@BunsenBurner --there is a faucet coming off a pipe very close to the ground. I just remembered that I let a bit of water out of it two years ago when the water in the house all turned brown due to water line work outside during the winter. I had to slide a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan beneath the faucet to collect the water. I don’t know if someone made a mistake when installing, as the output is just a few inches off the ground. There would be no way to fill anything from that faucet.
I will try running water into the jelly roll pan again, but I know that is not something I have been doing along the way. Thank you!
Water heaters that don’t have a stainless steel tank come with a sacrificial anode rod. These will corrode before the tank does, and are supposed to be checked and replaced every few years.
Almost no one does, and this is one reason water heaters will fail in a short period. Replacing these can double the life expectancy of your water heater.
In fact, one of the only differences between a tank warrantied for 6 years and one for 10 or 12 years, is that the 10 year tank will have a larger sacrificial anode, or even two of them.
There are tons of videos on how to replace these yourself on youtube or various places on the internet, just google it.
I had mine replaced a few times over the years when I was getting other things serviced, and may be one reason I got 16 years out of my old one. My new one has a stainless steel tank, and no anode rod, and a lifetime warranty. I expect to be long gone from this house before it needs another tank (knock on wood!).
Does it have a threaded connection on the end to attach a hose? Mine does, that’s how the plumber drains it - he hooks up a hose and runs it outside through the garage. Or you could run the hose to a bucket.
@notrichenough —yes, I would be able to attach a hose to it and could run the hose either across the finished area to the back door or deeper into the unfinished area to the utility sink.
It is stainless with a lifetime warranty, and has not given me any trouble for 18+ years, but I have never done anything to it. AFAIK, the oil burner company does not touch the water heater when they are here to service the oil burner.
I should stop talking about it before I jinx things!
Thanks to everyone for sharing your experience and expertise.
I ended up getting two estimates…the first was $3800 and included a traditional hot water heater and a recirculation pump along with a new concrete pad and some work moving gas lines. The tankless was about $1k more.
I got a second estimate that was $2300 for a traditional hot water heater and a recirculation pump and labor and materials to add wood beams that would secure the tank in its current site. Both options include a pan to catch water. The first person would run tubing so that if the unit burst, water would make its way outside. He would need to drill through cabinets we have in our storage area. The second person said that going through the cabinets didn’t make much sense and that, based on where our unit is and the concrete foundation, water wouldn’t do any damage. He also suggested putting a water alarm in the pan that would sound if water started coming into the pan. AND, the second guy showed me that our unit is 16 years old and not 21!
So, since we’re only at 16 years and not 21, I’m not in as big a rush but we’ll likely go with the latter option and save $1500. We will have a contractor on site in a couple of months for a fairly big renovation project and I think I’ll ask him what he’ll charge us. If he can meet or beat the $2300 price, I’ll just use him.
Lastly, I came across this product to use with a recirculation pump and wondered if anyone’s heard of it or used it. Haven’t checked on pricing but it’d be nice to conserve.
Our pump includes a mechanical timer that you can use to program on/off times. Ours is set to turn off when we’re in bed, and on again just before we’re up and about in the morning. If the house is empty during the day then you could turn it off then too. I don’t really see the need for a fancy “smart” timer. If people are home during the day then your needs aren’t really predictable, so the smart timer might just outsmart itself and leave you with cold water when you really need a hot shower after a workout.
The heater passed inspections with flying colors. $120 for 2 minutes of the inspecto’s time. Lovely. The best thing - no issue with the tank being in the path of kiddo’s car’s pax side front bumper. No stupid post needed. It was my biggest concern. The heater is awesome.
Technically one is supposed to flush the hot water tank every year. Never had. Had the plumber who replaced our hot water heater a couple of years ago in for another aging issue (30 year old house now and the pressure relief valve outdoors for the irrigation system had a slight drip leak) tell me I should. So I found the manual (he told me what to do as well before he left, stating I could do it myself and save a lot of money) and did it. Garden hose fits, it is in the garage and just clear water since our water softener does a great job. Won’t bother again since there was no crud.
Yes, the difference in warranty and price is mainly those rods. You get what you pay for.
We have never flushed our, but no problems here with hard water etc. (It is 23 years old, still going strong. I’ve researched proactive replacement a few times, but since it’s in unfinished basement opted not to. That’s probably good because I’ve heard new ones are not as hardy. ) When I researched tankless it seemed it had annual maintenance - if that’s really true - No Thanks.
No stupid post needed. It was my biggest concern. The heater is awesome.