Water Heater Replacement
My 75 gallon gas water heater is at its end – rusty bottom and starting to leak. I have a gas boiler (Weil-McClain. I have an account with KeySpan and asked about Keyspan programs today. I learned that I can get either: * an AOL Smith Water Heater; 10 yr. manufacturer’s warranty; cost & installation…
My 75 gallon gas water heater is at its end – rusty bottom and starting to leak. I have a gas boiler (Weil-McClain. I have an account with KeySpan and asked about Keyspan programs today. I learned that I can get either:
* an AOL Smith Water Heater; 10 yr. manufacturer’s warranty; cost & installation $1470
* an American Water Heater; 12 yr. manufacturer’s warranty; cost & installation $1,050 (includes a promotion discount):
Keyspan then comes in, does the work and takes out the old heater and leaves it at the curb, or for an add’l $75 will cart it away. There doesn’t seem to be any wait time at all for the water heater replacement: and they can do it on Mon-Fri, Sat.
I also asked about indirect water heaters, but was told that if I don’t currently have it, I would need to install a brand new boiler. I think that our boiler is just fine. Darn…I was interested in the high efficiency.
And I’m not interested in an on-demand tankless water heater, since it seems like I’d need to figure out/install another vent?
There is also an annual boiler & water heater maintenance program that is approximately 90% parts (inlcuding a thermostat, 24 hr, call hotline that is approx. $200 per year. I was told that a summer maintenance cold call is around $165 (no parts, no labor)!!
A construction friend told me the AOL are the best (what he has). So, I’m thinking about that option…
Welcome any thoughts, but also wanted to post this info for all…
Consider a high-recovery 60 gal w/h which may be cheaper and has essentially similar capacity. Bradford White maybe? If you want to go the trouble of extensive research, this is good: http://www.gamapower.org/water.php
Forced combustion w/h is more efficient but more expensive. I figured I’d save $5/month and ROI would be 10 years (a little exaggeration.)
Curious about “leaves it on the curb”…does sanitation then pickup? If so, why would anyone pay Keyspan $75?
You can install an indirect water heater on just about any boiler made in the last…I don’t know…30-40 years? I can’t imagine why someone would tell you otherwise.
That said, they cost around $4,000 installed, so that’s usually the conversation ender right there.
This is by no means directed at you, but the other Inconvenient Truth is that nobody really wants high efficiency equipment. It costs too much money.
We’ll all wait until it becomes law like it is in England now and other parts of Europe.
Second, there is very little difference between standard water heaters from manufacturer to manufacturer and the warranties are ALL misleading.
Ask them this: if this water heater starts leaking 3 years from now, how much will it cost me to have a new one in place, up and running?
I know the answer will surprise you.
You probably have a heating unit that is undersized for attaching an indirect WH. That’s good really for you. An oversized unit is inefficient overall.
The cost of the AO Smith is only about $650, so maybe you go with that and try to get a plumber who will do the labor for less?
A. O. Smith, (not AOL, that’s America OnLine, an equally poor choice, lol) based on my commercial experience with them, does not make the best water heaters, Lochinvar does (google them). A. O. Smith is a big name tho. Based on that I’d go with Keyspan’s 2nd choice.
I agree w 4:23 that a local guy can do better, service-wise.
Do a search on this forum for keyspan. I decided against their plan based on the feedback. It seems you can get better service by calling a plumber when you need service or annual tune ups. And in the long run, you might spend the same or even less.