Home Improvement Thread

Kane
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Postby Kane » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:42 am

2020 part II: The Sequel began yesterday. Had to replace the hot water heater - looks like the stimulus check will come in handy!

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:43 am

2020 part II: The Sequel began yesterday. Had to replace the hot water heater - looks like the stimulus check will come in handy!
You're like the third one of us in the last year who had to replace their water heater. Welcome to the New Water Heater Club!

Kane
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Postby Kane » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:46 am

2020 part II: The Sequel began yesterday. Had to replace the hot water heater - looks like the stimulus check will come in handy!
You're like the third one of us in the last year who had to replace their water heater. Welcome to the New Water Heater Club!
It was definitely time. The old one was installed in '98, and it took a while for most of the taps to get hot.

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:50 am

98? That's one hell of a run, especially if it didn't actually burst.

skullman80
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Postby skullman80 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:54 am

Yeah we replaced ours like 3 weeks after we moved into our new house ha.

Kane
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Postby Kane » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:59 am

98? That's one hell of a run, especially if it didn't actually burst.
Nope, just started pooling on the top and running down the side onto the floor. We replaced the fittings first, but there was too much rust around the inflow/outflow.

Kane
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Postby Kane » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:00 am

Yeah we replaced ours like 3 weeks after we moved into our new house ha.
That's rough. :lol: Did you have a home warranty?

skullman80
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Postby skullman80 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:03 am

Yeah we replaced ours like 3 weeks after we moved into our new house ha.
That's rough. :lol: Did you have a home warranty?
We did. Ours went like yours did, water coming out the top and down the sides going all over the floor. I ended up getting one from Mr. Waterheater that same day. I called and an hour later they were out removing the old and installing the new with expansion tank. Because of that I had to fight with the warranty company a bit since I didn't call them first.

Eventually once I explained that I could wait for them to file a claim and go through all of their paperwork since I had water all over my laundry room they refunded what I paid OOP minus the deductible.

Kane
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Postby Kane » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:18 am

Yeah we replaced ours like 3 weeks after we moved into our new house ha.
That's rough. :lol: Did you have a home warranty?
We did. Ours went like yours did, water coming out the top and down the sides going all over the floor. I ended up getting one from Mr. Waterheater that same day. I called and an hour later they were out removing the old and installing the new with expansion tank. Because of that I had to fight with the warranty company a bit since I didn't call them first.

Eventually once I explained that I could wait for them to file a claim and go through all of their paperwork since I had water all over my laundry room they refunded what I paid OOP minus the deductible.
Yeah, that was a good move. My parents needed theirs replaced, and it took 2 weeks through the warranty process. And they didn't really make it happen until after my dad called and Karen'd them.

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:48 am

2 weeks? GTFO, that's insane. I had no warranty, but was able to get somebody in either the same day or the next day, I forget which.

nocera
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Postby nocera » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:53 am

When I had to replace mine in 2019, I used Mr Water Heater also. It's a ridiculous name for a company, but they were there the next day with a very reasonably priced replacement.

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:55 am

What brand did they use for you guys? They aren't in my area, and I wanted another Bradford White, if possible. I also needed a power vent model, so a standard WH wouldn't work.

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Postby nocera » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:01 am

Mine is a Ruud, but I also left it entirely up to Mr Water Heater. They gave me a few options and recommended this one which ended up being middle of the pack as far as pricing goes. In retrospect, I probably should've done some research but I just wanted to get it done.

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Postby skullman80 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:15 am

I just went and looked. Ours is a Bradford White "Defender". I remember we had a few less options because our Hot water tank is literally right next to the furnace on one side and a wall on the other. So they had to install one that was "skinnier" than a normal one, but it's still the same capacity as the old one was. I just went with their recommendation.

Service wise though I called at 8 am, they were at my house by 8:45, and done by 10am that same day. No complaints on service or pricing.

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Postby DigitalGypsy66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:15 am

That reminds me: it's been reasonably cold where we are. Getting into the shower, I was nearly scalded a couple of times. I use the same shower handle setting, but the water was really hot. I thought it was just me, until a few days later my wife casually mentioned the same thing.

We have a 12 year old 70 gallon electric water heater (we have a jacuzzi tub, all the rage in 2007 new construction). It's in an insulated but non heated space.

Is the sudden scalding thing the signs of a death knell? It's otherwise heating fine, and the temperature settings are hidden behind two panels - I haven't touched them since we moved in.

I would like to replace it - hopefully eventually - with a heat pump electric water heater. It takes the hot air in the room and uses it to heat water - which is great for us, as it's in a storage room right off our hot garage.

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:18 am

Do you not have newer valves in your shower? That should handle scalding concerns. Also, what is the temperature of the water heater set to? Mine is probably around 120°, which most recommend to not exceed.

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:20 am

Source of the post Service wise though I called at 8 am, they were at my house by 8:45, and done by 10am that same day. No complaints on service or pricing.
My only complaint about the guy who replaced my water heater - and I didn't notice this until many months later - is that they pushed the vent pipe out when they installed it, so if you look down the siding of my house, you can see a bump right where the vent is. I'd have to cut off the PVC and redo the connect at the WH to fix it, and I haven't gotten around to it.

DigitalGypsy66
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Postby DigitalGypsy66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:44 am

Yeah, iirc it was set to 110 and bumped it to 120. I forgot that we had a new valve/cartridge installed this fall. Maybe the old one had calcium deposits and was absorbing the initial heat?

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:48 am

The easiest way to test, IMO, would be to turn on a tap full hot, and use an instant thermometer to see how hot the water is. If it's over what the WH is set to, there's probably an issue with the thermostat on your WH.

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Postby Nuge » Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:05 pm

I need a new water heater as well. What did you guys go with? Mine right now is an electric 50 gallon tank. We now have a natural gas line to our house, so I'm wondering if I should convert to that. Anybody have a tankless? I'm trying to weigh all my options. Upfront cost vs. potential long term savings.

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Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:09 pm

Looking for some feedback on a plumbing situation since we are kind of talking about plumbing:

there is a cast iron drain pipe with a crack in the basement, but no water is seeping out of it. called a plumber to take a look at it. He saw some damage to the subfloor near the pipe and said he thought there might be other damage to the plumbing stack somehwere behind the walls causing leaks. That being said, the subfloor isn't damp at all, and also keep in mind that this is an old house, so who knows what has gone on over the decade. Not sure if i see any evidence of water damage. Plumber said that he didn't want to replace the cracked pipe without knowing what was going on behind the walls.

For obvious reasons I am not enthused at the idea of tearing up a wall to replace the stack, especially if there is no visible evidence of water damage. Any thoughts? Would a camera insepction of the plumbing stack be a viable option?

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Postby robbiestoupe » Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:59 pm

Looking for some feedback on a plumbing situation since we are kind of talking about plumbing:

there is a cast iron drain pipe with a crack in the basement, but no water is seeping out of it. called a plumber to take a look at it. He saw some damage to the subfloor near the pipe and said he thought there might be other damage to the plumbing stack somehwere behind the walls causing leaks. That being said, the subfloor isn't damp at all, and also keep in mind that this is an old house, so who knows what has gone on over the decade. Not sure if i see any evidence of water damage. Plumber said that he didn't want to replace the cracked pipe without knowing what was going on behind the walls.
For obvious reasons I am not enthused at the idea of tearing up a wall to replace the stack, especially if there is no visible evidence of water damage. Any thoughts? Would a camera insepction of the plumbing stack be a viable option?
IMO you don't want to mess with a drain pipe. May have to bite the bullet here. Especially since you already see a crack in the basement.

Are you saying there may be another crack in the stack besides the one in the basement?

There's ultrasonic technology to detect small cracks in welds, but not sure if the same could be done on a cast iron pipe. That's the only non-invasive way I could think of. The camera is going to be so grainy it'll be hard to find any cracks. Besides, it's a drain pipe so it most likely has years of deposit built up inside that would cover the crack.

This is confusing too
Plumber said that he didn't want to replace the cracked pipe without knowing what was going on behind the walls.
Wouldn't he have to tear open the walls to replace the pipe anyway?

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:09 pm

I need a new water heater as well. What did you guys go with? Mine right now is an electric 50 gallon tank. We now have a natural gas line to our house, so I'm wondering if I should convert to that. Anybody have a tankless? I'm trying to weigh all my options. Upfront cost vs. potential long term savings.
I can't imagine that you would be better off with an electric water heater. Unless it was a massive pain or huge cost to run the pipes, I'd be switching to a natural gas water heater.

Willie Kool
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Postby Willie Kool » Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:25 pm

My 1967 Ruud water heater is still going strong....

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Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:23 pm


Wouldn't he have to tear open the walls to replace the pipe anyway?
Right now the only visible evidence of a crack is on a visible section of pipe that runs from the kitchen, over top of the washer, then over and behind drywall. The crack is on a jointed piece of cast iron where it comes out from the kitchen and over the to wall. We never really addressed the question of can the jointed piece be replaced because we went from worrying about the cracked piece to talking about tearing out walls very quickly. So I don't really know if the visible crack can be replaced without tearing up the wall.

The only evidence of water damage is a hole in the subfloor, but the hole wasn't moist (twss) and I don't see any evidence of water anywhere else.

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