a good socket wrench with a long handle, and you will have to brace the pipe or the heater. Buy an extra rod when you buy the heater and keep it handy, so that when the time comes all you have to do is find your wrench. Check your clearance above the heater before you buy it.

Turn down the thermostat, shut off the cold water supply, releive the pressure by opening a hot water faucet, and drain some water from the bottom of the tank before you remove the anode rod. Before you turn the cold water back on, open the bathtub faucet and close other faucets so that air and sediment are spewed into the tub instead of out through your aerators and kitchen spray valve.

For more info about water heater purchasing and modification, check out this website:
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pag...er-heater.html

[2sac]

I like Rheem...why are you shopping at the big box stores?

I'll check the supply house today. Last time I priced them out a few years back Home Depot was cheaper. I put this one in 9 years ago. Not planning on staying here for more than a couple years, so I'm not interested in breaking the bank.

[Freightshaker]

I think I bought my state in 06 for a little over a buck fifty from a supply house we do a lot of business with. I would definately shop around supply houses.

[jtrammel]

Last 50gal I bought was 275$ from supply house, Bradford white, about a month ago.

[Cooked]

.......To make your heater last, install it with dielectric nipples or unions (if you have copper pipe)........

A much better idea is to use brass nipples and copper flex connectors with brass nuts.

[ammoniadog]

A much better idea is to use brass nipples and copper flex connectors with brass nuts.

Why is this a much better idea? Is it because the dielectric unions are more prone to leaking, or is there another reason that I haven't thought of?

How about using brass nipples, and then a brass union that is threaded on one side, and soldered to the copper on the other side, instead of the flex connector? Would that work?

[Cooked]

Why is this a much better idea? Is it because the dielectric unions are more prone to leaking, or is there another reason that I haven't thought of?

How about using brass nipples, and then a brass union that is threaded on one side, and soldered to the copper on the other side, instead of the flex connector? Would that work?

Yes, of course it will. I like the flex connectors because they are easy and forgiving. The di-electric unions and nipples work but will eventually fail, you guessed it, to electrolysis. My plumbers replace them all over the hospital nearly everyday. Steel hot water tanks and brass nipples get along very well. Steel and anything else do not.

[2sac]

The dieelectric unions I installed 9 years ago haven't failed. Was busy today and I never checked pricing at the supply house

[Space Racer]

Why is this a much better idea? Is it because the dielectric unions are more prone to leaking, or is there another reason that I haven't thought of?

How about using brass nipples, and then a brass union that is threaded on one side, and soldered to the copper on the other side, instead of the flex connector? Would that work?

Copper flex connectors and dielectric unions work well because they have plastic inserts in them which serve as insulators. The inserts prevent contact between dissimilar metals. Copper flex connectors are easier to install, but they are thin and corrugated, so may be subject to earlier failure.

Uninsulated brass nipples and unions are not a good idea because you still have metal to metal contact. It doesn't matter which metal you use in between the steel and copper.

What matters is that you connect steel to steel and copper to copper (or brass), and that you have insulators between the steel tank and the copper pipe.

I don't what the feature of dielectric nipples is that makes them insulators.