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The last (only) time I purchased a water heater it came bundled with the gas line installation. That was 13+ years ago.
Discovered today I need to replace this water heater, 40 gallon Natural Gas.
Figured I'd pose the question before I trot over to Lowes and get their least expensive 40gal tank. Any advice appreciated on selection and installation gotchas?
e.g. last year I purchased a new stove from Lowes with the $65 install. They wouldn't disconnect the old stove, but did carry it outside. They wouldn't connect the new stove, but carried it into the kitchen. I spent the next 3 hours installing a stove. Worked out OK just hadn't planned for the time required.
TIA
You may need a permit to install it. Check on that before you go. Also, building codes have likely changed in the last 13 years. Do you have an expansion tank on it, do you have a blowoff to the outside of the house? I'm not sure what is required here, but these are some of the things required when I had my water heater replaced 2 years ago. Perhaps some of the building inspectors on the forum can chime in.
I would recommend calling a plumber. If you shop around, you can probably find one that will do it for a reasonable price. One thing you need to find out is if you have a power vent or not. If you do, then the price of that heater is about $200-300 more. If you do, there will be a fan on top of the heater and it will most likely vent out to a PVC pipe out the side of your house instead of through a traditional chimney.
e.g. last year I purchased a new stove from Lowes with the $65 install. They wouldn't disconnect the old stove, but did carry it outside. They wouldn't connect the new stove, but carried it into the kitchen. I spent the next 3 hours installing a stove. Worked out OK just hadn't planned for the time required.
TIA
What kind of stove was this? Gas stove? For gas appliances, I've actually found PSNC quite competitive in their products and installation costs.
- If you are in Cary, installing a new water heater requires a permit
- You will have to add an expansion tank if you do not already have one (slim chance at 13 years old, but not very expensive)
- can you sweat pipes if you have copper, or have the crimping tool for polybutylene/pex plumbing? (the crimping tool is about $100, if you don't have one I would call a plumber simply because install is not much more than that and you probably wont need the crimper again for a long time)
just a few things that ran across my mind, good luck!
Thinking I can rent that crimp tool if so will be easier than replacing the PEX with 20' of copper. Though I do have enough MAP gas & solder to do this job.
This past summer we had our water heater moved from the attic level, down to the basement level. We put in a 75 gal. water heater. We used Rural Plumbing/Heating, as we've used them for years. They did a fine job, all to code. Our home is twenty years old and we've practically rebuilt it inside and out, even the water pipes/plumbing replaced. New roof, siding, floors. Now the driveway needs replacing! What next?
Have you considered a heat-on-demand? I just had to replace my old WH - new code in Raleigh says a capacity tank and power cut-off at the tank is necessary, and an inspector had to come check it. I like the tankless heater because of the room it would free up and the energy savings, but I have electric only; there's little energy savings with them over an efficient tank heater, and cost to install was crazy (additional power lines and such). The gas ones are another story, though; check out HomeTips Article: On-Demand and Tankless Hot Water Heaters and other web sites for savings, etc.
Thinking I can rent that crimp tool if so will be easier than replacing the PEX with 20' of copper. Though I do have enough MAP gas & solder to do this job.
My 40 gallon direct-vent water heater leaked (pretty much the entire contents of the heater) into my garage while I was on vacation one summer. I came back for a couple of days to try to get it replaced, and was charged about $900. I am not sure if the plumber pulled a permit on that replacement though--how can I tell?
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