Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Water heaters?

Electric?? You can get “spec sheets” at most home improvement stores that give the different dimensions and wattage of different units. You’ll likely notice that there’s not much difference in the 6 and 9 year units. You’re often paying for a warranty, not better construction. Sometimes, the 12 year units will have a few extra features.

Many of the fancy new “heat pump” units are efficient, but loud. Ok in a garage, but often not in a house.

Smelly water issues?? You can get a Zn-Al anode rod that helps with the sulfur smell. The standard Al rod will often start having smell issues in your hot water, just like your old one. Those things are in TIGHT. An electric impact will get one out pretty easy. Usually a 1-1/16” socket, I think.

Use corrugated lines, not those crap braided tuns. The braided runs have rubber in them, which will eventually break down with water that hot at the source.

Make sure your pan under it is good, and drains well.

Turn-key replacement costs (including installation) for a 50 gallon natural gas hot water heater in southern Colorado is about $1750.

Rheem Marathon is worth a look if you are going to own the property for a long time.

Holy crap !! for a standard vent ?

That’s for everything. Haul-off, fabrication, bringin’ stuff up to code, etc..

The chimney in the house must be calculated for capacity with the furnace which is probably high efficiency also. Look up Hart & Cooley charts. If a unit is installed outside of specifications it will shut down the pilot.

There is no cheaper water heating than natural gas.

I am looking at 350 ish for an electric one. They go wayyyy up from there. Thankfully a buddy from high school is going to help install it as I have not done it before.

Just make sure it's full (purged) before you throw the breaker.

Prices of comparable water heaters, installation and required materials can vary a good bit in different parts of the country. Our son and wife had their water heater (nat gas) replaced a month or so back and went back with a larger size. Their total cost for new gas water heater and all installation costs was ballpark $800 as I recall.

(I don't know if it's just me or not but something I've noticed the few times we've had our water heater replaced was the business that sold and installed went back with the same gallon capacity but different physical dimensions on each one which added more in labor time and material costs.)

They're around $400 for an electric 40 gallon.

I don't know your deal, but I belong to an electric co-op.
They subsidize a $1200 Marathon for their members.
$200 is the fee.

It comes with the string that they put a meter on it to turn it off
during highest peak demand. It's 90 gallon, you will not run out
when they shut if off.

How much bigger did the 18" diameter electric water heaters get? I don't have a lot of room for a much bigger one.

That digital visual made me laugh, Thanks.

I change them for 1200, 1400 in attic.

they still make "tall" units that are around 18" and up,shorts are more like 22"

Sounds like a good plan

Has anyone tried one of these?
http://www.vaughncorp.com/hydrastone-cement/
Ronnie

Last couple I've had to replace I called an HVAC contractor I knew to be competent and trustworthy, he came, looked, gave me a quote, came on the day he said he would, got it done and when we got home from work we had hot water. I've gotten to the point where I feel it's just not worth my time to do most of that stuff. I can't be expected to keep up with all the technological changes in that field, not to mention changes in building codes, etc. I've done enough of that work in my life. When the right people do it I get a better, faster job, I've supported a local business guy, and I've not had to give up fishing or shooting time or anything else to save a few hundred bucks. Same reason I won't twist a wrench on my own truck anymore. I used to do it all. I think some of the early vehicles I owned were 50% by weight newer parts than when I bought them. No more.

Yep, I hear you. As I get older I am less inclined to do it all. Even though I know I could. Time is more valuable than a few bucks. Picking a good company that is local and knows what they are doing is starting to be my norm.

I installed ours myself twenty years ago so it can't have been hard . Its gas, we didn't want it inside the garage so I poured a square cement pad up against the house on the outside of the wall from where it had been located and built a hut for it. The gas line came inside from the outside anyway so that was easy, pvc pipes did the rest. Our water here is exceedingly hard, but even so that water heater lasted 17 years. The only maintenance necessary was replacement of the thermocouple on the pilot light about every two years.

I'm thinking about $600 would get me a new one and I could put it in myself pretty easy.