House hot water heater.

[racsan]

Well it looks like its time for the dreaded job of changing out the hot water heater. I knew from the looks of the outside of it that it was on borrowed time when we moved here last fall, seems to be electrical rather than ruptured but given the signs of slight leakage at the thermostat covers Im going with a whole new unit. What odd is 2 things: The in/out (cold/hot) hookups are on the side, and theres some sort of pressure valve on the cold side. It does also have the conventional pressure relief valve on tank exiting through floor. Its a electric tank, 40 gallon on well water, there is a softener so I don’t understand the corrosion, this tank was new 5 years ago according to the previous owners. Im thinking of going to a conventional top hookup instead of this side crap, Not sure if I can axe that valve on cold side. There is no pressure tank like Ive seen on most well systems. Tank is draining right now. heres some photos of it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I dont know much about water heaters. I used to rent a place on town water. I was told to clean the tank once every 6 months via the electric heater. So I did... and scraped out lots of crap. If I hadn't then I imagine the water heater life would have been significantly shorter.

 

[James Morse]

Shouldn't be hard to swap it out.
I have Merklett brand water heater, really old. Must go back to the 40's or something. When I moved here, had to clean out more than half a tank of sediment in iat, but once I replaced one bad element it was good to go. T-stats look they were replaced at some point. Has been working great, knock on wood, for 10 yrs.
It's supposed to have a metal rod that sticks into it from the top I guess that is supposed to help with the build up I don't know. Guess I should check for sediment after 10 yrs huh might need to clean it again.

 

[Blmpkn]

I'd be replacing it with an on-demand heater. Paying money to keep water hot all day is a waste of money IMO.

Plus... I occasionally like to take absurdly long showers. Running out of hot water during a hot water therapy session is a real bummer.

 

[James Morse]

You're probably right about that. I don't know all the pros and, if any, cons.
The old Merklett here does pretty well, I can do a load of clothes then take a shower, no change in temp. But on-demand might be the thing.... I don't know how popular they are. Probably draw a lot of current but, for relatively short times. I'll be interested to know how that works out!

 

[racsan]

the on-demend is a good idea, its just a lot more $. Im unsure if it would work well with the big garden tub we have, not that it gets used much- good to soak in if youre really sore. She actually uses it more than I do.

 

[Blmpkn]

You're probably right about that. I don't know all the pros and, if any, cons.
The old Merklett here does pretty well, I can do a load of clothes then take a shower, no change in temp. But on-demand might be the thing.... I don't know how popular they are. Probably draw a lot of current but, for relatively short times. I'll be interested to know how that works out!

The on demand heaters I have experience with are propane, which.. depending on the time of year up here can be cheaper than electricity.

Temp changes are a thing with the on demand heaters though, from what I've seen. It's not TERRIBLE.. but if you like your showers as hot as the depths of hell like I do.. you wouldn't want hot water being used elsewhere while your scrubbing the fungus off your back.

MABEY.. if the on demand heater is large enough there wouldn't be any temp drop.. I'm not sure. The on demand systems I've used were bought by poor and/or CHEAP people.. so it's possible they spent JUST as much as they needed to and not one penny more..

the on-demend is a good idea, its just a lot more $. Im unsure if it would work well with the big garden tub we have, not that it gets used much- good to soak in if youre really sore. She actually uses it more than I do.

They are definitely more money, but you'll save all the extra in the long run.. and then some.

An on demand system would work fine for the garden tub..

My mother had a 100 gallon jacuzzi tub installed in the upstairs bathroom when I was a teenager.. the tank style hot water heater in the house couldn't even fill it half way before it turned ice cold.. which was a bummer.. the day I found that out I had skipped school with a girl way above my batting average.. and she wanted to share a bath.

So.. I'm a big proponent of the on demand systems haha

 

[RobbieD]

The side plumbing connections are used for mobile home water heaters. Should be no problem changing to a top connection unit.

I'm not sure what what the doodad is on the cold line. Some units will have a thermal expansion tank but that doesn't look like one.

Just replaced my water heater; tons of fun.

 

[oldgeek]

See about putting a shut off valve on the supply side. It saves having to turn off the entire house if there is a need to work on the heater again.

I don't think softeners are 100% as to removing minerals, something to keep in mind with 'on demand' as they to do need maintenance, depending on the water.

 

[racsan]

The trailer I had with the xwife had a huge tub and only a 30 gallon water heater. (oddly enough, not a side-hookup, conventional top hookup,pvc),you couldn’t even get the tub half full before the water went cold. When it went bad I put in a 40 gallon. Which was enough but by then we had lived there 10 years and got used to never using it so only did try it once after that. That tank did rupture. Made a hell of a mess. Had to replace floor. even more “not fun”.

 

[racsan]

There is a shut off on supply line, right as it comes through the floor. I would add one if it didn’t. Still draining. Takes forever going through a garden hose gravity feed into the yard. The drain pan under the water heater is barely bigger than the base of the water heater, seems like there should be some side clearance between sides of pan and base of hot water tank.

 

[racsan]

Im leaning more to tankless, looks like a 3-4 gpm would do for me. Sure theres some maintenance but not heating water all the time could pay off in the long run. My brain hurts from all this. lol

 

[Roert42]

That thing looks pretty crusty for only five years old. Surprising.


Tankless water heaters are very common in commercial/ office buildings. They work great in that application. You always have hot water right at the faucet, no wait.



You'll probably need a way bigger line for the power. 60a with 6ga for tankless, vs a 15/20 amp for a regular tank.

 

[superj]

That pipe going up looks like they were going to add another line to something else. Weird way to plumb in another line to soemthing though.

You guys have really really bad water if that is 5 years old.

And that pan is no good, anyways. Its not hooked to anything. I am not sure what he codes are where you live but the water heate ris supposed to be 18 or 24" off the ground so if you were in texas, you should put a stand under it. It actually makes it easier to work on, too. your house looks older so that might be why its not on a stand though.

 

[superj]

My houae is older and my water heate ris on the ground. It sucks to work on it