New water heater, 40 or 50 gal?
15 years ago
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- 15 years ago
- 15 years ago
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What to do? 2 50-gal hybrids or 1 80-gal electric water heater
Comments (14)Zone4 - you might not be happy but disclosure wouldn't apply here. There is no code requirement that applies (that I know of) and so there is no breach. It would seem that installing LP for that purpose alone seems a little extreme. One option - which has cheaper run cost and install than the LP tankless option - run a recirc loop from that bathroom to the tank. Have it on a switch. You turn on the switch and the line fills with hot water. The pump is $200, electric should be $200 and extra plumbing is $100. You won't waste water and as long as you shut it off, you won't waste electricity to heat the water. My $100 charges of course are guesses and the plumbing in the slab might be more. The $200 electric is what it would cost me in NC. You can of course put the kitchen sink on the same loop and install a switch at that location too. Recirc loops are done all the time but where you need to be careful is the energy loses because they are usually left on nearly all the time. By having them on-demand with switches, you counter most of those losses. To help with some of this, I would definitely insulate the slab plumbing lines. Another option would be to do solar for the hot water and use a 80 gallon tank. If the incentives are there, solar can be reasonable. I paid less than $2000 all in which is about the cost of your 2 50 gallon heat pumps....See MoreBradford White vs GE 40 Gal Electric Hot Water Heater
Comments (5)All though there are some very high end exceptions, as a rule there really isn't a hill of beans difference between electric water heaters. Basically they have a steel pressure vessel which is usually line with a baked on powder coat ceramic finish which is advertised as "glass lined" Surround that they have an insulation blanket. Some have a fiberglass blanket but most today have a rigid foam insulation material. That is all encapsulated in a thin sheet metal sheel. They nearly all have 4500watt 240v electric heating elements that are made by a third party supplier and with some rare exception, the heating elements are interchangable between brands of water heaters. They have an upper thermostat which switches between the upper heating element and the lower element and it also has a built in overload control (reset button). The lower thermostat only turns the element on or off. In fact, you can buy a universal rebuild kit at Home Depot which has both heating elements and both T/stats for $31.27. They may or may not come with a T&P valve. If you need a T&P valve it is a universal part made by Watts Corp. that fits into a 3/4" port in the top of the tank. Some also come with the dielectric nipples packed with the water heater. Many of them are actually made on the same production line and they don't get a manufactures name until they reach the final labeling and packaging dept....See MoreCost for 50 Gal Direct Vent Natural Gas Water Heater
Comments (1)Check again. The Local HD has a 50 gal direct vent WH on the rack. GE brand. Not sure of the price. Around $500-$600 I think. They probably special order others if you can find someone who knows where the special order catalog is located. Also check a local plumbing supply house. That's where you find the more specialized size/btu models....See Morehow will 50-gal gas water heater compare to 80-gal electric?
Comments (3)look into the new "Condensing" Gas Water heaters. They have efficiencies well into the 90% range and claim they put out as much water as a conventional 75 Gallon water heater. AO Smith is probably the best known one , but more new ones are coming. I heard they qualify for different Govt + Gas Co incentives/rebates. We will need a new water heater soon, to replace an old conventional 50 gallon gas water heater that uses a pilot. Since our gas bill is usually less than $13 in the summer, and I'm 68 years old, I will probably buy another conventional gas water heater--we don't use that much hot water and the price of the condensings are around $500 more ($1600) v/s probably around $1000 for a good quality conventional one. Were I younger and used more hot water or had a higher gas bill, I would certainly go with the Condensing one, and it's still not "Written in stone", that I won't! HTH's Gary...See More- 15 years ago
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