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New water heater rules coming; expect more expensive units, tighter fits
Omaha World Herald ^ | Feb. 22, 2015 | Cole Epley

Posted on 02/22/2015 8:59:13 AM PST by Mean Daddy

If it’s been a while since you took stock of the age and vitality of your water heater, now would be a good time to do so.

Mechanical rooms and homeowners’ appliance budgets are about to get more cramped after April 16, when the latest round of federal standards stipulating increased energy efficiency of residential water heaters takes effect.

The standards stem from a 1987 Department of Energy law called the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act.

Water heater manufacturers are responding with energy-saving additions like advanced electronics, more insulation and heat pumps, which means new units promise to get taller, wider and more complicated than their less-efficient predecessors.

(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...


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To: Be Free

“Would do it again in a heart-beat.”

Your experience mirrors ours. The Takagi is a superior unit. The trade off is you get 5-7 gals/minute forever as opposed to 10/12 gpm until the 40 gallons is gone! Problem here in CA at the moment is the water itself, there isn’t any!


61 posted on 02/22/2015 10:10:01 AM PST by vette6387
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To: Gaffer
Mine is in my concrete floor basement not far from the boat door

Some older homes here in the Kalifornia low desert have "closets" in the interior to hold the water heater.

People have been know to switch, shut it down in summer, and use that for their cold water, and the 'cold' tap as their hot.

62 posted on 02/22/2015 10:13:42 AM PST by ErnBatavia (It ain't a "hashtag"....it's a damn pound sign. ###)
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To: SteveAustin

We’ve stayed with two different friends that had the tankless.....at both places, the house came up short at bathing time.


63 posted on 02/22/2015 10:15:19 AM PST by ErnBatavia (It ain't a "hashtag"....it's a damn pound sign. ###)
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To: Red Badger

Changing to tankless isn’t just a swap of the heater. A licensed plumber will know that the vent on a tankless often has to be about 2.5 times the capacity of the vent on the plain gas fired appliance it replaces.

Vented gas flue is hotter and higher capacity — let’s not have anyone burn their house down.


64 posted on 02/22/2015 10:15:48 AM PST by KC Burke (Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam)
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To: ErnBatavia

I guess that’s why people refuse to leave that heathen place — climate. :0)


65 posted on 02/22/2015 10:18:34 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: KC Burke

Thanks for the info..................


66 posted on 02/22/2015 10:19:59 AM PST by Red Badger (If you compromise with evil, you just get more evil..........................)
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To: Mean Daddy

Our 20+ yo one kicked the bucket last year. It was a tight squeeze getting the new one in so hope it lasts as long.


67 posted on 02/22/2015 10:20:34 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "we still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: vette6387
Only heat water when you need it, and nothing in your home to start leaking while you are away. The Japanese have lead the world in this technology.

Yeah, that's all fine till you are on an artesian hard water well. The capillary system would clog up so fast, I doubt it would last a year (at twice the money).

68 posted on 02/22/2015 10:22:00 AM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: HotHunt

I replaced mine in June.

It had lasted since 1997, so I felt gud about that 1!


69 posted on 02/22/2015 10:22:24 AM PST by djf (OK. Well, now, lemme try to make this clear: If you LIKE your lasagna, you can KEEP your lasagna!)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Water heater manufacturers are responding with energy-saving additions like advanced electronics, more insulation and heat pumps, which means new units promise to get taller, wider and more complicated than their less-efficient predecessors.

70 posted on 02/22/2015 10:25:45 AM PST by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!)
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To: vette6387; central_va; SteveAustin; Red Badger; BamaDi; gunsequalfreedom; null and void; ...

I’ve looked into tankless/on demand; one thing to know (and null and void alluded to it) is that, regardless of water source, the stuff that gets deposited inside the heater from the water itself will need to be removed on a pretty regular basis. A filter for the intake line might not be a bad idea, but it will still need PM.


71 posted on 02/22/2015 10:30:44 AM PST by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!)
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To: KC Burke

In my area they require a stainless vent with condensation trap. The tankless plumbing distributor sells materials for installation.

There is a minimum run of vent pipe so that it cools properly before venting through the roof.


72 posted on 02/22/2015 10:31:41 AM PST by caltaxed
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To: HotHunt

Ours is 13 years old and seems to be going strong but I do worry about it. We have it up on a metal stand out in the garage. So far so good. We are moving soon so hopefully it will be OK. We are going to go to an on demand system.


73 posted on 02/22/2015 10:36:47 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Get the anode replaced, that will do more to make the tank last long than anything else. You don’t even need to drain the heater.

You can buy one from nearly any supply house, they are inexpensive. Cheap, actually, compared to a new heater.

To replace it:

1: turn off both the input and out water on the pipes near the tank.
2. use a wrench, a socket wrench works the best, to remove old anode. The anode will have a hex head, like a bolt. It is screwed in from the top of the heater.
3. insert new anode, using pipe dope on the threads, tighten.
4. turn on water.

If the old anode is used up, make sure to install the next new one sooner.


74 posted on 02/22/2015 10:39:48 AM PST by Balding_Eagle (The Gruber Revelations are proof that God is still smiling on America.)
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To: Mean Daddy

later


75 posted on 02/22/2015 10:44:28 AM PST by deweyfrank
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To: Mean Daddy

That’s a good idea.


76 posted on 02/22/2015 10:45:05 AM PST by SaraJohnson
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To: Red Badger

In general it is always good to talk to a master plumber, fitter or electrician about MEP changes in a house or building. The can tell you a lot of items to look out for in longevity, safety and replacement and operating cost.

Just on this item alone we have picked up gas service sizing check, drain pan with outside drain for over flow at failure, vent sizing for capacity and fire safety, checking usage costs for fuel cost, water softener effects on service life and the like.

The biggest thing I see from a contractor’s view is the line distance to the primary appliances. In a midwestern home with the heater in the basement if the main shower, dishwasher and washer are directly or near directly above the HWH the water run to get hot water to the user is reduced and you use less water and heat less water.. Now that I am in the Southwest I see garage HWHs and it’s a long run to the point use. This is somewhat offset by the fact that the sourced water is always coming in warmer than in the midwest due to water lines often not being buried very deep due to rocky terrain.


77 posted on 02/22/2015 10:45:34 AM PST by KC Burke (Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam)
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To: Mean Daddy

“”new units promise to get taller, wider and more complicated than their less-efficient predecessors.””

That’s not a pleasant thing to think about. Ours is ok for now but I’ve often wondered why on earth it was stuck in the crawl space instead of outside the crawl space on cement flooring in the subbasement as my husband calls it. I wouldn’t have any idea if a taller/wider one would even fit in the current space.

Having one on hand before 4/15 wouldn’t be a bad idea IMO!!!


78 posted on 02/22/2015 10:53:13 AM PST by Thank You Rush
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To: null and void
I prefer to have an additional 40 gal or so of water on site just in case something happens to the municipal water supply...

Funny you should mention that. During Hurricane Andrew, the power in my apartment went out for a week, yet I still had hot water to bathe with every day because of my water heater.

79 posted on 02/22/2015 10:56:17 AM PST by sportutegrl
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To: null and void
We have installed expensive filters because of our well water content. And I've drained enough water heaters over the years in my rentals to fill a swimming pool.

Thanks to the internet, we've saved a ton of money on plumbers. We learned to troubleshoot them and replace parts (i.e. thermostats, heating elements and high temperature cutoff switch) in them over the years. They are actually pretty simple appliances and almost all of them have the same parts on the inside.

80 posted on 02/22/2015 10:58:27 AM PST by HotHunt
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