Hot Water Heaters

[Holladay]

(an aside, 4 people in the house and 2 of which are teenagers) I have 2x50 gal propane hot water heaters, 10 years old, set up in line. The thought was that have one (the last in line) fairly hot, and the first just warm. When the needed, I could turn up the first to hot as well...ie when I wanted to fill the big bath tub.

The first in line has stopped working. I can't /won't light. So we have been working on just one. Which is OK because we have the other (last in line) that works fine.

I am looking at upgrading the tanks. I saw online to have 1 propane tank coupled with a "tankless" hot water source. I don't know the price, setup requirements, cost etc.

I just want to have adequate hot water. Again, have two teenagers and a big bath tub that we don't use that much.

Should I just replace both 50 gal propane tanks, have a repairman come out to fix the first in line that doesn't work, or do the hybrid propane tank and a tankless source?

Cost is an issue to a degree. Or the increased value to the house with a tankless?

Thanks

[mikeyis4dcats.]

yeah, shark bites don't meet code if they are not accessible. But they are great for something like a water heater.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by A Salt Weapon

As a plumber, I don't hate sharkbites they do have places they're good for. As long as you're not burying it in a wall you're probably fine. I even used two in my place, the nice thing about them is that a valve will spin. I put an extra hose bib on my house that goes into the bathroom closet where I installed my tankless, I used two sharkbite valves (hot and cold) to the bib so that I can close the hot and spin it towards the wall, this keeps the kids from opening it or it accidentally opening and creating a cross connect. When I want hot water outside I can close the cold valve, spin the hot away from the wall and open it, now the garden hose can have hot water.

Once you have had access to hot water outside you will wonder forever why all houses don't have that

[notorious]

For those of you that don't watch the magnificent show Myth Busters:


1:16 is when the excitement begins!

[Iowanian]

It happened again this weekend.

I have an 85 gallon water heater, and if the kids have showered/bathed within 4hrs, I'm not going to have a truly hot shower.

I'm going to have to add a 2nd tank or an on demand because this hippy-earth saver-Geothermal shit doesn't work for me.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

It happened again this weekend.

I have an 85 gallon water heater, and if the kids have showered/bathed within 4hrs, I'm not going to have a truly hot shower.

I'm going to have to add a 2nd tank or an on demand because this hippy-earth saver-Geothermal shit doesn't work for me.

I'm not real familiar with the Marathon, but it sounds like you either have a bad element, a bad dip tube or the temp is set too low

4 hours is more than enough recovery time for any heater which tells me something else is going on. Check the temp first. Adjust the t-stats 1 at a time and wait to see if the element comes on (you should hear it) then lower it until it turns off again. Raise the temp on the other one and see if it comes on. If they both come on, set the temp on both t-stats to the same temp (slightly higher than the original temp) and see what happens If one of the elements doesn't come on when you raise the temp, replace that element.

Good luck, I hope that helps

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by notorious

For those of you that don't watch the magnificent show Myth Busters:


1:16 is when the excitement begins!

The best PSA for maintaining your water heater ever. If your T&P valve fails and your water super heats because of an element fouling out, this can happen. Ive seen a few over the years that have blown out, although not to that extreme
Not as good of an explosion as the cement truck, but pretty impressive.

[Boise_Chief]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stiebel-E...5yc1vZc1tyZ86c

What do you know about this unit. My brother is looking at this on his remodel. I was shocked at the need for 150a and 300 amp service. Any recommendations similar to this?

[FlaChief58]

The stiebel is the only electric model we install. If you have to go with electric, that's the one I'd get. Do yourself a favor though and have him test his water to see if he needs a softener and make sure he gets service valves installed

[Boise_Chief]

Its either electric or propane. No natty gas in his hood. I'll be doing the install I'll have him get his water tested. He has pretty soft water and planned on doing away with his water softener. What is the threshhold before he needs to put a softener in?

[FlaChief58]

Go with propane. It'll be much more efficient than electric. I really can't tell what the manufacturer max on hardness are. Our water is so hard, it's just a given that you'll need a softener. I'm sure you can call tech support of whatever maker you're getting and they'll tell you

[kepp]

New question about tankless heaters...I need to get a water softener and because of the limited space in the utility closet, I need to replace the old water heater with a tankless. I got a quote for a Navien tankless unit. Is anyone familiar with these? The only brand I've heard much about is Rinnai.

[kccrow]

Nm. thread is old as ****.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by kepp

New question about tankless heaters...I need to get a water softener and because of the limited space in the utility closet, I need to replace the old water heater with a tankless. I got a quote for a Navien tankless unit. Is anyone familiar with these? The only brand I've heard much about is Rinnai.

No.

Heard of Rheem, Steibel, Eccotemp, Takagi, Ecosmart, and Rinnai.

That's probably 6 of the top 10 there are out there off the top of my head.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Flachief58

Rinnai is definitely a good unit and has been a leader in the field for some time, but Navien is giving them a run for their money. They are 99% efficient, have all stainless inner workings, and a built in recirculating pump. Rinnai is a ford, Navien is a Cadillac

Originally Posted by kepp

New question about tankless heaters...I need to get a water softener and because of the limited space in the utility closet, I need to replace the old water heater with a tankless. I got a quote for a Navien tankless unit. Is anyone familiar with these? The only brand I've heard much about is Rinnai.

It must be hard reading a thread.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by Guru

Its sad that appliances just aren't made to last anymore. Just had to replace a new refrigerator that we got 17 years out of and the new fridge is not even a month old and I have placed a second service call on it already.

Couldn't agree more. I had a very interesting conversation with a Sears appliance repairman of over 35 yrs who was getting ready to retire within weeks that came to my house to fix our Kenmore Washer(top loader) that was only about 4 yrs old(conversation happened 8 yrs ago mind you). I asked him, "why is this Kenmore already going on the blink now, I thought Kenmore's were the workhorse for a minimum of 15-20 yrs before there were any issues? I said my parents still have their Sears Coldspot Refrig of 40 yrs that I grew up with still working.

He simply replied, "all appliances regardless of the name have all inferior foreign parts with the majority of them coming from South America like this transmission for your Kenmore that I am replacing with the same inferior transmission." He said, I have nothing against foreign parts IF they work but I have yet in this industry find any foreign parts worth a damn" He said gone are the days of truly American made innards that you and I grew up on with Kenmore that actually lasted." He said, all these appliance companies whether high end or affordable, I have worked on all of them. Now you are seeing electronic companies like Samsung and LG getting into the game "all use these inferior foreign parts". He used this term that has stuck with me since and called all appliances just "candied up sh**". He said people fall in love with the chic slick look and the computer bells and whistles and pay a boat load of $$ only for me to make a visit within the first 6 months. He said he was glad he was retiring because it used to be in the day people were glad to see him because they had no issues with their appliances until at least 10yrs into it. Now he just gets an earful because these appliances nowadays are just crap. Understand this guy was very quiet and soft spoken and humble. He told me, back in the day you didn't need to buy the extended warranty but he said now you are stupid if you don't and you want to keep extending that warranty because it will only get worse over time.
I asked, so there isn't any real brand that is superior over and above the rest"? He said, NOPE !!

Sure enough he was right. We upgraded to a fancy Samsung front loader and dryer a few years ago and did get the warranty. We literally in 4 yrs had 4 service calls on both. And the repair guy who came out said almost the exact same thing and especially with our brand and model that the heating element of the Samsung dryer only lasts 2 yrs. He showed me how to fix it which was easy and just get the part from a Sears part store or online.

Just my experience with the "candied up sh**".