URGENT! PowerVenter Waterheater broke

Folks:

my Bradford White Powerventer waterheater just died. the question is I am being told by a plumber a price which is high for me $1,500 installed. My actual question is can I go with the Kenmore brand Powerventer water heater vs the Bradford White brand? Do i have to go with a powerventer waterheater?

why go with one vs the other?

thanks

Yes. If you do not have any other means of a vent for the gas water heater, Power vents are your only option. Kemore is actually a A.O. Smith tank spec'd to Kenmore standards. Bradford White is the brand plumbers buy and use exclusively.

RUGGED said:

Yes. If you do not have any other means of a vent for the gas water heater, Power vents are your only option. Kemore is actually a A.O. Smith tank spec'd to Kenmore standards. Bradford White is the brand plumbers buy and use exclusively.

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Thanks for the response. Sears Kenmore brand is for $700 bucks. can I go with the A.O Smith brand or should i go with the Bradford White Brand?

jigarlakhani said:

Tahnks for the response. Sears Kenmore brand is for $700 bucks. can I go with the A.O Smith brand or should i go with the BradfordWhite Brand?

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Me personally I like Kenmore brand heaters. Customer pays for them on their Sears card and I pick them up.

They spec those tanks *A.O. Smith* completely different than just going and buying an A.O. Smith.

You cannot buy parts for the bradford-white yourself; has to be a licensed plumber to work on it.

Just to give you a different choice, the GE/Rheem is a good water heater also. Mine is a pre-GE Rheem, but it's a dandy.

You also asked the same question on another forum. If you buy a water heater yourself, you don't get any warranty from the plumber. If he buys an item for 700, he's gotta mark it up to at least 900 to make any money on it. that covers his time to pick it up, plus any hassles with it later. You provide it, and any problems are on your dime. I do them either way.

Kenmore power vents are junk.....

The Bradford whaite is the best you can get...

Followed by the Rheem--

then the GE unit.....

Of course if you get the Ge and youhave troubles
someone willing to do service on the unit is going to
be difficult to find... no one wants to go out and do
service on them for the measley chicken-feed they offer....


so basically .....once its out the hardware store door its your problem....


you should really stay away from the Kenmore or

A.O.Smith water heaters....they are substandard and
the mechanical parts begin to fail fairley fast.


have you tried to buy a bradford white from a
plumbing supply house yet??

I'm headin up the street to replace an A.O. Smith with a GE. Customer asked "is it a good thing that this new water heater is so light?"

Now what would you say? I know why it's light.......less steel in the tank.

This is his 3rd water heater in 13 years. I'm the first one to ever walk in the house with a pressure gauge and gauge the static pressure. 80+ and he opted for the PRV and EXP tank.

I bet *I know* I just solved one of the biggest contributors to premature failure of those two first tanks.

This profession of plumbing is way more than just pipe and fittings; have to present your case of the facts like you would in a court of law and let the customer *jury* decide what's in their best interest.

All those plumbers before me had the opportunity to point out the obvious and didn't.

I get the gold crown in the homeowner's mind for someone finally making this diagnosis. I heading to Burger King right now to get my paper crown. And a triple whopper with cheese extra pickle, mega fry and a diet coke. Can't drink regular coke since I'm on a diet.

Rugged,
I like Diet Coke for the taste, my Nona drank Tab so that must be why I like it. I am 6' and clock in about 230 nowadays, I used to weigh 170, so I carry an extra bag of Sackcrete with me these days. I do the same, slap on the feedbag and then ask for a Diet Coke, I am sure the order taker is thinking, "yeah right, that's gonna help."

RUGGED said:

I'm headin up the street to replace an A.O. Smith with a GE. Customer asked "is it a good thing that this new water heater is so light?"

Now what would you say? I know why it's light.......less steel in the tank.

This is his 3rd water heater in 13 years. I'm the first one to ever walk in the house with a pressure gauge and gauge the static pressure. 80+ and he opted for the PRV and EXP tank.

I bet *I know* I just solved one of the biggest contributors to premature failure of those two first tanks.

This profession of plumbing is way more than just pipe and fittings; have to present your case of the facts like you would in a court of law and let the customer *jury* decide what's in their best interest.

All those plumbers before me had the opportunity to point out the obvious and didn't.

I get the gold crown in the homeowner's mind for someone finally making this diagnosis.

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While I agree they needed a PRV and EXP tank,

unless there was a check valve on the system I dont think that high of a pressure, 80#, would cause 2 tanks to go in 13 years.

What brand are you taking out.

Electrical problems....fry heaters...

My theory which I have wrote here a long time ago



this is what I find when a heater goes out every
2- 5 years or so......

they usually have a water conditioiner
and the ground in the house is somehow severed..

the fellow in the pics did have a prv valve already
and they DO sever the connection to the water line
because of the union.... so the current finds the easiest
or another path to ground itself

.



http://www.weilhammerplumbing.com/generalinfo/

kordts said:

Rugged,
I like Diet Coke for the taste, my Nona drank Tab so that must be why I like it. I am 6' and clock in about 230 nowadays, I used to weigh 170, so I carry an extra bag of Sackcrete with me these days. I do the same, slap on the feedbag and then ask for a Diet Coke, I am sure the order taker is thinking, "yeah right, that's gonna help."

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I was just kiddin about the meal; I haven't had fries in 7 days and don't miss them yet. Sorta going to bed hungry now and eating half of what I normally pound down in a day. I won't even bother weighing myself until my clothes start feeling loose.

While I agree they needed a PRV and EXP tank,

unless there was a check valve on the system I dont think that high of a pressure, 80#, would cause 2 tanks to go in 13 years.

What brand are you taking out.

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Both were A.O. Smiths, both were installed with direct connections into the tank. When I drained out the one I replaced yesterday, the last 10 gallons looked like some kind of beef soup. It was horrible and was never drained. The tank blew from the top....and from checking the numbers.....missed it by one month. Where this customer lives is in the same area as I'm in.....and if it is nearing 80 with everyone home using water and outside.....it definitely climbs to 100 at night. That is flexing that tank over and over until it finally gives.

No dielectric unions; they used dielectric nipples and used 3/4" copper female adaptors to connect. Right where those two were joined, BOTH were 2/3rds clogged. I'm never going to believe that dielectric nipples with copper connecting breaks the continuity between dissimilar materials. An electrical current.....even a weak one can travel through those 3 metals > Copper>Galvanized>Steel tank. Most tanks come with dielectric nipples sticking out of them so using female dielectric unions allows easy installation of fixed position copper piping and stops that connection of metal to metal transition.

I truly believe not draining that water heater along with high pressure was the most to blame, thirdly the possible electrical current issue affecting the tank.

I'll pull the anode rod out if it isn't a lot of work to see if it's gone.


That new GE I put in yesterday .......the cold inlet port was bent over an 1/8" and had to preform the copper to straighten it out to look good.