Water heater replacement question

[DM]

I need to replace my electric water heater. I’ve gathered the names of some good WS plumbers using “forum” suggestions from the past (thanks for that everyone).

I’ve never had a water heater replaced and I have a question before I start calling around:

Should I chose a water heater before hand, or do plumbers generally suggest or dictate which water heater to purchase?

Any plumbers out there reading this?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

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[jwws]

DM,

Definitely do your homework and shop around for water heaters either on-line or at Home Depot/plumbing supply stores. Know what you want in terms of how many gallons, mfg. etc and have a good idea of the price range before contacting a plumber. Your plumber should get a contractor discount (but remember he’ll then mark it up for profit) so it may be more cost effective to order through the plumber. Our gas heater (which is also our heating system as well as hot water) went out last April and our plumber gave us a quote of nearly $6000 to furnish and install a new heater by the next day. My husband shopped around and found the same heater at a plumbing supply place in Everett. He picked up the heater and we got a different plumber to install and saved about $3000.

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[DM]

Thanks jwws! Previous experience is what I’m seeking. I’ve been doing some homework. I now know WAY more about water heaters than I did before…yesterday afternoon!

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[mrhineh]

Are you talking about a tank for hot water supply, or home heating as well?

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[DM]

mrhineh, just the tank for hot water supply.

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[mrhineh]

Well, no way a water heater should be <$1000 installed. But it does depend on the size of the tank, placement, location. Sears has plenty of choices for tanks based on size and energy efficiency. Check with the local utility for any rebates. Sears has installation and they quoted my address for $270, $70 delivery, plus $10 haul away (definitely do that!). I would bet a call to Joe the Plumber would be less that $270 for a good, honest install. All depends on the timing you have. Sears for instance is running a lot of Friends/Family and Midnight sales on the weekends. One hint: plan the draining of the old one carefully. Either shut down the power ahead of time to cool the water inside, or drain it somewhere you don’t care about because the hot water can damage plants or grass when you drain it. I don’t think plumbers care too much about the install because its a pretty straight forward job, basically swapping out water lines. (Unless there’s rust, or the old one leaked and dry rotted the floor underneath, etc).

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[tom kelley]

Have you thought of doing it yourself? It really is a no brainer; electricity in, cold water in, hot water out. If you’ve gotten enough hot water from the current size you know what size you need. Otherwise, go up to the next size.

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[waterworld]

You might also want to consider going tankless. When we moved into our WS home in 2003, we installed a commercial grade Takagi tankless water heater. We’ve never had a repair issue, and it’s crazy efficient. Best of all, you never ever run out of hot water!

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