Since our town house is 10 years old and some neighbors have had problems with theirs. So, I decided to get a new one. It is much harder than I expected. Our furnace and hot water heater are in the attic. We have forced air hot water heat. So the hot water heater cannot be just a plain old heater. I have had two companies come and tell me what we need. We currently have a power vent on the hot water heater. One company said we don't need that kind of a vent, the other says we do. I am confused. One neighbor has a new one without the power vent, another has the power vent. Does anyone out there have any advice?
maryd, I have a new hot water heater with a power vent. I wish I didn't but I do. I told our contractor I wanted a good hot water heater, meaning not the cheapest, well he went to the most expensive. Mine is in the basement and a regular wh would have worked fine and be less expensive. I asked about changing to the other kind (because in 3 years they have replaced the blower 2 times) and they say it would be too complicated. Since yours is in the attic it may be you have to keep the same thing. Also, mine does not do the heat so I would be careful about making a major change. Have you talked with others with the same type of system. Sorry, not much help.
We just have the old fashion regular hot water heater. I'm sorry, but I know nothing about your type of system. I have generally found it is better to replace like with like than to change. When you change, your other equipment might not be able to take the strain. Just my thought. For what it's worth. That and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee! <grin>
Thanks for your suggestions. What I hate about AD is the responsibility of making all the decisions. Before AD my husband and I made decisions on home repair, but I knew he was more technically adept at plumbing, heating,and home repair.He took early retirement at 53 and I continued working for 10 years. When I retired I began to notice problems with his reasoning and other things. Now, I think he voluntarily retired because he was having problems with the advanced level of his job. He worked for a large corporation and had advanced to middle management. He had to make both technical and managerial decisions.
Maryd..you may want to check out the on demand type water heater...it connects directly to the water line, and gives instant hot water....It costs about 300 for the unit, but is definitely worth it. I can get you more info if you need it....but the on demand system is an easy solution ....
Our beach home had a tankless water heater, and it was absolutely wonderful. I don't know if it's possible to retrofit a system with the tankless type, but if I could, I would. Think the brand name was Sysco. The system was the size of a large briefcase and was mounted on a closet wall. Hot water on demand. We never ran out of hot water! I wish I had one now!
Nancy, you can buy an adapter at Home Depot or Amazon to mount on your present hot water heater. It cost $180. on Amazon, I believe and installs in an hour. My SIL put it on our water heater and we get hot water almost immediately. We love it. No longer running water to get it hot any room in the house.