Replace HW Tank....

I come home today to find the HWH has decided to quit - but not before spewing it's contents all over the place.
Obviously, I will need to replace this HWH...and at this hour (5:30PM) all the plumbing supply houses are closed.

I did a quick search at the big box stores for a replacement and saw the "Whirlpool® 40 Gallon Flame Lock™ Natural Gas Water Heater"....that search was followed by a quick search here - yeidling this result Whirlpool Flame Lock water heaters . Ok, the Whirlpool got a big thumbs down (thanks to all who posted). A trip to the big box will NOT happen tonight.

In your opinions, what would be the choices for replacement? The HWH is 40 gallons, gas fired, vented up the chimeny.

....I have to start disconnecting this thing..hopefully, there will be some replies in an hour or so.


Thanks in advance

Richmond 40 gal gas

the only thing you will find from a hardware
store that is ok is one made by RHEEM called a

Richmond.. .... also Rheem makes a GE too


measure the space you got to work with cause
the Rheem units are very large units...

Thanks Mark.

I have no choice but the supply house in the AM (not that I am complaining ). My Dad had a Rheem...it was there when he bought his house, and still there when he sold the house some 40 years later.

I visited your site (http://www.weilhammerplumbing.com/products/) and saw that you also like Bradford White. As a matter of point - point being that I am rehabbing this house and plan to sell it in about 3/4 years - which would be the better value: Bradford White or a Rheem? Any particular model #?

Any opinions on Sears/Kenmore?

Kenmore Power Miser 12, 75 gallon Natural Gas Water Heater

Kenmore Power Miser 9, High Recovery 65 gallon Natural Gas Water Heater

kenmore is sub-standard

stick with the bradford white or rheem brands....

Rheem is more well known and gives some people
the warm fuzzies when they see it in the house....

Its just a matter of having the room to get the damn things
installed...their size is the only draw-back

I tangled with a Rheem big wig a while back over this...
and they are fixing the problem to a point...

we could not get the new uits to fit where the old ones used
to be ( for warranty replacements) and we had to replace defective
Rheem units with B Whites...

the Brad white is just as good, but skinnier...

both have totally different styles of burner assemblies to meet the new
governemt codes.

eitehr is good
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I could be wrong but I think the kenmore is presently
made by State, which basically makes junk...

I have never have had goood luck with state...

once I bought 10 of them and out of the 10 I ended up
changeing out at least half of them before the warranty ran out.

they have been bought out by A.O . Smith


But the larger 75 gallon units have NOT been converted to sealed combustion yet so basically they are still "old style" water heaters

so nothing that has gone wrong with the new style state units really counts on them....


but I dont care for sears for service reasons alone...


the only good thing about them is
that they do heat water ...
and they are not tankless..

Since starting the bathroom project -which is still no where near completion - we made some changes...a jacuzzi instead of a standard tub. Using the HWH selector tool at BW, there suggestion is a 75 gallon tank.

The height of the 75 is about 5 inches higher than what we have now. Can I simply remove the short piece of venting/stovepipe and vent the unit right into the 90 that goes up the chimeny?

Yes.

If this is near a finished area you should also put the WH in a pan and pipe the pan (1" PVC) to a floor drain. If there is no floor drain accessable to pipe to, stub out of the pan and put a 1" female X hose connection adapter on the stub of pipe and get a cap, teflon tape the threads of the adaptor and screw the cap on. This way if there is a leak you can attatch a hose to it and run the hose to a floor drain.

In my condo, the builder put in State's. We are 20 years old now, and about 20% of the units still have their original. I replaced mine about 3 years ago, but "just because"; it was still working.

I would not buy state . Go with Rheem/Ruud or Bradford White. HD's GE units are also Rheem.

I purchased a BW ~M-I-75S6BN(Defender) at my local supply house.

So far so good....got it loaded on my truck, into house, etc. Drained and removed old tank and am now setting the new tank - BUT, I have a question regarding the flue.

The old flue was just kind of stuck into the chimeny, as I removed the "updraft piece" (forgive my ignorance, I don't the proper term) from the tank, the portion that was in the chimeny came out...along with some sort of cement substance. A friend of mine who helped me set this tank said I need to replace that cememnt with fire proof cement. I have never heard of this (ignorance again) substance.

Anyone know what my friend is talking about?

Looking forward to replies while I make water and gas connections ...thanks again!

cement does not burn

just get some moarter or cement and
simply seal around the new chimmney that you
have installed

they do make some extra heavy duty stuff that
furnacemen install around boiler flu pipes but
that is pretty much overkill for what youare doing.

its best to seal it up to get a good draft
at the top of the water heater.

usually useing your hand with some soupy cement works best\
to sort of "trowell it into the cracks"

the heat from the chimmney dries it out quickly

Thanks Mark.

Seems everything I planned for went smooth EXCEPT for the flue ~ which is probably the most important(IMHO)....cement flaked off, old flue is 3", new is 4" ....I hate those damn big box stores - especially on a Saturday night.

Should I maintain the 4" from tank to chimeny?

Yes, the WH is designed for a 4" flue. You would get carbon monoxide in the house with an undersized flue. When the old flue is removed look for a build up of soot and brick dust in the chimney and remove it if it is there so the new flue has clear venting.

...and that is what I just bought (4" flue parts 7 cement)

Thanks people!

I need a HOT shower !

New HWH is all installed....hit a couple of speed bumps along the way (not paying attention to flue size/flue sealing on chimeny end, lighting the dam pilot)...but after 12 hours I am happy to report no leaks: gas, water or carbon.

Thanks to all who voiced their opinions, advice and caveats.

Here are some shots (pardon the mess )...are my valves pointing the right way ???





(EDIT: Pics resized, hope they show up???)

Looks like a good job except. The bottom photo shows the whole tank. down where the flex line is the flex line looks like it is kinked at the bottom of it's loupe but it is hard to tell because the power cord is right in the way of where the kink appears to be so I am not sure. If the gas flex line is kinked it needs to be replaced. When they kink they can leak. If it's not kinked and it's just the way the photo looks your all set.
Good job.

Jimbo below is corect and I missed it. You need 3 screws on each joint of the vent pipe and where it connects to the heater.

I have read somewhere that an elbow right off the hood is not recommended, and that 45º slope is required on the flue. I am probably mixing up with something else. (alzheimer effect?!)

I reviewed the instructions for the Rheem/Ruud 60/75 gallon units, and your installation seems to conform with all the requirements listed ( slope of 1/4" per foot.) Just review your manufacturer's installation specs and insure you are OK.

Now, to get picky! All joints in metal flue need to have (3) sheet metal screws securing them.

BE PICKY....I'm kind of anal when it comes to electrical installations (I'm an electrician).

You guys have some seriously sharp eyes - I can't believe the resolution was there for that call...I reduced those pics from 800mb to 39mb.

I will put in the screws.

That hose does look kinked...lol...I can assure you it is not.

I appreciate the review/inspection - thanks!