Hot Water Tank Replacement

[SJW]

Pete's did my hot water, furnace and air conditioning. They run a great company. Will always recommend and will always use.

[firebane]

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How much do these whores weigh? Seems like the toughest part would be moving them up/down stairs.
Are lifting straps the key?

Empty they are manageable with a couple of people. So if you have weak help.. straps are beneficial.

[spike98]

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If you can replace a hot water heater you should be skilled enough to not need sharkbite fittings and do a proper solder job.

Okay. And if someone has the equipment to solder copper then they also know how to use it but the lack of equipment doesn't mean they can't do it. Some people aren't going to run out to buy the tools and materials to solder a half dozen connections. Or potentially deal with a leaking isolation valve and soldering a wet connection. This is about as basic as it gets as far as plumbing is concerned and that's my point.

Using shark bite connections is not a right/wrong choice, it's a good/better choice vs soldering.

[pheoxs]

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how often are people draining or replacing the rods on their tanks? I'm getting reddish buildup in my sink drains so wondering if rod is spent and tank is starting to rust??

Drain / Flush is 1-2 times a year. Anode is every 3-5 years and base it on how the last one looked.

[firebane]

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Using shark bite connections is not a right/wrong choice, it's a good/better choice vs soldering.

If you have to resort to using sharkbites... get a proper plumber. Installing proper valves for a hot water tank for the cold/hot with flexible hoses is what I consider a must do next to anode rod maintenance on any tank.

[msommers]

For those of us who are idiots and need visual aids like myself:

[SJW]

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For those of us who are idiots and need visual aids like myself:

I'm so rich I just replace the tank every 3 years.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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I'm so rich I just replace the tank every 3 years.

You're getting Reamed.

[Darell_n]

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Okay. And if someone has the equipment to solder copper then they also know how to use it but the lack of equipment doesn't mean they can't do it. Some people aren't going to run out to buy the tools and materials to solder a half dozen connections. Or potentially deal with a leaking isolation valve and soldering a wet connection. This is about as basic as it gets as far as plumbing is concerned and that's my point.

Using shark bite connections is not a right/wrong choice, it's a good/better choice vs soldering.

We all know nobody here is as poor as living in an old house with copper plumbing.

[suntan]

You pay someone else to replace the tank because moving the tanks and disposing of the old one is not worth your time or effort.

[Cash Money Hoes]

Your heuristic is off a bit. Copper piping suggests that you live inner city and there is a better than 50% chance that the land value of your property exceeds the value of most homes which do not have copper piping.

[firebane]

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For those of us who are idiots and need visual aids like myself:

If you have taken out the anode just flush from the same hole with a hose or the cold water feed. I have a bib attachment in my mechanical room I hooked up a hose to to flush mine. If you don't have one and your washer is in the same area.. use the tap on that.

[Doozer]

Ok, here's a question - we built the house almost 20yrs ago. I haven't touched the hot water tank since we moved in. Like literally never. We don't have any issues that I'm aware of - it's not leaking, discoloration, anything. Still have enough hot water for our daily needs (family of 4).

Is it worth trying a flush/rod replacement after all this time or should I just plan a replacement before it craps out?

[firebane]

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Ok, here's a question - we built the house almost 20yrs ago. I haven't touched the hot water tank since we moved in. Like literally never. We don't have any issues that I'm aware of - it's not leaking, discoloration, anything. Still have enough hot water for our daily needs (family of 4).

Is it worth trying a flush/rod replacement after all this time or should I just plan a replacement before it craps out?

Always. Your rod is probably disintegrated at this point and you'd be surprised at how much sediment can build up on the bottom.

[Doozer]

Always what? Try a replacement and flush? Or replace?

[pheoxs]

20 years is a long time. First step might be to go look on the top of your water heater where the anode rod threads in and see if there are wires connected to it. Maybe you have a powered anode rod which would last the life of the tank.

[Darell_n]

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Your heuristic is off a bit. Copper piping suggests that you live inner city and there is a better than 50% chance that the land value of your property exceeds the value of most homes which do not have copper piping.

Don’t confuse land value with house value. ‘I live in an expensive inner city knock-down with beautiful copper pipes.’ Don’t get me wrong, I love all things copper.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

It'll vary based on how fancy of a heater you need/want, but Canadian Water Heaters did our 50gal replacement about three years ago. Price was $1129 + GST for a Bradford White or Rheem Professional. We went with the Rheem due to it being a lot easier to replace the anode rod on them (BW uses a combined inlet tube/anode, while Rheem uses a separate anode).

Warranty was 6 years standard, or they offered $80 to extend to 10 years and they throw in a spare anode rod. Extended warranty for the BW was more expensive but not sure by how much.

They did a good job, no complaints from us.

[BokCh0y]

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Just don't call Clearview. Never use Clearview.

THIS. NEVER USE CLEARVIEW. I think i posted something here before about their rip off prices and $75 charge just to come take a look.

[msommers]

After my recent estimates and recent-ish estimate from others, $1,500 all-in seems reasonable estimate for a basic 50 gal atmospheric.