Water Heater Woes...

[Tina]

I remember seeing a thread here last week about water heater problems, but didn't pay too much attention. I guess I should have. We came home from dinner out last night to find our basement flooded with hot water. Luckily, its still unfinished, but we're planning to finish it soon. So we had to heat water on the stove in order to take a shallow bath this morning. We'll have to do the same tomorrow since with guy we have coming isn't available till the afternoon. What a pain in the butt. At least we saved ourselves some money by going to Home Depot today to buy the replacement ourselves. I never realized how much of a luxury hot water is until today.

 

[DonnaS]

I'm currently in the process of twisting DH's arm to replace our 8 year old water heater. It's rated for only 5-6 years and our basement is finished.

 

[shep]

Originally posted by DonnaS
I'm currently in the process of twisting DH's arm to replace our 8 year old water heater. It's rated for only 5-6 years and our basement is finished.

5-6 years??

I figured they would last more than that..now I have to check mine since our basement is getting finished..
Ours well be 8 years old this summer..

 

[Tina]

Yep, check those warranties folks. Especially if you have a newly constructed home. Ours is only 5 years old. The builders these days get by with the cheapest stuff they can. I'd also recommend placing a water alarm on the floor near the water heater. It could save your furniture and floors.

 

[DonnaS]

Yes, we bought our house new. DH was looking and is currently agreeing to get a new one. He's looking at a 12 year GE one that is self-cleaning.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Tina
Yep, check those warranties folks. Especially if you have a newly constructed home. Ours is only 5 years old. The builders these days get by with the cheapest stuff they can. I'd also recommend placing a water alarm on the floor near the water heater. It could save your furniture and floors.

http://www.basementwatchdog.com/water_alarm.htm


We have this one and it works.

 

[Tina]

Donna,

We bought a GE today with a 12 year warranty. Home Depot had it listed under the "Superior" category. Its a 50 Gallon gas unit.

DH really wanted to look into the new tankless ones, but no one actually carried them in stock and we couldn't wait to order one. They seem pretty cool.

 

[shep]

Thanks Dan!!
$12.97 at Home Depot, might be a smart investment..

 

[shep]

Originally posted by Tina
Donna,

We bought a GE today with a 12 year warranty. Home Depot had it listed under the "Superior" category. Its a 50 Gallon gas unit.

DH really wanted to look into the new tankless ones, but no one actually carried them in stock and we couldn't wait to order one. They seem pretty cool.

I just seen one at the Home Depot site for $929...kind of expensive, but looked nice and said endless hot water for 2 sources..

 

[Tina]

Yep, that's the one we were looking for Shep. Our local store only had the smaller unit, which will only send hot water to one appliance at a time. I'm sure if they are as great as people say, the price will eventually come down as they become more common. They've been using them in Europe for decades.

DH REALLY wanted to get one and suggested we visit more stores, until I reminded him of how he insisted we had to buy a Directv satellite dish THAT DAY back in 1996. We paid $1,000 for a single LNB dish and one receiver. Hello??? you can get them for free now!!

I think we can wait a few years for the tankless water heater.

 

[shep]

we still have free tv...

 

[DonnaS]

I just ordered two of those, Dan, from Lowes.com (couldn't find it on the Home Depot site). I'll put one by the washing machine, too.

Tina, I'm not sure what gallon size DH is talking about getting. I'm not sure what our current one is.

 

[Colleen A.]

Sorry to hear about your hot water tank problem....I was the one with the same problem last week!! You never appreciate what a luxury having hot water is....til you need it and it's GONE! Hope your plumber comes quickly!

Colleen

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Very good point about the newly constructed homes and basement finishing!
Thanks

Sorry about your water heater problems Tina

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

Just a heads up...MOST water heaters last between 8-12 years. So when it gets to be about that time, be prepared to replace. It may not seem like a long time, but that heater does a lot of work pretty much 365 days a year.