gardenmom5 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 dependable brands? we have a 6- 7 yo "professionals only" water heater that is supposed to be this great thing that has been nothing but trouble. and we usually smell gas from it. now it's out again - and dh just wants to replace the darn thing. so, along with looking for a vacuum, I'm supposed to look for water heaters too. bonus if for gas water heater brands . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We have a PowerFlex water heater and it has worked great. Never had a problem with it since we installed it 7 years ago. It works hard too because we have radiant heat floors and all winter long, the water heater is what warms the water in the floors to warm our house. I know nothing about water heaters, just let the plumber and gas guy do their thing and this is the one they picked out for our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I want to say that we bought a GE almost nine years ago for this house. We have crazy hard water, which kills all of our appliances, and about three years ago, the thing was so filled up with scale that we talked about replacing it. At that point, it had gotten a good six years of heavy use. But we didn't want to replace the water heater until we could buy a softener too, and we didn't have the money for that until this spring. This spring, literally the day we were planning to go buy a new water heater, the old one finally gave up the ghost. THREE full years after we'd thought it was on its last legs. (I think our new one is a GE too, but I'm not sure.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Have you considered a "tankless"? I've been extremely pleased with our Takagi tankless. I would not go back to a standard water heater, given a choice. Bill (another Miele fan) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Tankless. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We use tankless too. Wonderful. No one ever runs out of hot water. Even when they take an hour long shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Water heaters recently underwent a huge national changeover so unless you find a "leftover" you're in for a surprise on price. We have an LP water heater and I love it, just replaced a few months ago. If you're smelling gas, replace it ASAP. My dad and brother in law were burnt in a small explosion due to having to light a water heater. It was scary business and luckily a few scars are all they have to show from it. But a gas leaking water heater is had news. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Can those of you who recommend the tankless elaborate? Are there sizes to choose from? Can two people shower and the dishwasher run all at the same time? How do I know if it's right for me? That sort of stuff. I don't know anyone IRL who has one so I'm :bigear:. Our current 75 gal gas heater is in a horrible location in the garage and we could sure use the space if we were to go tankless!! Water heaters recently underwent a huge national changeover so unless you find a "leftover" you're in for a surprise on price.We have an LP water heater and I love it, just replaced a few months ago. If you're smelling gas, replace it ASAP. My dad and brother in law were burnt in a small explosion due to having to light a water heater. It was scary business and luckily a few scars are all they have to show from it. But a gas leaking water heater is had news. What national changeover happened? We last bought one 17 years ago and it ran over $800 so this scares me. Totally agree on the smell gas and replace (or at least have it serviced by a pro). Gas scares me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Can those of you who recommend the tankless elaborate? Are there sizes to choose from? Can two people shower and the dishwasher run all at the same time? How do I know if it's right for me? That sort of stuff. I don't know anyone IRL who has one so I'm :bigear:. Our current 75 gal gas heater is in a horrible location in the garage and we could sure use the space if we were to go tankless!! What national changeover happened? We last bought one 17 years ago and it ran over $800 so this scares me. Totally agree on the smell gas and replace (or at least have it serviced by a pro). Gas scares me! There are different sizes/capacities of tankless systems. There are also calculators online that let people figure how many sources (showers, dishwashers, washing machines, sinks) might be running at the same time, and gives recommendations on models based on the total "flow." IMS when the capacity of a tankless is stretched beyond the max, the "flow" would seem "reduced" to each outlet (vs full flow) as opposed to maintaining full flow with temperature reduction. In other words. you get "lower flow"of water (than if multiple outlets were not open) with the proper temperature to each outlet, rather than getting cooler water. In some situations it can be better to have two tankless units rather than one. It takes some figuring. The tankless systems save space, are safer, use less energy, and produce cleaner water. They will also produce virtually instant hot water endlessly, so no running out of hot water. One downside is that gas systems also need electricity to work. In an emergency situation (electricity outage) one loses hot water. There is also no reserve water (as in a tank). Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis and Miss Kitty Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I can offer no help on a dependable water heater. But, your topic reminded me of something my son did when he was somewhere between 2 and 3 years of age. He made me a Mother's Day card at church. I opened it up and there was a picture of something and I couldn't quite decide what it was. I asked my son what he had drawn and in his proudest voice he said, "Oh mama, it's your Mother's Day water heater!" :001_tt1: I still have that card! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 NOT Whirlpool. I think Lowe's is the only place that sells them (at least around here). I have one and the heating element went out. The repairman said Whirlpool was the worst brand for hot water heaters. However, I can't recall who he said made the best ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 So, I went and looked to see what brand heater we had. I thought it was a 75 gal, but what do I know?! It's a 50gal gas Rheem Ever Kleen. It has had a hard work out for 10 years and we haven't had a lick of trouble out of it. We have hard water, but not excessively hard, if that helps you, OP. There are different sizes/capacities of tankless systems. There are also calculators online that let people figure how many sources (showers, dishwashers, washing machines, sinks) might be running at the same time, and gives recommendations on models based on the total "flow." IMS when the capacity of a tankless is stretched beyond the max, the "flow" would seem "reduced" to each outlet (vs full flow) as opposed to maintaining full flow with temperature reduction. In other words. you get "lower flow"of water (than if multiple outlets were not open) with the proper temperature to each outlet, rather than getting cooler water. In some situations it can be better to have two tankless units rather than one. It takes some figuring. The tankless systems save space, are safer, use less energy, and produce cleaner water. They will also produce virtually instant hot water endlessly, so no running out of hot water. One downside is that gas systems also need electricity to work. In an emergency situation (electricity outage) one loses hot water. There is also no reserve water (as in a tank). Bill Thanks Bill! That helps a lot. We lose power here often so that would be bad, but no less worse than if we had a regular electric water heater, right? I'll look into it some more for when we need our next one. I like the idea of tankless for several reasons, all of which you listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I can offer no help on a dependable water heater. But, your topic reminded me of something my son did when he was somewhere between 2 and 3 years of age. He made me a Mother's Day card at church. I opened it up and there was a picture of something and I couldn't quite decide what it was. I asked my son what he had drawn and in his proudest voice he said, "Oh mama, it's your Mother's Day water heater!" :001_tt1: I still have that card! That is adorable!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Have you considered a "tankless"? I've been extremely pleased with our Takagi tankless. I would not go back to a standard water heater, given a choice. Bill (another Miele fan) doesn't work when the power is out . . . . or I would jump on it in a heartbeat. we have gas - so we still have hot water. we had two power outages with no power for a week. (and another for four days) in winter. I think dh was scarred by it trying to care for his family. we now have a gas cooktop (works with no power). gas water heater (works with no power), and a few other things. he wants a NG generator too, and has looked at them several times. we've talked to two 5-star rated yelp guys and they both said it's a very high quality tank (and expensive), fix it, don't replace it. the guy came out, couldn't find anything wrong and was able to relight it. we think it went out because of wind. he was also able to sniff the very faint wiff of gas. (that comes and goes) he did have one thought that it might be an extra puff of gas before it lights. or something is wrong with a seal. he couldn't find a problem. so, next time I smell it, he said to call the gas company and they'll come for free with more specialized equipment to find a possible leak. we've taped his card to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 If you don't pick a tankless, DO NOT SKIMP on capacity!!! Learn from my mistake - get the biggest water heater you can find. Or give up on ever taking a bath in a full tub of hot water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I went and checked my emailed receipt, and it says ours is 50 gallons. (Since Rheem is the only one on Home Depot's site that fits our price range, I guess ours must be a Rheem.). 50 gallons is plenty for us. The only time it ever gets a tiny bit cool is if we've run the dishwasher, washed some cast iron by hand, run a load of laundry, AND had someone shower/bathe. Most days, we never notice it get cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 So what's the typical tank size? We have a 50 with a very fast turn around. I was surprised how fast we had hot water again after it restarted. It had been cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 doesn't work when the power is out . . . . or I would jump on it in a heartbeat. we have gas - so we still have hot water. we had two power outages with no power for a week. (and another for four days) in winter. I think dh was scarred by it trying to care for his family. we now have a gas cooktop (works with no power). gas water heater (works with no power), and a few other things. he wants a NG generator too, and has looked at them several times. we've talked to two 5-star rated yelp guys and they both said it's a very high quality tank (and expensive), fix it, don't replace it. the guy came out, couldn't find anything wrong and was able to relight it. we think it went out because of wind. he was also able to sniff the very faint wiff of gas. (that comes and goes) he did have one thought that it might be an extra puff of gas before it lights. or something is wrong with a seal. he couldn't find a problem. so, next time I smell it, he said to call the gas company and they'll come for free with more specialized equipment to find a possible leak. we've taped his card to the tank. If you had a generator then you could run the (gas) tankless off that, yes? They require very little electricity so it would not be a strain on a generator. Just a thought. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 We now have a tankless water heater in our house and also the now-rental house. In the gas ones, there seems to be several brands which are good. In the electric ones, my research showed that a German brand that starts with an "S" was the best one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I don't know if they are available in the US, but we have a Worcester Bosch gas tankless that we are really, really happy with. We don't run two showers at once - the temperature can be a bit variable - but we don't find that to be an issue. Like all UK dishwashers and washing machines, ours don't take hot water from the boiler/water heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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