Water heater choices

[CPlumb]

Don't know if I am re hashing an old thread (new here ).

Wanted to get an idea of which type of heater folks around the world like to use ?

I have been an A.O .Smith guy for almost 30 years . Recently they have disappointed me somewhat .

I have started using and have become VERY happy with the Bradford White .

Any other GOOD options ???

CPlumb

[Australian Plumber Josh]

Re: Water heater choices

Due to heavy marketing tankless is becoming popular here.

As I understand it all storage type heaters have cylinders by the same manufacturer.

most peoples choices are based on price when comparing heaters.and i'll install whatever type/brand they want.

[biscuit]

Re: Water heater choices

It depends on the application for us.

If its small, we will use a Rheem or a Bradford White. Larger stuff, we typically go with PVI.

Regards,

[drtyhands]

Re: Water heater choices

What's happening with your A.O. smiths.I feel confident with B/white.Some plumber here told me A.O. brought their dependability standards back up to acceptable levels.

[drtyhands]

Re: Water heater choices

It depends on the application for us.

If its small, we will use a Rheem or a Bradford White. Larger stuff, we typically go with PVI.

Regards,

what's a PVI

[biscuit]

Re: Water heater choices

PVI is a manufacturer of large commercial application water heaters, they do have some small ones, that are pretty nice as well.

They are located in teh Fort Worth, TX area.

www.pvi.com

[Wild Weasel]

Re: Water heater choices

Is there any downside to the tankless ones? I've heard the marketing. Seems like a good idea to me, so long as they keep up with the household demand. Do they?

[drtyhands]

Re: Water heater choices

Thanks Biscuit,Have a good day.

Weasel,Tankless are working fine as of now.The problems start arising when plumbers install the system incorrectly,or to their capacity.

[oldslowchevy]

Re: Water heater choices

Is there any downside to the tankless ones? I've heard the marketing. Seems like a good idea to me, so long as they keep up with the household demand. Do they?

for my house in a word ... yes..... but it seems to cost alot more to run this one compared to my old 50gallon upright unit. both are propane

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

Re: Water heater choices

The problems start arising when plumbers install the system incorrectly,or to their capacity.

Please, decipher that statement in simple terms. Explain how compartment limescale and electronic failures result at the hands of a plumber installing the 2 water lines, gas line and specific flue pipe.

And we should be on the premace that all of these units should be installed by licensed plumbers and inspected/approved for their application conforming to local authority codes/requirements.

In Arizona with ground temps nearing 70+ degrees that makes a tankless work like a gem; less than a 40 degree rise.

Head east that simple formulation that a tankless has to overcome gets grossly stepped up, nearing 70 degrees to overcome.

Unfortunately when a tankless fails it's usually hindering on the electronic side or a flow control issue. Customers (not many, but getting there) end up without hot water for days, not hours when their unit malfunctions.

I've lost water heater installs because I couldn't be there the same day, let alone calling a 1-800 number and hoping the delivery man brings the parts in a timely fashion. Don't discredit these facts when they are so apparent in the beginning stages of this product.

In areas whether geographical or isolated areas, water quality destroys the ability of these units to perform as efficient as their lab results first produced. That in turn makes maintenance of a tank heater ignored, makes the necessity of a tankless, required.

Come at me with facts in your retort, not opinions. I'm a loaded gun on this topic and well versed on the stats of comparison.


My voice stands for the innocent people who follow the logic that tankless is better....until the person who installs it is long gone, only knew how to hang it on the wall and get it running, nothing else. This now leads the customer down a dark road of unknown....trying to do anything to get their unit back on. Sometimes it is simple, sometimes its difficult.

My personal experience of PowerVents malfunctioning and getting calls frequently because the electronics failing is factual to the same similarities found with tankless technology. You "have" to have the product repair parts, you have to have the trained hands in your area to trust its reliability, with of course water quality being optimum. <<< Does this even exist?

[wookie]

Re: Water heater choices

OSC,

Just curious, are people taking longer showers now that they realize there is endless hot water?

wookie

[wookie]

Re: Water heater choices

Dunbar,

You've made some great points. I've talked more people out of tankless than into them. Lack of timely service and parts availability has always been a great concern and a problem I ALWAYS bring to the manufacturers attention when ever I get the chance. I've taken two service courses with two different manufacturers but I really don't have the confidence to try a involved field repair. Trouble shooting has never been a strong suit of mine, you have to do repairs all the time to get comfortable and competant IMHO. Noritz has been trying to overcome this problem but have a long ways to go, they at least seem serious about it.

wookie

[biscuit]

Re: Water heater choices

We dont do a lot of tankless, but when we do, its a Noritz. Had some bad experiences with the other big manufacturer from what I have been told.

[Gene Bickford]

Re: Water heater choices

OSC,

Just curious, are people taking longer showers now that they realize there is endless hot water?

wookie

I know my daughter does. She takes a shower in the A.M., afternoon and night if I don't notice. Shes been known to spend 3hrs in the shower if I'm not paying attention.

[plumberscrack]

Re: Water heater choices

CPlumb,

As you already know A.O. Smith has been a dominate player in our market for years.

I was an A.O. Smith factory service rep. for Northern Va for nearly 10 years. This was during the first generation power vent models and the dip tube era . Some days all 10 of my service calls would be warranty service but I never gave up on them until they merged with State. We only install a State or A.O. Smith now if it's specified otherwise it's all Bradford White.

I would challenge Dunbar on his statement concerning tankless but he seems cocked and ready to shoot me down. I would only add that Adam made a statement based on what he sees in the field and I would agree. I have only installed 1 brand of tankless (Rinnai) and the many that I have installed have not failed to my knowledge. I have removed many that suffered an early death and repiped a few butchered installations on other brands.

The customer needs to be know that this is not the same water heater they grew up with. Like Sy and Marcie Syms said: "An educated consumer is our best customer"