Our 30 year old water heater decided to quit almost two weeks ago. It was a Saturday, and we had already been working out in the yard when we realized that we had no hot water.
Both of us thought that it was a great opportunity to upgrade to a tankless water heater, so I called a friend who has a tankless and asked about who installed it. I called the recommended plumber and set a date to meet on Monday for an estimate. In the meantime, we showered at our parents houses and took spit baths as a last resort. (as a side note, I really hated taking baths when I was a kid. I would beg and plead “can’t I just take a spit bath?” It never worked! Spit baths suck as an adult)
This old water heater is not actually mine. Photo from another site!
So anyway, the plumber comes on Monday. He is using a walker and explains to me that he is on partial disability because he has seizures since an accident two years ago. He has a buddy with him who is his driver. The driver is on full time disability, so he just drives to get out of the house.
He gives us a reasonable estimate (we think) and since we are so anxious to get the hot water back on, we hire him. He comes Tuesday and does his thing. It takes him a long time, and when he is done the heater is plugged into an extension cord and the vent cap is duct taped on! By this point, I was ready to be through with him, so I just paid him and let him go.
I did a little sleuthing and found out his plumbing license was expired! Knowing that made me panic that the whole thing was going to blow up, so I called a ‘real’ plumber. You know, the kind you find in the yellow pages. He came and checked all of the lines for leaks, etc. On his report he wrote: “work shoddy, but safe!” I then had an electrician come by to install a grounded outlet to plug the dern thing into. The plumber had told me that the vent cover that was duct taped on is just for looks, so I took it off for now. Luckily it is on the back of the house, so looks aren’t a big issue.
Long story short, we now have a new water heater! And boy does it make hot water! That is the big thing about tankless heaters: they make hot water as long as you need it. No more running out of hot water! No more wasting energy to keep a tank full of water hot! And we should be able to write off up to $1500 of the parts/labor on our federal tax return next year!
This photo is from another website!
4 comments:
Wait, so are you saying your tankless water heater is on the outside of your house? Do tell!
The tankless water heater is still under the house in our crawlspace. They do make them that can go on the outside of the house though! And they are all much smaller than a traditional water heater, so that is another big reason for some people to switch. They take up lots less space. The whole unit is probably only 18 inches wide and 36 inches tall.
Ours is installed on the inside of an exterior wall, and the plumber cut a hole through the bricks for the venting to go out.
I'm jealous! Our hot water runs out quickly. I want a tankless heater so badly!!
we have a wonderful plumber if you need one in the future! We just found him throuhg a friend and my dad has used him as well.
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