Whirlpool Water Heater Problem

[Jim Koepke]

This is one of those times that having a Sticky at the top of the Off Topic Forum for the best home repair threads seems like a good idea.

A repository of the many things people have done, repaired our discovered.

Just a Thought,

jtk

[Bill Bukovec]

So who makes a dependable water heater?

Ours is 20 + years old and I was thinkking of replaceing it before it fails.

Any brands you would recommend?

Thanks,

Bill

[Brad Sperr]

So who makes a dependable water heater?

Ours is 20 + years old and I was thinkking of replaceing it before it fails.

Any brands you would recommend?

Thanks,

Bill

If your water heater has made it 20+ years then I would stick with that brand

I've also heard good things about Bradford White, but you have to buy those from a supply house.

[Mike Henderson]

So who makes a dependable water heater?

Ours is 20 + years old and I was thinkking of replaceing it before it fails.

Any brands you would recommend?

Thanks,

Bill

There are only a few hot water heater manufacturers in the US and they make the hot water heaters for the various companies who sell them. I'm sure they make them to the specifications of the marketing company so some are probably better than others. But I wouldn't necessarily go with a company just because their unit made 20 years ago was a good one. Companies change a lot in 20 years and they may not make the best units any more. Better to check current reviews to see what people recommend today.

Mike

[Rick Moyer]

So who makes a dependable water heater?

Ours is 20 + years old and I was thinkking of replaceing it before it fails.

Any brands you would recommend?

Thanks,

Bill

I bit the (price) bullet and bought one of these http://www.marathonheaters.com/consumers.html recently. couldn't be happier so far.
I was having a problem with the softener system causing pre-mature failure of the anode rod in our older unit. this one eliminates that possibility. More info available on that at water heater rescue dot com.

[Chris Padilla]

I bit the (price) bullet and bought one of these http://www.marathonheaters.com/consumers.html recently. couldn't be happier so far.
I was having a problem with the softener system causing pre-mature failure of the anode rod in our older unit. this one eliminates that possibility. More info available on that at water heater rescue dot com.

Wow, that looks like a pretty solid WH! I see the EF is 0.94+!! Amazing! I assume yours is electric, Rick? I couldn't tell if that was all they sell.

[Rick Moyer]

Yes, Chris, we are all electric right now, although I'd like to get NG but it would cost me $7500 to get the main line run!
It's an awesome WH, but it's expensive. Could probably buy three others , but this one's gauranteed and I don't plan on moving again.

[Greg Portland]

[Laughter] You know EXACTLY why I had to do that! You should have heard my wife when we lost the hot water. She was not going to put up with one day without hot water, let alone a week.

And I understand your first comment. I'm nervous about that also.

Mike

As a side note, you can often get free 1 week gym memberships (tell them you're thinking about moving to the area, are looking for a gym, etc.).

[Chris Padilla]

Yes, Chris, we are all electric right now, although I'd like to get NG but it would cost me $7500 to get the main line run!
It's an awesome WH, but it's expensive. Could probably buy three others , but this one's gauranteed and I don't plan on moving again.

I'd like to see them come out with a heat pump water heater. I dig all that plastic...no rust and it is extremely well-insulated!!! A HPWH would work well in my insulated garage, where my current WH lives. I still need to crunch some numbers but I also have solar PV on the roof so going electric is likely better than going NG for me.

[Mike Henderson]

I'd like to see them come out with a heat pump water heater. I dig all that plastic...no rust and it is extremely well-insulated!!! A HPWH would work well in my insulated garage, where my current WH lives. I still need to crunch some numbers but I also have solar PV on the roof so going electric is likely better than going NG for me.

I don't know if this is what you mean, but I had a heat collector for my hot water heater on my air conditioner (in Florida). If you look at how an air conditioner works, the fluid (Freon) is pumped to the evaporator (inside your house) where the liquid Freon is converted to a gas. In the process, in absorbs heat. This gas then goes to the compressor where it is compressed and converted back to a liquid. Converting it back to a liquid makes the liquid hot (can be very hot). This hot liquid is then passed to the coils where a fan blows air over the coils to remove the heat.

If you take the output from the compressor and pass it into a heat exchanger which uses water from your water heater, the water will absorb some of the heat, making your air conditioner more efficient (less heat has to be removed by the coils and fan) and you get some hot water from the exchange. The heat exchanger has a small 240V pump to pump the water between it and the water heater and only operates when the compressor is operating.

Mike

[Chris Padilla]

http://energy.gov/energysaver/articl...-water-heaters

http://www.toolbase.org/Techinventor...tDetailID=4053

And the one I will likely get: http://www.hotwater.com/water-heater...hybrid/voltex/

Right now, PG&E will give me a $500 rebate for that HPWH. The Fed will kick in another $300. With these rebates, the cost of the HPWH drops to around $700 and payback will be around 2 years and probably less.

[Mike Henderson]

While those heat pump water heaters (HPWH) are more efficient than regular tank style water heaters, I believe the tankless water heaters are more efficient. No matter how you heat the water in a tank, it's going to lose heat during the day and energy will have to be used to replace the lost heat. A tankless, on the other hand, only heats water on demand.

Mike

[Chris Padilla]

Yes, tankless ARE very efficient...but they are expensive and have a few drawbacks I didn't like. Often, the price for them and the energy they save over their lifetime do not add up to overall savings. I really wanted one, too, but the numbers didn't work out for me.

[David Weaver]

It would probably depend on how much water you used. The heat pump water heaters, which can be tied into geothermal, too, are slow, but they're not doing all of the work like an on-demand heater is. Part of the work is being done by the heat exchange with the air or the ground.

BIL has one (and has it tied into geothermal) and has commented that it's really efficient, but it's (his, maybe not all) also really slow to heat water if it's your only source.

[Chris Padilla]

David, you are correct. The HPWH aren't the fastest suppliers of hot water if they run low so upsizing should be considered. The one I am considering is a 60 gallon. We've done fine in our house of 3 with a 40 gallon NG tank for 15 years. The AO Smith HPWH comes in 60 or 80 gallon. I think it will work out very well for us. For sure, water heaters are not a one-size-fits-all scenario! Also, most HPWH do come with an electrical resistance heater as a back-up so that helps the recovery. We also have PV panels on our roof so moving from NG to electric makes even more sense for us for hot water.