12 year water heater went out after six years. Water in my area is ridiculously hard. Average 1 new heater every 6 years or so.
​$2k

Oof. Sorry to hear that.

$2k seems extra steep, though! The last 12 year 50 gallon Rheem heater I had installed back in 2019 was $1100 installed. Granted, labor rates vary from place to place, and that was pre-COVID price inflation, but I'm surprised to hear that you're paying nearly double.

Do you replace the anode rod every few years, and drain your heater regularly? I'm curious if that would affect your longevity.

Permits in the city are very expensive (of course) and it is known you get about 6 years for a 12 year water heater. The one I have now is the warranty replacement - I think they build the “buy one get one” into the price.

I drain about every year…dude told me that for this area I should be doing more like every 6 months.

To add - $2k includes permits, removal, install, etc. I’m handy…but I HATE f’ing around with anything water.

Ouch that's a lot of money, but everything's expensive now!

My last water heater lasted 8 years and the current one is now 6 years old so I imagine it'll be going soon. The well water has some iron and other impurities which probably contribute to short life. Being electric there's no vent so it's easy to replace having flexible hoses that just screw on like a garden hose.

Hard water beats on everything in the home, an in-line water softener might be worth looking at. One more thing to maintain, but that hard water is wearing on everything from the shower heads to the dishwasher etc. and shortening useful life.

Just curious why they require a permit for a water heater. I have replaced several. It's not rocket science.

Re: Softner. Thanks Arc, I’m on my 3rd in 20 years!

Re: Permits. I’m guess because you are messing with gas too, but in MN you need a permit for pretty much everything.

I'm curious to know how the heater is failing, all of them leaking?
Well system or city water?
How high is your water pressure?
Backflow preventer installed?
Expansion tank?
Brand?

Even with hard water 6 yrs is too short.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Re: Softner. Thanks Arc, I’m on my 3rd in 20 years!

Re: Permits. I’m guess because you are messing with gas too, but in MN you need a permit for pretty much everything.

It certainly can vary by city, but I don’t think permits are always needed if you are replacing an existing unit. OTOH: Gas connections are one of the few things I will not DIY.

I'm probably stepping wrong here but can't for the life of me see why the average person with some mechanical skills can't replace a water heater. The key is to get the same unit and then if the old one was installed right there is very little work to the change out.

But then every 'man' should recognize his limitations... I sure have more than a few.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
can't for the life of me see why the average person with some mechanical skills can't replace a water heater. The key is to get the same unit and then if the old one was installed right there is very little work to the change out.

That's probably true with about 75% of water heaters. Especially electric water heaters, as it doesn't require messing around with gas lines, which freaks some people out.

The other 25% of the time, it either requires additional skills to do things like reroute plumbing, or it's located in such an awkward place (like in the attic accessible through a ceiling hatch) that it's potentially worth paying someone to handle the hassle for you.

At my last house I had a hot water recirculating pump, for instant-on hot water even at the furthest end of the house. (Nice when the master bathroom is on the opposite side of the house from the water heater.) But they had to plumb that in front of the water heater. So replacing the water heater required removing that pump and some of the copper pipes in front of the heater, then running new cooper pipe once the new unit was in place. Worth paying a plumber for that.

But even barring a complication like that, plug-and-play replacing it with the same unit works, unless it doesn't. That model may be discontinued, or you may want to go with a different model/brand if you were unhappy with the performance of the previous one.

However, the newest generation of sharkbite-style connectors has probably lessened the skill required for rerouting plumbing.


Otherwise, it may not be an issue of skill or complications, but may just come down to the value that person places on their time and effort. Not a matter of "can't" as much as "don't want to". For example, I know a whole bunch of people who could mow their own lawns, but choose to pay someone else to do it because to them it's worth paying extra to have someone else deal with it.

I generally pay someone to install items involving home electrical connections, breakers, receptables and/or installs like water heaters. I mainly do it because of recourse. I can always go back to them and make a claim if needed because of improper install. If I do the install and there is an issue or accident linked to it insurance will blame me for sure and possibly attempt to not pay. Also, the manufacturer warranty may require pro install to cover the unit. Nothing worst than paying $2500 for a new water heater having it fail and then being denied replacement over the self-install.

If you pay and have documentation of a pro install then that removes or surely lessens your liability. The possibility of a failed item like this affecting your neighbors homes or city property is very high. I generally am able to get the place I bought it from put it in for free or really cheap.

Have to agree with Arc, you might want to put in some kind of water softener for the whole house.

I've replaced gas tank, converted my gas tank to an outdoor gas tankless, it's not for the faint of heart.

Electric WH replacement can be straight forward and with the new Sharkbite WH connectors, actually easy. Once you eliminate the copper pipe connection issue it changes the game.

We pulled the one out of the daughters garage and replaced it using the SharkBite connections and it took about an hour, tops....

On our second in 40 years.
First one after 15 or so years, the last one is at 25 years and still working and yeah we have hard water - no softener.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
I'm probably stepping wrong here but can't for the life of me see why the average person with some mechanical skills can't replace a water heater. The key is to get the same unit and then if the old one was installed right there is very little work to the change out.

Let me give you some reasons...

Gas fired water heater... gas leaks, flammable, house fire, explosions, etc.
Byproduct of burning a fuel... carbon monoxide. Which is undetectable by human senses (The silent killer).
Cantainmination of water supply and/or aquifer. By using products which are unsafe for potable water (like black pipe, brass with lead).
Improper venting... again, possible carbon monoxide entering the living space, the possibility of a fire due to clearence and/or installation issues.
Burning or scalding... due to improper piping of the t/p valve.
Flooding... from improper piping connections, leaking or busting loose.
Mold/Mildew... from improper leaking pipes.
By the time your water heater is bad, an exact replacement is usually discontinued.

Don't know too many homeowners who know and follow code. Or professionals for that matter.

**A water heater is a pressurized vessel which can explode under the right conditions.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:

Let me give you some reasons

I never thought about all that scary stuff. Maybe I should just stick with cold water.

Ronin, you still haven’t said what went out on your heater. Did it start to leak? Does your city install back flow preventers at your service connection? What is your water pressure? Do you have a properly installed and functioning expansion tank?

I wouldn’t be overly quick to blame hard water alone for short life. Many cities have been randomly installing back flow preventers in the last few decades (due to meth labs). Where in the past, the pressure would just feed back to the supply, with a back flow preventer, it just builds crazy pressure on your system. Some WH warranties require an expansion tank for the warranty to be valid.

There are a whole lot of ways to screw up a water heater, and I'll add two more: Water temp at the fixtures is too high - anyone, but particularly kids can get deeply burned very quickly by hot water. One that doesn't get mentioned too often - you set the temp at the heater too low to save money and end up with a crock pot for bacteria and god knows what else in your basement.

No two ways about it, pulling permits and getting inspections is a PITA. But all these regulations are there because of disease, injuries or deaths.

I look at it this way - I don't know what I don't know, and why I hire a plumber or electrician isn't explicitly for the install. It's so that when something fails, I can call that person. On top of that, around here, water heaters require permits.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
The key is to get the same unit and then if the old one was installed right there is very little work to the change out.

Thanks to EPA and/or DOE energy efficiency standards, water heaters, gas furnaces, and who knows what else, keep getting physically larger, so a simple swap-out isn't always possible.