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Waterheaterguys - A little advice? (1 Viewer)

Ron Swanson

Ron Swanson

Footballguy
1)  So I need to replace one of my electric water heaters.  Seems like Rheem is the overwhelmingly common brand in our area.  I'm planning to go with the Performance Platinum 50 gallon.  Is this a good choice in that size range?  Any other brands to consider? I would love to go tankless or hybrid heat pump but I just can't work out the gas lines and/or venting. Contractors want way too much and I don't have the time.

Frontrunner

2)  In looking at my existing plumbing it appears that my pressure relief line connects to my hot water supply line by way of a device that looks like a vacuum breaker. Why is this? Why not have hot water supply just be hot water supply and pressure relief go to the drain? Is this some kind of code thing?

Vacuum Breaker? Sorry for sideways.

 
Ron Swanson said:
A long way to go for both.
Click to expand...
Really? You have existing venting and gas to your current WH.  Most tankless can be wall vented or ceiling vented and there are different models that accept 1" and 3/4" gas lines.  Why do you need to run additional lines for a tankless unit but not for a replacement tank?

I feel like I'm missing something very obvious.

 
Chaka said:
Really? You have existing venting and gas to your current WH.  Most tankless can be wall vented or ceiling vented and there are different models that accept 1" and 3/4" gas lines.  Why do you need to run additional lines for a tankless unit but not for a replacement tank?

I feel like I'm missing something very obvious.
Click to expand...
I have electric currently.  Gas is 1 story below and on the other side of the house. Electric tankless would require a higher amp circuit. As far as venting all of the units I've seen require venting to the outside (Rinnai, Rheem, and Tagachi).

 
Ron Swanson said:
I have electric currently.  Gas is 1 story below and on the other side of the house. Electric tankless would require a higher amp circuit. As far as venting all of the units I've seen require venting to the outside (Rinnai, Rheem, and Tagachi).
Click to expand...
Gotcha. Told you I was missing something obvious.

 
Before you do anything measure the height of your current one vs the height of the new one. Newer water heaters are typically taller due to new efficiency standards.

 
ChiefD said:
Before you do anything measure the height of your current one vs the height of the new one. Newer water heaters are typically taller due to new efficiency standards.
Click to expand...
This I have done.  The new one is actually shorter but considerably wider.  I have the room to accommodate that.

 
wilked said:
I am fairly certain saying that is not piped correctly 
Click to expand...
So, no good reason not to get rid of that extra loop and brass 90-degree thingy and plumb it the obvious way -  hot out to hot out, cold in to cold in, and pressure relief to drain?

 
Ron Swanson said:
So, no good reason not to get rid of that extra loop and brass 90-degree thingy and plumb it the obvious way -  hot out to hot out, cold in to cold in, and pressure relief to drain?
Click to expand...
That;s what I would do.  Not fully clear if you need an expansion tank, that would be the other question.  But yes, I would demo it and do it the way everyone else does it

 
wilked said:
That;s what I would do.  Not fully clear if you need an expansion tank, that would be the other question.  But yes, I would demo it and do it the way everyone else does it
Click to expand...
Thanks,  I don't have a pressure regulator or backflow preventer on the house so I don't think I have to have an expansion valve or tank but it couldn't hurt. I'm sure at some point the City will require backflow preventers.

 
Probably not help to the OP but Tankless is the answer. Done it twice (two different homes) and I can't imagine any other setup. Also, from some of what I read that was asked from above (maybe this helps open a door for the OP), with a tankless, keep in mind that you can do Propane as a gas instead of natural gas. There is a conversion piece for it and it is a very economical way (especially compared to a traditional tank with water constantly being heated and waiting) to have an endless supply of hot water.  

Electric tankless units are not the way to go.  If you get a newer tankless gas system, it will likely have a small reservoir within in that pre-heats that initial surge of water and eliminates the one thing you hear people not like about tankless (that small delay before the water comes out hot). 

Re: the venting, it is necessary to different degrees, depending on if you get electric, natural gas, or propane, but because you have flexibility in where you mount it, getting a short running and fairly easy vent is almost always possible. These days, with new codes, the bigger issue is becoming the (I forget the technical term) grounding back to the breaker box they want you to have if you use a free-standing propane tank.

Good luck and please kick the rocks on exhausting the possibilities on going tankless. It truly is a great way to go.

 
I'm not a water heater "guy" ... but after changing mine and having the new one go bad after only 5 years, 

I went with an 80 gal HTP

 HTP Water Heater

Stainless Steel - lifetime warranty ... I don't expect to have to change this one ever.

Family of 4 and we've never run out of hot water with the 80 gal ... which we did with the previous 50 gal.

 
So the brass thingy turns out to be a Wilkins 1500 Pressure Relief Valve.  It was basically plumbed in as redundant to the built-in PRV on the heater. Its gone now.  Got the new heater in and its heating up now.  I cheated and used Shark Bites.  Turns out that newer water heaters are larger in diameter and the closet entrance this was in was barely large enough. I had to strip the wallboard off one side to shoehorn it in.  No idea why they put wallboard in there to begin with.  It's a closet specifically for the water heater. Just glad I had just enough room or I would have had to relocate it to the attic.

Thank you all for the feedback! 

Thingy

Fin.

@culdeus

 
Looks good. Do you have a shutoff valve somewhere?

And shark bites are the bomb. Well worth the dough.

 
Ron Swanson said:
So the brass thingy turns out to be a Wilkins 1500 Pressure Relief Valve.  It was basically plumbed in as redundant to the built-in PRV on the heater. Its gone now.  Got the new heater in and its heating up now.  I cheated and used Shark Bites.  Turns out that newer water heaters are larger in diameter and the closet entrance this was in was barely large enough. I had to strip the wallboard off one side to shoehorn it in.  No idea why they put wallboard in there to begin with.  It's a closet specifically for the water heater. Just glad I had just enough room or I would have had to relocate it to the attic.

Thank you all for the feedback! 

Thingy

Fin.

@culdeus
Click to expand...
Interesting. So it is a hammer pressure relief thing.  Will be ironic if all of a sudden you start hearing a death rattle in the walls due to a poor design. 

 
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