Is this something I can do myself or should I hire a plumber? It doesn't seem that difficult but I guess if done wrong could be disastrous. If I do hire someone, what could I reasonable expect to pay?

If you know how to sweat/ solder in the copper pipe, it's a DYI job.

Wife and I replaced ours a couple years ago. Easy.

make sure the one you get heats cold water too!

It's not difficult if you have the time, the know-how (you can find articles and videos), the hand skills, the tools, and the aptitude. Gas is trickier than electric. I did my own (gas) a couple of years ago, but I had all the above. YMMV.

Its a simple diy job but check your local codes. Here it requires a permit and the code enforcement people will show up at your door if you put the old one out on the curb with the trash and they don't find a filed permit.

Our (gas / power vented) water heater crapped out with little to no warning about seven or eight months ago, and with a family household I needed a replacement installed ASAP.

My local go-to plumbing / HVAC guys were not available for several days, so this meant calling Home Depot, and they subbed it out to their contractor, which turned out to be "1 800 Heaters".

The tech was very professional and was at the house for probably about three hours, maybe a little more.

Beyond the gas connections, there was a bit of custom cutting and fitting for the gas line and the vent lines. It looked like a pretty straight forward job, but you had to have the right tools and know the little tricks to make it work.

Sure, I probably could have done it myself, but it would have take MUCH longer, at least a few trips to and from Home Depot, and I would have had to shlep the new heater into the house and take the old one out (and you'll need a friend and/or a hand-truck for that).

Depends on the confidence in your abilities, your tools and how much time you have to do the job right.

The price for everything for a 50 gal. / decently efficient water heater was ~$1.6K. The price from H-D and the local guy was about the same.

Oh, and because "they don't make them like they used to", I spent an extra $50 or so to add 5-years to the material and labor warranty.

Good luck!!

There is a skill in properly assembling threaded gas fittings, especially unions. It is not so hard to put gas pipe together but when something is wrong you might not have the experience to spot the issue.

Same thing with water connections.

But if you are not in a rush, you can probably figure it out without flooding out the house or blowing yourself up. A WH pump or gravity drain is definitely wanted. Hauling 40 gallons of water out by hand would be a chore!

If I was replacing my WH tomorrow I'd probably sweat two ¾" male adaptors to the existing copper and use two ¾" female braided stainless steel flex connectors to connect the C/H supply and return. The gas and flue will be identical, assuming I am going back with an identical Bradford White 40g gas WH. The units come "tall" or "short" in some areas. We've got areas with rather low basements.

If you decide to tackle the job yourself, ask the folks about sharkbite fittings. If you have to connect to copper pipes will make it snap.

Theyre big and heavy, even when drained, youll need a helper and hand truck.

Plumbing is one of those things, where you're not just paying to have it done right, but you're paying to have the guy come unfuck it if necessary.

I had a 50 gal natural gas water heater replaced on 9-17-18 by a local plumber with the reputation of being good but a little on the high side. I like the get it right the first time part and have been a satisfied customer for over 30 years.

My bill for everything including tax and permit was $ 848.76. Water heater was 475 labor 262.50 tax 34.76 permit 35 trip charge 20 misc fittings 21.50. Took about 2 hours and zero mess.

We replaced our gas water heater a few years back, pretty straightforward. Disposing of the old one can be a chore.

Sounds like my best bet is to do my research and hire it out.

Been in the house since '83, replaced it 4 times myself.

This time, I got smart and bought a Bradford White, no more box store Whirlpool POS 10 year that lasts 10 years and one month. In fact, I just barely got 5 years out of the last one and it made a heck of a series of noises for about a year before I trashed it for the BW. Kind of like the furnace in Christmas Story.

I made a manifold for my heater years back and just modify it to fit as I swap it onto the next heater. The STP valve and the drain are hooked to it and to drain I just open the valve on the bottom and detach the incoming water line. Drains into an underground drain I put in under the patio. Empty WH's are easy to move then get put on a dolly.

quote:

Originally posted by Phantom229:
Sounds like my best bet is to do my research and hire it out.

^^^ This is a wise decision.

After coming across countless mistakes over the years, which could have turned into tragedies, hiring a professional is a smart choice.
Leaking water is one thing, leaking gas or improper venting (carbon monoxide) can be life threatening.

I've replaced several over the years. Definitely can be done as a DIY project.

I have an electric water heater and just used shark bite fittings. Have not had a problem and was very simple to do. Mine has been going strong for about x4 years now without a leak or issue. Those shark bite fittings are amazing.

As arc stated well, this is something I have always tried to distinquish between "can" and "should".

It's not an affront to your manhood to hire this out, in spite of what one of my friends would suggest. You should reevaluate your base question.

Gas or electric?

Replacing an electric water heater is within my skill set.

Replacing a gas water heater is not.

Electric water heater is three or four plumbing connections and three wire nuts. If you do it wrong, you might burn out an element or have a water leak.

A gas water heater is three or four plumbing connections, a gas connection and venting. If you do it wrong, you could have a water leak, kill your family in their sleep or blow up the house.

As Clint Eastwood said, "a man should know his limitations." While plenty of stuff is DIYable, some things are best left to a pro, who may know things that you don't even know you don't know.

I'll do certain plumbing tasks, pull a toilet, basic things. For a water heater, the reason I let a pro do it is for the higher likelihood of a correct install, coupled with the service or if needed, emergency service.

You're higher on the list if you need something, when you call the guy who did the work.

Also, included in the price was the permit application, fee and inspection, which the contractor arranged / took care of with my township.