Question - Help please.

Non- boat related, so forgive me. We bought a new house and need to replace the water heater. It is an all electric house ( ) so I need some input. For those of us who have had to replace them what are your suggestions as to best brand as it pertained to reliability and quality. All help is appreciated. Thanks.

Nevillizer said:

Non- boat related, so forgive me. We bought a new house and need to replace the water heater. It is an all electric house ( ) so I need some input. For those of us who have had to replace them what are your suggestions as to best brand as it pertained to reliability and quality. All help is appreciated. Thanks.

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Are you certain you need to replace the entire water heater and not just the element(s) ??

Yeah, it's 16 years old and way too small. It a 40 Gallon. We are looking at 80 gallon made by GE, AO Smith, Bradford White, and Whirlpool.

I have a Hotpoint, 40 gal.You running out of hot water?

The old one is shot. We are adding an additional bathroom / shower. Family of five plus laundry dishes etc. Everyone recommended an 80 gallon cause of the house/family size.

If you have a heat pump you need one of these. This is the model we install:
Energy Recovery Water Heater

It works very well and most of my customers have been able to turn their tank water heaters off completely. We leave them in place for back up on cooling only systems.

Also, for just old fashioned tank water heaters, we sell the Rheem brand and I have been very happy with the quality of their tanks and components.

You can also go tankless, again, we install the Rheem brand. If you are all electric tho I would not recommend tankless as you are likely going to need additional electrical service to the water heater and will get expensive in a hurry which may negate the savings of a tankless water heater.

Rat, no heat pump. Thanks for the other info.

80 galons seems like a lot. As old as the heater is, you are probably not getting 40 gallons of hot water out of it. Over time they become less and less effecient. I've read that you don't want to oversize your heater too much because you're just wasting money heating water you never use. I'm sure there's a formula out on the internet that you can use to determine what the correct size is based on your useage.

A 50 gal will be fine for your family. You can adjust the temperature higher or lower to accommodate your needs - assuming not all 5 are taking showers at the same time. Make sure you get a high efficiency/rapid recovery and a insulated cover. Rheem is a very well know brand, but, if you buy an unknown make at a box store (Menards, Home Depot, etc) you'll save some $$$ and get the same 8-10 year warranty. I've always gone with the ones on sale, regardless of brand, they're pretty much all the same - you'll need to replace it in 10 years regardless of what brand......

It like fishingcop said they are all about the same.Only 3 things that go wrong 1. elements , 2. thermostats , 3. rust and usually that order.
1,2. Easy fix.

As for size not sure,some people put them on a time clock so you are not heating water when you are not home.

FYI if you wasn't aware most dishwashers don't use hot water they heat their on.

Hope this helps

Whichever brand you choose, drain it periodically to remove sediments in the bottom which will cause it to rust out quicker. Remember to turn it off before draining or you may burn out the elements.

You might want to look into a tankless hot water system. Those larger tanks can be expensive, even if you are installing it yourself.

The tankless system would be about the same price to buy and install yourself and maybe a little more if you can find a local outfit that will install one. It will save you a bunch of money on your electric bill over the years and you'll never run out of hot water (unless the power goes out).

You can get tankless water heaters that are small enough to supply one bathroom. They can be mounted inside a cabinet under the sink. It gives you instant hot water without having to send it through the whole house's plumbing system which saves money.

KMixson said:

You can get tankless water heaters that are small enough to supply one bathroom. They can be mounted inside a cabinet under the sink. It gives you instant hot water without having to send it through the whole house's plumbing system which saves money.

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That's true, but you would still need something to heat the water for the kitchen and any other bathrooms or even half baths or powder rooms in the house. Separate units for each location could get pricey.

Thanks everyone for the help. For those asking why 80 gallons that is what was recommended for the house dues to size and occupancy. I figured a a 65 gallon would be more than plenty but accord to the website, and it was backed up by the plumber, 80 gallon is supposed to be the optimum for the house. I checked into the thankless heater and for the good one it's very cost prohibitive. I never messed with them but they require two (240 volt) services for one unit. Appreciate all the info. I'm going to pick up the water heater on Friday. We decided on an AO Smith brand. It seems to be a good unit with a reasonable warranty. Thans again for all the help.

I have a Rannai tankless water heater that that supplies hot water throughout my house. It is great. We never run out of hot water unless we run out of gas. Gas is only used when hot water is being used. Very low gas bill. I wouldnt go back to a hot water heater tank. Just my opinion.