Is it worth it to service a hot water heater or should I just replace it?

[RootSkier]

Fucking houses.

Hot water heater is on the fritz. I drained it and found almost no sediment, which was shocking. Then I adjusted the temperature up, which seemed to work for a few days, but now it's sucking again. Could it be the thermostat/heating unit?

It's a 50 gallon electric Bradford White. Not sure how old, but the sticker gives it an awful efficiency rating. It looks like I can buy a new one for less than $300. The plumbing connections are threaded quick connects, so it would be super easy to install a new one.

Is it worth it to have a plumber come look at it, or should I just replace it? I'd be super fucking pissed if I paid a plumber $200 to come out and he told me it was shot or that it needed $200 worth of parts. Please advise.

Tech Talk...fuck you!

[OSECS]

Unless you have a personal connection to said water heater I'd drop the $300 and do the install yourself. Those quick change connnections are nice.

[userA]

get the new one, old water heaters suck way too much elec. $$$ and 500$ total bill would be an inexpensive upgrade for a 10 year item.

[Flounder]

Where you at? I am in BTV and has an old electric heater in the basement that I haven't got around to lugging out. It was in the house when we bought 12 years ago so efficient it is not. Hasn't been used except on a couple of occasions while redoing the heating system. Last use was maybe 5 years ago and it worked. Free for helping me carry it out of the basement. Drained and ready to go.

[skiballs]

WTF you can't fix a water heater , no wonder you quit being a contractor .
Heating elements are cheap .
Go on youtube , I'll bet there's a vid on how to test them .

[Hugh Conway]

You fuck your hot water heater? Winters must be long.

[BmillsSkier]

Do you watch Shameless?

The solution lies in the obits according to that show.

[userA]

or the anodes

[RootSkier]

WTF you can't fix a water heater , no wonder you quit being a contractor .
Heating elements are cheap .
Go on youtube , I'll bet there's a vid on how to test them .

Good call, thanks.

Also, I never called myself a contractor.

[iceman]

Cost/benefit says get the new one from where I sit.

[RootSkier]

Just tested the elements with a volt meter. Bottom one is shot, which jives with the bottom half of the tank being cold (duh). Then I watched a video about how to change it. Looks like a five minute job with a $13 dollar part, but I have to get a 1.5" socket. Thanks skiballs.

[concretejungle]

It'll just crap out after you fix it. It's old, get a new one.

[RShea]

If it is electric and you did drain it with very little sentiment, then as stated above it would be worth testing the element. If the tank itself is not cracked or leaking, then it maybe worth pulling it. Also comparing the cost of a new more efficient Hot Water Heater and the savings. Also see if your electric company has any rebates for going with a new one. Then make the call on repair vs new.

You also state there is a quick threaded disconnect, but you may still have some plumbing and pipe work to do. Rarely do the old unit and the new units, even if they are the same capacity line up, either the height of the new unit and the old are different, or they come out of the unit in different spots. But if you have a pipe cutter, know how to sweat and solder pipes, it is not that hard to still do it yourself.

[iceman]

It'll just crap out after you fix it. It's old, get a new one.

Plus the new one's gonna pay for itself with efficiency in not time, a year or two.

[tex1230]

go Tankless

[HobieTony]

Cant believe that no one has pointed out that if you already have hot water, you dont need a heater. You need a heater for cold water.

Just get a new one. Once they start fucking up, they keep fucking up. Do it once, be done, enjoy the lower power bills.

[sb]

Tankless is more $$ upfront but can save tons in the long run. You need to look at how many are in the household and your water usage hard. Less people/less water go electric, more people/more water go gas if that is an option.

You can fix the current problem yourself for now, its a good skill to have. A new water heater will be good for quite some time. Your call.

[skiballs]

Plus the new one's gonna pay for itself with efficiency in not time, a year or two.

Not , there has been little or no efficiency gains in electric hot water heaters , in the last 20 yrs .

[iceman]

Well he doesn't know how old the one he has is plus he said it was poorly rated but whatever.

[BackCountryNC]

Hot water heater?????

[iceman]

Hot water heater?????

Yeah it's already hot but he wants it really fucking hot.

[jfost]

Hot water heater?????

do they not sell the ones that come with semantics games anymore?

[skiballs]

Hot water heater?????

do you hold your breath on downhill left to right 4 footers ? dick ,

[Alaskan Rover]

Well, unless you are wearing size 48 jeans that show 80% of your butt crack...you are ill-advised and no doubt unqualified to do plumbing repair.

Water-heaters are one of those items that should be designed for easy repair and swapping out of elements, etc....but instead they're a huge PITA.

You may be right....it may simply be the thermostat (and you can check that with an ohm-meter easily...any multimeter has an ohms reading for doing such a test...use it.).

Maybe you'll luck out and find it is a faulty thermostat, but just as likely it might be the heating element going bad....and in modern water heaters that's not a replaceable item.

Depending upon how many bathrooms and people and HW useage in your house....you might want to think about an "on demand" set of water-heaters. But if you have a LOT of useage, it's actually more efficient to go with one of the standard US Energy Star rated water heaters.

BackcountryNC: Ha ha....I liked the crack about HOT water HEATERs. Yep....I guess just 'water heater' would suffice...or perhaps a cold water heater.

--

[RootSkier]

Maybe you'll luck out and find it is a faulty thermostat, but just as likely it might be the heating element going bad....and in modern water heaters that's not a replaceable item.

Really? You mean the UNIVERSAL heating element (there are only two styles) that I bought at Ace for $11.99 and changed in approximately 3 minutes after the tank was drained?

Boy, you really have no problem being a dumb fuckstick and spouting off about shit you know NOTHING about, do you? Whoever asked you if you were an expert on everything was right--you are an expert on bullshitting your way through anything, especially shit you are clearly ignorant about. Now STFU and find another hobby besides boring everyone in the Padded Room.

Once again, thanks skiballs.