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Do Electric water heaters from plumbing supply differ from home depot

9 years ago

Plumbers I feel rip people off when installing electric heaters esp when its just a replacement, I have gotten 2 electric heaters within 8 years. one put in in 1996 lasted 11 years...2007 new one put in lasted 1 year 8 months then leaked. replaced under warranty and now leaking again 6 years to the date. All were put in by a plumber. I hear different things that the ones plumbers get are made better? I wonder? Also I feel aluminum anodes are worse than magnesium which mine had, Going with a big box water heater Rheem as had bad luck with previous.. Is there a difference inside or just cosmetic when buying from "plumbers" The ones I got from them didn't last. How can a plumber charge 500 to install a water heater when it takes them 2 hours at the most??? For a 50 gallon water heater replacement 1,000.00????

Comments (7)

_sophiewheeler
9 years ago
So, DIY your install if you don't want to pay a pro. Bet it takes you well north of 2 hours.
Vith
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You could always get one of the more expensive heaters and see if it lasts longer. There is a reason why the 12 year models say they are 12 year and the 6 year models say they are 6 year. You could also buy and aluminum anode and install it in whatever heater you got if that is what you want. Rheems usually are good so you might just either have bad luck or bad water corroding it. Installing them is not hard but you may find some fun surprises, like the connection to the water heater being corroded to the point of not being able to loosen it. So you may have to do more than just loosen the nuts and electrical and replace the heater, some repair to the water lines might be needed.
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Thanks, this is all really helpful. Unfortunately AC isn't really a major concern with the home, as it's in the mountains and stays quite cool in the summer. Heating is obviously my bigger cost. The one question I have about cooling and the room being unconditioned is, doesn't there have to be some heat since this is where my plumbing begins? The basement is only around 3.5 feet underground and has windows so I imagine it will get cold in the winter. I am installing a mini split system in the whole home and was going to put one head in the basement, mainly to keep an ok temp throughout the winter. Is there any risk that the heat pump water heater could make the basement too cold for the plumbing? Or too difficult for the heater to keep the basement above 50? I just bought the home and it was a foreclosure and the pressure tank and some pipes are cracked from freezing. So I'm trying to come up with a setup here to A) keep utility costs down and B) prevent the plumbing from freezing again. All your insights are so helpful!
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User
Original Author
9 years ago
It was a AOSmith 6 year warranty (before the other two) that lasted 11 years ??? Question was are the heaters sold at plumbing supply any different from big box stores??
Vith
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The only difference is brand. The plumbing supply store heater does not mean it is a superior product. AO Smiths break just like any other heater, the durability and quality are fairly similar. If we were talking about a fiberglass tub from big box vs a porcelain tub from a supplier that would be a different story.
roof35
9 years ago
I believe you will find most supplier WH's include a brass drain valve vs plastic, and factory installed dielectric waterway fittings vs none.

I mark the date installed on my WH's. I've put in 3 WH's here, each lasting about 6 years to the date! My original 6 yr Rheem lasted 17 yrs. Sure wish I would have bought a couple of those way back in the day. I have since gone to a Bradford White last year. Time will tell.
jackfre
9 years ago
Well, buy your replacement soon. The new tank water heater standards kick in on 4/15/15. Increased efficiency. Increased cost, I think around 15-25%
Frank Giuliano
3 years ago
Is there a difference between a big box store water tank and one from a humbling supply store ? Asking for a friend. 😛

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