Water Heater Recommendations?

[WILLIAM21]

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!




--
WILLIAM21

 

[JB]

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hard water deposits.

Most have fiberglass tank so you can do an acid wash and get 10 more years.
The trick is getting it in there without it boiling back in your face
because of the reaction from all the Calcium. If yours has a cleanout, you
can scoop it out. I take a bucket load of gravel sized chunks out of mine
every 5 years.

 

[GregS]

In article <03XOl.1236$5F2.1000@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>, "JB" <nospam@goofball.net> wrote:

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hard water deposits.

Most have fiberglass tank so you can do an acid wash and get 10 more years.
The trick is getting it in there without it boiling back in your face
because of the reaction from all the Calcium. If yours has a cleanout, you
can scoop it out. I take a bucket load of gravel sized chunks out of mine
every 5 years.

Every time I used to try that the valve would ALWAYS leak. I doubt if
I ever had a fiberglass model. I think much of the inefficiency is
with a standard chimney style gas vent. A pilotless system is a little
better. You need a closed loop system for the air venting just like on an
efficient gas furnace to get real savings, just like on an on-demand unit.
In my case I went from electric to gas. I saw no decrease in electricity
use for a single person. Electricity might have been cheaper in my case.
Heat is always escaping up the chimney and interior air with the old style units.
Insulating the tank does little, especially in the winter time when the
tank is in an interir room. I alwasy try to lower the gas valve setting so
the flame is smaller. This can also eliminate making noises, but slightly reduce
warm up time.

greg

 

[GregS]

In article <guhm4l$ptt$2@usenet01.srv.cis.pitt.edu>, zekfrivo@zekfrivolous.com (GregS) wrote:

In article <03XOl.1236$5F2.1000@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>, "JB"
nospam@goofball.net> wrote:
"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hard water deposits.

Most have fiberglass tank so you can do an acid wash and get 10 more years.
The trick is getting it in there without it boiling back in your face
because of the reaction from all the Calcium. If yours has a cleanout, you
can scoop it out. I take a bucket load of gravel sized chunks out of mine
every 5 years.


Every time I used to try that the valve would ALWAYS leak. I doubt if
I ever had a fiberglass model. I think much of the inefficiency is
with a standard chimney style gas vent. A pilotless system is a little
better. You need a closed loop system for the air venting just like on an
efficient gas furnace to get real savings, just like on an on-demand unit.
In my case I went from electric to gas. I saw no decrease in electricity
use for a single person. Electricity might have been cheaper in my case.
Heat is always escaping up the chimney and interior air with the old style
units.
Insulating the tank does little, especially in the winter time when the
tank is in an interir room. I alwasy try to lower the gas valve setting so
the flame is smaller. This can also eliminate making noises, but slightly
reduce
warm up time.

Insulating the in and out water lines SHOULD be done regardless. Heat
does escape into the room and requires longer flow warm up times.
The intake cold line will get warm if no water is flowing, and leak heat out of the tank
and into the room.

greg

 

[Arfa Daily]

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!




--
WILLIAM21

Not wishing to be an arse, but sci.electronics.repair ? Whilst I'm sure that
there are people on here with good opinions, and an interest in your post, I
would have thought that you might get a better set of replies to your
questions, by picking a more appropriate group ?

Arfa

 

[Allodoxaphobia]

On Fri, 15 May 2009 01:52:14 +0100, Arfa Daily wrote:

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote:

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater.
WILLIAM21

Not wishing to be an arse, but sci.electronics.repair ?

You're not an arse. The kl0wns at XX...XXXbanter.com are asses -- by
willy-nilly portal'ing their damn forums onto usenet:

From: WILLIAM21 <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I'm
killfiling all original posts from them along with the dreck that
emanates from google groups.

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
* Killfiling google & XXXXbanter.com: jonz.net/ng.htm

 

[JB]

"GregS" <zekfrivo@zekfrivolous.com> wrote in message
news:guhmc5$ptt$3@usenet01.srv.cis.pitt.edu...

In article <guhm4l$ptt$2@usenet01.srv.cis.pitt.edu>,
zekfrivo@zekfrivolous.com (GregS) wrote:
In article <03XOl.1236$5F2.1000@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>, "JB"
nospam@goofball.net> wrote:
"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in
message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas
water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hard water deposits.

Most have fiberglass tank so you can do an acid wash and get 10 more
years.
The trick is getting it in there without it boiling back in your face
because of the reaction from all the Calcium. If yours has a cleanout,
you
can scoop it out. I take a bucket load of gravel sized chunks out of
mine
every 5 years.


Every time I used to try that the valve would ALWAYS leak. I doubt if
I ever had a fiberglass model. I think much of the inefficiency is
with a standard chimney style gas vent. A pilotless system is a little
better. You need a closed loop system for the air venting just like on an
efficient gas furnace to get real savings, just like on an on-demand
unit.
In my case I went from electric to gas. I saw no decrease in electricity
use for a single person. Electricity might have been cheaper in my case.
Heat is always escaping up the chimney and interior air with the old
style
units.
Insulating the tank does little, especially in the winter time when the
tank is in an interir room. I alwasy try to lower the gas valve setting
so
the flame is smaller. This can also eliminate making noises, but slightly
reduce
warm up time.

Insulating the in and out water lines SHOULD be done regardless. Heat
does escape into the room and requires longer flow warm up times.
The intake cold line will get warm if no water is flowing, and leak heat
out of the tank
and into the room.

greg

Air conditioning and the Refrigerator are usually the major users of
electricity. Heat strips draw a lot if you have a heat pump but you might
do without if it doesn't freeze where you are. Newer standing water heaters,
Gas and Electric are pretty efficient and well insullated. I can't see
putting in a tankless unless you put one next to every hot faucet. A whole
house tankless might require serious upgrades.

When you replace the Water heater, install a ball valve in the supply. Most
older houses use a Gate valve for the supply because they have less
restriction but are prone to leak. You have to run water somewhere else or
you wind up flooding. Real pain.

 

[GregS]

In article <413Pl.70399$861.48030@newsfe12.ams2>, "Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!




--
WILLIAM21


Not wishing to be an arse, but sci.electronics.repair ? Whilst I'm sure that
there are people on here with good opinions, and an interest in your post, I
would have thought that you might get a better set of replies to your
questions, by picking a more appropriate group ?

Plummers are smarter than electronic techs.

 

[Meat Plow]

On Thu, 14 May 2009 12:52:28 +0100, WILLIAM21
<WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com>wrote:

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!

My 19 year old Rheem still works as if it were new. Doesn't gurgle,
rattle, spittle, sputtle etc... And it still maintains the original
amount of heated water. I've always set the temp for max (165?)
and out city has excellent filtering and softening so I guess these
are the reasons for the longevity and maybe not so much the name
brand.

 

[Bob Larter]

GregS wrote:

In article <413Pl.70399$861.48030@newsfe12.ams2>, "Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:
"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...
I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!




--
WILLIAM21

Not wishing to be an arse, but sci.electronics.repair ? Whilst I'm sure that
there are people on here with good opinions, and an interest in your post, I
would have thought that you might get a better set of replies to your
questions, by picking a more appropriate group ?


Plummers are smarter than electronic techs.

Then take your electronics questions to a plumbing newsgroup...

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Arfa Daily]

"GregS" <zekfrivo@zekfrivolous.com> wrote in message
news:gujoi5$a37$2@usenet01.srv.cis.pitt.edu...

In article <413Pl.70399$861.48030@newsfe12.ams2>, "Arfa Daily"
arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

"WILLIAM21" <WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:WILLIAM21.451eeaf@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I am looking for recommendations for a 40 or 50 gallon natural gas water
heater. Ours is at least 16 years old, and has recently started making
noises like there are marbles rolling around inside. Also, we have
noticed a gradual, yet significant, reduction in the amount of hot
water we get.
I've investigated going tankless, but it really won't work in our
situation. We live in a rowhouse and would have a very hard time
finding any place we could vent the unit according to code.
Additionally, I just don't want to fork over the cash upfront at this
time.
I've found there are a ton of water heaters out there, and it can be
hard to compare them. Are any of them relatively more efficient than
others? Are there brands to stay away from? I'm hesitant to go with a
powered vent unit, simply for fear the fan would die and I've never
notice.
Any advice greatly appreciated!




--
WILLIAM21


Not wishing to be an arse, but sci.electronics.repair ? Whilst I'm sure
that
there are people on here with good opinions, and an interest in your post,
I
would have thought that you might get a better set of replies to your
questions, by picking a more appropriate group ?


Plummers are smarter than electronic techs.

Smarter for going into plumbing - that's for sure. All the ones I know earn
a lot more than anyone in the electronics service business ...

Arfa